Zebra Loach Identification, Care And Compatibility

Okay so I walked into a Petco today for some shrimp and saw this cute little guy burrowing his little nose in the gravel.. I fell in love with him and feel I must have it for my 20 gallon.
Is this a Zebra Loach or a Yoyo Loach?
Do I feed and care for it as I would for other bottom feeders?
What small fish or invertebrates is he absolutely not compatible with?

Photos taken at LFS

 

My zebras look different. But the golden zebras kinda look like that. Your defendantly going to need more than one.

 

Here are my "regular" zebras. I have a small school of 5. Then in my other tank I have 3 little yoyo's and 2 chains

 

Here's some pictures I found of a golden zebra

 

Looks like a juvenile Golden Zebra Botia Loach to me. Might be a little aggressive unless you buy a few more.

 

My zebras look different. But the golden zebras kinda look like that. Your defendantly going to need more than one.

Looks like a juvenile Golden Zebra Botia Loach to me. Might be a little aggressive unless you buy a few more.

Ah ok thanks, so it's a Golden Zebra Loach. The store didn't even have a description, the sales help said it was a Zebra Loach.
I need to buy more? Yikes !! Was not planning on having more than one in my 20 gallon.

 

Yeah 3 at bare minimum. 5 is better 8-10 best for the minimum. But I have the 2 chains and 3 yoyo's in my 29 with a female angel fish. The yoyos once they get bigger are going into a bigger tank and I will get more chains at that time.

But they are very social and need more of their kind to be happy. I had the 2 chains for months and they only came out at night. Now with the 3 baby yoyo's they are out all the time now.

 

Here are my "regular" zebras. I have a small school of 5. Then in my other tank I have 3 little yoyo's and 2 chainsView attachment 475426View attachment 475427

Very nice !! Are they kept with other fish? The regular zebra looks as small as my Golden zebra. Are yours juveniles also?

 

Very nice !! Are they kept with other fish? The regular zebra looks as small as my Golden zebra. Are yours juveniles also?

Mine are not quite 2 inches so still "babies" they are in a 38 with 2 angelfish and 4 mystery snails. I keep a close eye on my snails too. They, my snails, might just be relocating to my 45. I do feed them about a dozen bladder snails every day. Which they LOVE

 

This one is only about an inch or so. How long have you had your zebras?
I also have a mystery snail and some nerite snails I would have to be concerned about. Though looking at this little guys size and mouth I can't imagine he'd be capable of taking on a mystery snail, or even a decent sized nerite. Could he?

 

They get about 4 inches. As it gets bigger I would worry about the nerite. I have only had my zebra's for about 2 weeks.I had some 3 week old mystery snail babies that they ate all of them with in the day. They check out the adult mystery snails but leave them alone for the most part. But I've had my chain loaches for almost a year now. They have never bothered my adult mystery snails but they stay much smaller 2".

 

This one is only about an inch or so. How long have you had your zebras?
I also have a mystery snail and some nerite snails I would have to be concerned about. Though looking at this little guys size and mouth I can't imagine he'd be capable of taking on a mystery snail, or even a decent sized nerite. Could he?

I bought the same kind of loach at petco.
I got frustrated that they didn't have a scientific name for them, ended up returning it .
It's not a normal zebra loach. It's a historonica or history loach.
I believe they get 6 inch's so maybe not a good fit for a 20 gal.

They are pretty tho

 

I bought the same kind of loach at petco.
I got frustrated that they didn't have a scientific name for them, ended up returning it .
It's not a normal zebra loach. It's a historonica or history loach.
I believe they get 6 inch's so maybe not a good fit for a 20 gal.

They are pretty tho

So you mean it's not a Golden Zebra Loach? Was it a Petco in Manhattan?
That's where I found it and there wasn't any description of it at all. It's still tiny so I have some time to get a larger tank, but now I'm thinking of returning or rehoming it, I mean 3 or 4 inches is one thing but 6 is too much fish for me.

 

So you mean it's not a Golden Zebra Loach? Was it a Petco in Manhattan?
That's where I found it and there wasn't any description of it at all. It's still tiny so I have some time to get a larger tank, but now I'm thinking of returning or rehoming it, I mean 3 or 4 inches is one thing but 6 is too much fish for me.

Golden zebra loach is the common name for history loach.
It's a little misleading as the name seems like a color form but ... is a different sp.

 

No need to panic. Your Golden Loach won't reach full growth for quite a while. You will have plenty of time to explore your options. My Modesta Loaches have only grown two inches in about a year. Full growth for Modestas are 9 plus inches.
My guess is your Loach will quickly become one of your favorite fish.

 

Golden zebra loach is the common name for history loach.
It's a little misleading as the name seems like a color form but ... is a different sp.

Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up for me. Yes It is misleading, I also assumed it was just a color variation.

No need to panic. Your Golden Loach won't reach full growth for quite a while. You will have plenty of time to explore your options. My Modesta Loaches have only grown two inches in about a year. Full growth for Modestas are 9 plus inches.
My guess is your Loach will quickly become one of your favorite fish.

Thanks, that is a huge relief. That should give me enough time to upgrade, I was looking at a 37 and a 45 gallon setup today. It's a goal I'm setting to get done within the next 6 to 8 month's. I really like the little guy and I'd like to keep it. Perhaps even get him a few buddies with the larger tank. He's a great addition to my aquarium. Oh and btw he's already one of my favorite fish, it was love at first sight, lol.

 

it looks like the same yoyo loach I bought like 2weeks ago also lol



he has gotten about a third bigger now

 

hI'm now....

 

hI'm now....
View attachment 477366
View attachment 477367
View attachment 477368

Very cool. And yes looks similar. The markings are slightly different, the dots between the stripes are missing on my zebra.
So can you attribute the growth spurt to all the snail's he's eating? lol
Does he have any tank mates? I'd love to do a tank just for mine and do the sand substrate and watch him devour snail's.

 

Hove not gotten any snails yet into the tank
got him as the odd ball to a all male swordtail tank (6sofar)
he swims in all the water levels of my 32g
I have not decorated the tank yet

 

Okay here's an update:
I finally got the 37 gallon tank for him on sale at Petsmart yesterday. I'll be setting it up today. I've made a post about it in the aquarium build forum.
Since the tank was bought primarily for him any tips and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Design a pretty & functional hardscape for your Loach. Make the scape large enough for the future group you will propably buy.

 

I'll be moving some stuff from my other tanks into this. So far I have:
Anubias attached to rock
Java fern windelov attached to rock
A hollowed out driftwood log
Possibly a coco cave with narrow leaf java ferns attached.

 

That sounds like a great set up. I was kind of late to the game regarding Loach keeping, only the last few years. In that time I've really become a big fan.

 

That sounds like a great set up. I was kind of late to the game regarding Loach keeping, only the last few years. In that time I've really become a big fan.

I'm completely new to Loach keeping myself. Buying this guy was a total impulse buy. Partly because I love bottom feeders, and partly because it's such a beautiful fish. Unfortunately I really didn't know what I was getting into with him. I'm doing my best to combine giving him a good home while also having my community fish tank.

 

They are very adaptable and easy to take care of. After a while the Botia will eat flakes at the surface as well as sinking food. To maintain community harmony, pick up two or three more as soon as you can. Of course yours might be fine solo.

 

So I’ve been waiting for my LFS to get these in and you are finding them at Petco lol!
I am planning to stock my 75 with them. Besides the fact that they are gorgeous, who can resist a fish with the name Botia Histrionica.
This wasn’t my original plan, so my staycation from work this week revolves around slightly rescaping the tank for them.
It’s already sand but I’m getting rid of any crevices that they may wedge themselves into as I’ve read they are experts at getting into places that you would never imagine they could fit.
And I’m adding more caves.
Please post pics when you get your new tank set up and get some more.

 

We have 5 in this 37 gallon guppy aquarium. They are social fish. We feed them bladder snails and the standard food for the guppies.

 

They are very adaptable and easy to take care of. After a while the Botia will eat flakes at the surface as well as sinking food. To maintain community harmony, pick up two or three more as soon as you can. Of course yours might be fine solo.

Mine has really gotten used to his tank, so much in fact that I'm thinking about even moving him. He seems really happy.. He swims around back and forth in front of the tank when he sees me come close. He's often found early in the morning sleeping on my plants as if it were a bed LOL He's really cute. He's really growing on me. I tried netting him the other day with no luck he just hid behind the the house inside the tank and I really don't want to tear this tank up as it is planted the way I like it now. It just seems like he's gotten so used to being in there with the neon tetras and the thought of stressing him out by trapping him and moving him to the new tank has me feeling a little conflicted.

 

So I’ve been waiting for my LFS to get these in and you are finding them at Petco lol!
I am planning to stock my 75 with them. Besides the fact that they are gorgeous, who can resist a fish with the name Botia Histrionica.
This wasn’t my original plan, so my staycation from work this week revolves around slightly rescaping the tank for them.
It’s already sand but I’m getting rid of any crevices that they may wedge themselves into as I’ve read they are experts at getting into places that you would never imagine they could fit.
And I’m adding more caves.
Please post pics when you get your new tank set up and get some more.

Yes well I've tried to find more recently but have not seen any more at Petco. The last time I saw a few was a few weeks ago right before I bought the tank. The local Petco had two or three left in one of their tanks. Since then I visited probably half a dozen Petco stores and have not seen another one. The new tank is already set up and planted and decorated. After some thought I decided to go with a fine gravel instead of a sand substrate. I took an Sponge Filter from an already cycled tank and jump started cycling this tank with it. Just one problem now and that's that my zebra Loach just seems so happy where he is now and I'm having second thoughts and moving him. Besides the fact I cannot find him some Playmates at this moment the thought of stressing him out by moving him is bothering me. Here is a picture of what his current tank looks like and he really has made himself at home here.