# Dojo loaches in the planted tank



## aquaman555 (Mar 22, 2011)

Anyone have any experience with dojo loaches in a planted tank? I've heard adults may dig up plants. Also how big of a tank is needed for an adult. Seems like one would make a neat addition to my tank, but thinking it may be too small (29g) and don't want to take any chances with the plants. Thanks for any input.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

All loachs will "root around" some what.

If you mean Misgurnus anguillicaudatus as "dojo loach" a 29 is way too small. 

In tanks they normally get about 6", but in the wild they can grow to about 2 feet.


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## aquaman555 (Mar 22, 2011)

Yes that is the species, I figured that might be the case. I saw some sites saying 29g minimum though. I would be purchasing one that's around 3-4" long, not an adult. So if they only get 6" in tanks, is that still to small? Crazy the size difference wild vs tank kept. What would be other good loaches? I saw some Hillstream Loach (Sewellia lineolata) at the LFS a week or so ago, would that be a better choice?


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i wouldnt recomment hillstream loaches either lol, sorry.. they need a strong current. a river tipe of set up is better for them.
how about kulii loaches? they stay small and are really nice! might hide from ya; for the first 3-4 months but once they get comfortable they are cool =)


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Hillsters and dojo loaches have one thing in common that makes them poorly suited to many planted tanks: they like it cool. Dojo/weather loaches winter over in Europe (I believe England has banned them as an invasive at this point) and can be kept in ponds in parts of the States. Neither will thrive in a warm-water planted tank.

Kuhlis would indeed be a good choice. They come in brown-black and striped versions, are shaped like mini-dojo loaches, and like it warm.  They like to burrow but are too small to do much damage to plants. If you want to get really adventurous, horse-faced loaches have a similar body shape to dojos (with weird, long-nosed heads), and will do well in the warmer temps.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

asukawashere said:


> Hillsters and dojo loaches have one thing in common that makes them poorly suited to many planted tanks: they like it cool. Dojo/weather loaches winter over in Europe (I believe England has banned them as an invasive at this point) and can be kept in ponds in parts of the States. Neither will thrive in a warm-water planted tank.
> 
> Kuhlis would indeed be a good choice. They come in brown-black and striped versions, are shaped like mini-dojo loaches, and like it warm.  They like to burrow but are too small to do much damage to plants. If you want to get really adventurous, horse-faced loaches have a similar body shape to dojos (with weird, long-nosed heads), and will do well in the warmer temps.


did not know about the temperature issue but i kept mine in my planted 125 for about 3-4 years with no issues. they even survived the loss of power last year that i had my broken ac during summer for over a week (not many fish were as lucky in the tank) so if he had a large enough tank it would have been fine...mine were around 10 inches long btw


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Yeah, dojos are pretty durable - they can "breathe" air (or, more accurately, swallow air and extract oxygen), too, so short periods of hypoxic conditions don't bother them as much as other species (I wouldn't, however, expose them to it for too long). 3-4 years is actually a rather short time, as the lifespan of the fish is around 10 years. Odds are the warm water made them vulnerable to illness or sped up their metabolism too much.

A good overview of the species can be found at loaches.com. Also, turns out I was mistaken about England - they're not yet banned but you do need a permit to keep them there. They've got established invasive populations on mainland Europe, though.


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