Thank you very much for the information. I'm from Mexico. This information has helped me a lot, since there is not much knowledge about this fish in captivity. Fortunately I was able to obtain 5 loaches and I intend to raise them. Greetings ☺️
It looks great !!! I love the recreation especially the channel through the middle I’m obsessed with pathways and channels for the fish ... 😄 liked and subscribed 👍✌️❤️🐟
Really enjoyed this video. I love how they bred as a surprise for you - so many people try to get them to breed without success! Species-only biotope - it’s the best ❤️
Interesting and good information. Thx for sharing. Despite your powerhead there does not seem to be a lot of current in your tank. This somehow confirms that the loaches tolerate a stream tank but don't NEED it to thrive. People also breed them successfully in planted tanks. No filtration? Remarkable. I don't see snails either that would compete with the loaches for the biofilm (Aufwuchs). All in all, thumbs up!
Great point on snails! I do have some freshwater limpets, but they're nowhere near as aggressive grazers as some of the other common hitchhikers would be. Re flow: with the pair of powerheads (second hidden behind right mopani stump) I do get a 25x per hour flow rate, which does keep things moving along nicely. Agreed on the planted tank point, I have a few of these guys in my heavily planted 75 gallon as well. As long as they have natural forage and high dissolved oxygen levels these fish can be quite adaptable.
Love the video, I've recently setup a hillstream loach tank. Initial setup was fantastic as I had a lot of algae to feed them. Would love to get some more information on them from yourself. Mine appear to be doing well but haven't really taken to commercial style fish food but am still trying
Thanks! It may take them some time to adapt to pellets, but eventually they should go for high quality algae wafers. They'll also learn to eat a number of different kind of fresh vegetables (mine love spinach and will also eat zucchini). Sometimes you have to be patient with them as they figure things out, but as long as they're healthy and active and there's at least some natural algae in the tank for them to graze nothing at all to worry about
Thanks. There is a lot of false info about keeping fish. These are super hardy fish. I have four of them in a 1 gallon tank (over three years for three of them). The tank is about 5 inches in diameter and 15 inchs tall with a small carbon and sponge filter powerhead venturi blasting a vertical stream of bubbles and water down the wall. And (shock horror) I do 66% water changes once every 6 -8 weeks (filter/water/bubble flow dependant). I have a short video of them and tank on my channel if anyone doesn't believe me. Only uploaded 2 videos so it won't be hard to find lol.
I run my lights 9 hours per day, so pretty standard. Tank is unheated with water temperature generally staying in the high 60's F. The ambient room temperature plus the heat thrown off by powerheads (and to a lesser extent by the LED lights) keeps temperature reasonably stable.
Do you change water??? In your aquarium?? I'm thinking about setting up something like yours. I have 4 hillstream in my regular 55 gallon aquarium. 78° plenty of other fish, and they doing just fine... I'm making right now what's you called "river tank manifold" instead of wave makers. Love your aquarium....
Thanks! For the hillstream tank I do 15% weekly water changes, nothing too crazy. Those little guys have fairly low bioloads. The manifold concept can work great as well, though you may want to up the power of your pumps beyond what your target flow rate is. If you use sponges over the intakes that can really slow things down over time vs wavemakers.
So my tank has been going for a while, and as with all new tanks I have had pitfalls and adjustments and changes and progress. But most of them I handled with advice from people I trust OR knowledge I had acquired from my previous Tank. But recently I ended up with a BUNCH of seed shrimp in the tank. Honestly they are going kind of nuts due to the algae in the tank and devouring it like locusts. Have you had seed shrimp in this tank? And if so did you just ignore them and their numbers died back on their own or did you have to do something about them?
I've actually never had seed shrimp in any of my tanks before, but every tank is expected to have critters of some sort. In my hillstream tank I have freshwater limpets, copepods, and detritus worms, but none of them are particularly noticeable or problematic. As with any critter, the only way to know whether you're dealing with a temporary bloom or a more lasting infestation is to wait- if it's a bloom could take a month or so to sort out on its own. Seems like you're on top of managing and monitoring your tank as is, but the other thing to consider is feeding- all critters love excess nutrients. If you have plenty of soft algae in the tank and the hillstreams are eating it there's really no reason to feed much else at all. Until my hillstream population grew out of control I was only directly feeding the tank once per week, and they were fat and happy.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 That once a week thing is a useful bit of info. I knew I had to cut back on feeding, as I knew that was part of the problem and I hadn't been able to aquire a bunch of loaches yet but I wasn't sure how much. This has given me a definitive number.
I’ve had a hillstream biotope for a couple of years now too. I was hoping that you’d have an idea on how to catch these little guys to thin my tank of over population. I have over 50 in my 40 long and need to know if there’s a way to catch them without destroying their tank? Can you give me any advice. Also my hillstreams go crazy for the tetra color granules.
Sounds like we're in the same boat! Perhaps you could try putting a glass jar in the aquarium with their favorite pellet/food in the bottom. Then when you have enough of them feeding you can close up the jar and pull it from your tank- hopefully without disturbing anything or scaring the others too much.
Okay a question that I have avoided because I didn't think it super important till now. How hard is your water do you know? I figured a little hardness would help these guys as they come from mountain streams where erosion was high. But I have discovered that hardness will (obviously in retrospect) increase my powerhead maintenance. But my city's water is really soft (to the point that growing plants need Calcium, Magnesium and potassium supplements) so if I just left it alone the tank would drop to less then 1 dkh in fairly short order. So how soft is the water in this tank? And what are any other parameters you willing to share. (Specifically Temperate cause b/g algae typically hates a lot of flow yet yours is going nuts, so I am curious if that's playing a role.)
Tank is 1-2 dkh (my tap is 3-4 dkh). Mountain streams are typically rainwater fed, which means almost no alkalinity to start with, so the actual alkalinity in nature depends on what kinds of rock they are flowing through. Regardless, these guys definitely do great in soft water. Temperature is mid to high 60's F. Tank is unheated so it fluctuates a bit but generally on the cooler end of where most people run their tanks. Algae growth driven by intense 6500k lighting and nutrients. Different kinds of algae grow in different areas of the tank based on light/flow dynamics but overall high flow is not a problem.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 okay final questions. Instinct tells me you probably don't gravel vac this tank. Am I right? And what size is the gravel? Just vaguely. You keep just saying gravel but it looks more like small pebbles or large pea gravel then standard aquarium gravel. I know lights isn't the problem as I have put two high tech lights on the tank and keep the window in the sun when possible. (That widow doesn't get much light sadly). I worked out the PAR value at one point and it was considered high light at 18 inches so I should be okay. I can drop the dkh, which is good, as that's less maintenance. Your temp is a bit lower then mine. (78.8) According to other breeders that shouldn't be a problem but I'll keep it in mind if I want to try something different. Thanks again for the insight.
No prob. I vac once every several months if mulm is excessive, that's where the fry are so shouldn't do too often if trying to breed them. It's pea gravel from home depot (was a couple of bucks), you're right not aquarium gravel and mixed sizes.
So I am about to start something similar to this but for some reason I have gotten it into my head that BBA is going to take over the tank and be a nightmare. You know, despite the fact that Reticulated Hillstream Loaches will eat some BBA. It suddenly occured to me that you don't have BBA in this tank when I was re-watching this video. So does it never show up or do they eat it before it gets out of hand or what?
I've actually never had BBA show up in any of my freshwater tanks, may just be an issue of different water chemistries and/or lighting systems. The hillstreams do munch on all the algae types that I do get, at least to some extent, including green hair which has a somewhat similar consistency, but sorry I can't say specifically about the BBA. Maybe someone else seeing this who has direct experience here can share.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 Thanks. REALISTICALLY this should be the expected result. BBA is most often found with unstable CO2, so constantly screwing with the flow rate/ surface adjetation, trimming plants without doing a water change, and other various things that can alter the CO2 levels. Should things be consistent it should be outcompeted by other algae. Still, its good to actually hear thats the case. Thanks for the confirmation.
They are shoaling fish, so the more the merrier. I haven't kept them singly so can't comment on that, but I can say that they definitely get more courageous as their shoal gets bigger (in my case mostly from breeding).
Sorry can't, the gf would never forgive me! Though given their increasing popularity over the past few years, they are becoming increasingly available at lfs and even occasionally the big box stores.
Thank you very much for the information.
I'm from Mexico. This information has helped me a lot, since there is not much knowledge about this fish in captivity. Fortunately I was able to obtain 5 loaches and I intend to raise them.
Greetings ☺️
Thanks! I'm planning to keep them and this was very informative.
Thank you they seem happy and healthy and getting more enquistive about the food
Great Video, very informativ for me.
Thank You!
It looks great !!! I love the recreation especially the channel through the middle I’m obsessed with pathways and channels for the fish ... 😄 liked and subscribed 👍✌️❤️🐟
Really enjoyed this video. I love how they bred as a surprise for you - so many people try to get them to breed without success! Species-only biotope - it’s the best ❤️
Thanks, totally agree!
Interesting and good information. Thx for sharing. Despite your powerhead there does not seem to be a lot of current in your tank. This somehow confirms that the loaches tolerate a stream tank but don't NEED it to thrive. People also breed them successfully in planted tanks. No filtration? Remarkable. I don't see snails either that would compete with the loaches for the biofilm (Aufwuchs). All in all, thumbs up!
Great point on snails! I do have some freshwater limpets, but they're nowhere near as aggressive grazers as some of the other common hitchhikers would be. Re flow: with the pair of powerheads (second hidden behind right mopani stump) I do get a 25x per hour flow rate, which does keep things moving along nicely. Agreed on the planted tank point, I have a few of these guys in my heavily planted 75 gallon as well. As long as they have natural forage and high dissolved oxygen levels these fish can be quite adaptable.
My hope. I really want to set up a red tailed Hillstream loach river tank!
Love the video, I've recently setup a hillstream loach tank. Initial setup was fantastic as I had a lot of algae to feed them. Would love to get some more information on them from yourself. Mine appear to be doing well but haven't really taken to commercial style fish food but am still trying
Thanks! It may take them some time to adapt to pellets, but eventually they should go for high quality algae wafers. They'll also learn to eat a number of different kind of fresh vegetables (mine love spinach and will also eat zucchini). Sometimes you have to be patient with them as they figure things out, but as long as they're healthy and active and there's at least some natural algae in the tank for them to graze nothing at all to worry about
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 zuchini raw or boiled?? thanks
William jiang like 👍
Thanks!
Thanks. There is a lot of false info about keeping fish. These are super hardy fish. I have four of them in a 1 gallon tank (over three years for three of them). The tank is about 5 inches in diameter and 15 inchs tall with a small carbon and sponge filter powerhead venturi blasting a vertical stream of bubbles and water down the wall. And (shock horror) I do 66% water changes once every 6 -8 weeks (filter/water/bubble flow dependant). I have a short video of them and tank on my channel if anyone doesn't believe me. Only uploaded 2 videos so it won't be hard to find lol.
How many hours do you keep your lights on? And what temperature do you keep your tank at.
I run my lights 9 hours per day, so pretty standard. Tank is unheated with water temperature generally staying in the high 60's F. The ambient room temperature plus the heat thrown off by powerheads (and to a lesser extent by the LED lights) keeps temperature reasonably stable.
hi hi hi did you try nettle? they eat nettle ??( boiled in water minute)
Do you change water??? In your aquarium??
I'm thinking about setting up something like yours. I have 4 hillstream in my regular 55 gallon aquarium. 78° plenty of other fish, and they doing just fine...
I'm making right now what's you called "river tank manifold" instead of wave makers.
Love your aquarium....
Thanks! For the hillstream tank I do 15% weekly water changes, nothing too crazy. Those little guys have fairly low bioloads. The manifold concept can work great as well, though you may want to up the power of your pumps beyond what your target flow rate is. If you use sponges over the intakes that can really slow things down over time vs wavemakers.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 you right, didn't think about that....thx
So my tank has been going for a while, and as with all new tanks I have had pitfalls and adjustments and changes and progress. But most of them I handled with advice from people I trust OR knowledge I had acquired from my previous Tank.
But recently I ended up with a BUNCH of seed shrimp in the tank. Honestly they are going kind of nuts due to the algae in the tank and devouring it like locusts.
Have you had seed shrimp in this tank? And if so did you just ignore them and their numbers died back on their own or did you have to do something about them?
I've actually never had seed shrimp in any of my tanks before, but every tank is expected to have critters of some sort. In my hillstream tank I have freshwater limpets, copepods, and detritus worms, but none of them are particularly noticeable or problematic. As with any critter, the only way to know whether you're dealing with a temporary bloom or a more lasting infestation is to wait- if it's a bloom could take a month or so to sort out on its own.
Seems like you're on top of managing and monitoring your tank as is, but the other thing to consider is feeding- all critters love excess nutrients. If you have plenty of soft algae in the tank and the hillstreams are eating it there's really no reason to feed much else at all. Until my hillstream population grew out of control I was only directly feeding the tank once per week, and they were fat and happy.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 That once a week thing is a useful bit of info. I knew I had to cut back on feeding, as I knew that was part of the problem and I hadn't been able to aquire a bunch of loaches yet but I wasn't sure how much. This has given me a definitive number.
I’ve had a hillstream biotope for a couple of years now too. I was hoping that you’d have an idea on how to catch these little guys to thin my tank of over population. I have over 50 in my 40 long and need to know if there’s a way to catch them without destroying their tank? Can you give me any advice. Also my hillstreams go crazy for the tetra color granules.
Sounds like we're in the same boat! Perhaps you could try putting a glass jar in the aquarium with their favorite pellet/food in the bottom. Then when you have enough of them feeding you can close up the jar and pull it from your tank- hopefully without disturbing anything or scaring the others too much.
Would you be willing to sell some ?
Okay a question that I have avoided because I didn't think it super important till now.
How hard is your water do you know?
I figured a little hardness would help these guys as they come from mountain streams where erosion was high. But I have discovered that hardness will (obviously in retrospect) increase my powerhead maintenance.
But my city's water is really soft (to the point that growing plants need Calcium, Magnesium and potassium supplements) so if I just left it alone the tank would drop to less then 1 dkh in fairly short order.
So how soft is the water in this tank? And what are any other parameters you willing to share. (Specifically Temperate cause b/g algae typically hates a lot of flow yet yours is going nuts, so I am curious if that's playing a role.)
Tank is 1-2 dkh (my tap is 3-4 dkh). Mountain streams are typically rainwater fed, which means almost no alkalinity to start with, so the actual alkalinity in nature depends on what kinds of rock they are flowing through. Regardless, these guys definitely do great in soft water.
Temperature is mid to high 60's F. Tank is unheated so it fluctuates a bit but generally on the cooler end of where most people run their tanks.
Algae growth driven by intense 6500k lighting and nutrients. Different kinds of algae grow in different areas of the tank based on light/flow dynamics but overall high flow is not a problem.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 okay final questions.
Instinct tells me you probably don't gravel vac this tank. Am I right?
And what size is the gravel? Just vaguely. You keep just saying gravel but it looks more like small pebbles or large pea gravel then standard aquarium gravel.
I know lights isn't the problem as I have put two high tech lights on the tank and keep the window in the sun when possible. (That widow doesn't get much light sadly). I worked out the PAR value at one point and it was considered high light at 18 inches so I should be okay.
I can drop the dkh, which is good, as that's less maintenance.
Your temp is a bit lower then mine. (78.8) According to other breeders that shouldn't be a problem but I'll keep it in mind if I want to try something different.
Thanks again for the insight.
No prob. I vac once every several months if mulm is excessive, that's where the fry are so shouldn't do too often if trying to breed them. It's pea gravel from home depot (was a couple of bucks), you're right not aquarium gravel and mixed sizes.
So I am about to start something similar to this but for some reason I have gotten it into my head that BBA is going to take over the tank and be a nightmare.
You know, despite the fact that Reticulated Hillstream Loaches will eat some BBA.
It suddenly occured to me that you don't have BBA in this tank when I was re-watching this video.
So does it never show up or do they eat it before it gets out of hand or what?
I've actually never had BBA show up in any of my freshwater tanks, may just be an issue of different water chemistries and/or lighting systems. The hillstreams do munch on all the algae types that I do get, at least to some extent, including green hair which has a somewhat similar consistency, but sorry I can't say specifically about the BBA. Maybe someone else seeing this who has direct experience here can share.
@@kissaquaticsystems5525 Thanks. REALISTICALLY this should be the expected result. BBA is most often found with unstable CO2, so constantly screwing with the flow rate/ surface adjetation, trimming plants without doing a water change, and other various things that can alter the CO2 levels. Should things be consistent it should be outcompeted by other algae.
Still, its good to actually hear thats the case. Thanks for the confirmation.
Do hillstream loaches need friends (other hillstream loaches)
They are shoaling fish, so the more the merrier. I haven't kept them singly so can't comment on that, but I can say that they definitely get more courageous as their shoal gets bigger (in my case mostly from breeding).
My planted tank lost to algae algae 1 plant 0
Sounds like it's time to bring in the hillstream loaches and even the score!
Would you be willing to sell some ?
Sorry can't, the gf would never forgive me! Though given their increasing popularity over the past few years, they are becoming increasingly available at lfs and even occasionally the big box stores.