![]() This will be appreciated greatly by all residents of the aquarium, especially any botia or loach. Weekly water changes will also keep your dissolved organic levels down to a minimum. Performing small weekly water changes of 10% to 20% and placing an airstone in the aquarium will provide plenty of oxygen. Like most botia, the zebra loach does benefit from higher oxygen levels in the water. Although they prefer softer water, they tolerate a wide range of pH vaues (6.5 to 8.0) and can also tolerate temperatures from 75 F to 82 F, so long as the temperature is stable. Botia striata are relatively undemanding fish to keep in a home aquarium. The zebra loach hails from clear mountain streams in India, where it lives in shoals of several individuals and feeds on crustaceans, insect larvae, worms, and soft plant material. They are yellow in color with diagonal black striations. While the clown loach reaches a size of nearly 40 cm (16 in.) the modest zebra loach only attains a size of around 10cm (4in.) A curious and attractive addition to your tank, the zebra loach has the typical torpedo – shaped body of most botia. While many people look to the clown loach ( Chromobotia macracanthus) to help rid their tanks of pesky snail populations, there are several small species of Botia that are perhaps a better, smarter solution for tanks under 150 gallons. This is often the best and most efficient way to remove snails in any tank. Biological control involves using snail eating fish to remove the snails from your tank. One can see that neither of these methods offer complete control. Another mechanical solution is physically removing the individual snails by hand. The jar is placed in the tank at night and removed in the morning. Mechanical control consists of trapping the snails with a jar that contains a leaf of lettuce. That leaves aquarists with two choices : mechanical or biological snail control. Since many of the snail killing products on the market today contain copper, they are not a wise choice to use in planted aquariums because of the sensitivity of those plants to copper. ![]() With the rise in popularity of tropical planted aquariums, people are also beginning to look for new solutions to aid in snail prevention and eradication. He’s been an aquatics supervisor at TFP since 2007. His interests and expertise lie in both Old World and New World Cichlids, tropical planted tanks, and marine reef aquaria. He’s been involved with the retail fish trade since 1996, and served as Director of Freshwater Fish at top stores in Atlanta and San Diego. Craig’s another of our fish room experts. Please welcome Craig Beauchamp to That Fish Blog. ![]()
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