| Botia Modesta |
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| Common Name: Blue Loach, Orange-finned loach
Family: Cypranid Origin: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia Size: 8-10" is common in the aquarium Average life span: 20 + years Water Temp. 75-80 F PH 6.5-8.0 Best in soft water and neutral PH (7.0) Min. Tank Requirement : 75 gallon Provide plenty of cover such as plants, rocks, caves. These loaches are known for uprooting plants, but they also thrive well in planted tanks. Min amt for a school: 4 Diet: Omnivorous; they will eat just about everything. Worms and snails are a particular favorite. Behavior as I see it in my tank: I�ve 4 of these guys and although everything I�ve read says they are shy, I honestly don�t see that behavior in my tank. All 4 have taken up residence in a very large cave (castle) and come out to eat and play at all times of the day and night. Most of their play is during the evening hours, so I keep a dim light on the tank to watch them. They chase each other thru out the tank, sometimes upsetting their tank mates. They also swim around in tight circles chasing each others tails, or so it seems. I have sat and watched them play like this for over 20mins. one night! I�ve a few other caves in the tanks and you can see them chasing in and out of the caves, always clicking away happily. They are very social fish so I advise anyone interested in acquiring them, to get at the very least, 4. My tank had malaysian trumpet snails at one time, now it doesn�t. These modesta�s love their snails! I feed them mts�s as a snack food when my other tanks begin to get crowded. They are big eaters and will eat just about everything I put into the tanks, even swimming to the top if there is food floating. They are primarily bottom dwellers. At the moment my modesta�s are reaching a solid 4" ea. The ideal tank mates for modesta�s are large gouramis, barbs and semi-aggressive cichlids. Stay away from small fish such as neons, or fish with long fins such as Angel Fish. I�d also advise to have this fish as the only bottom dwelling fish. These modesta�s dominate the bottom tank when at play and will easily upset other bottom fish, such as corys. |
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