# Weather loaches



## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

Anyone keep weather loaches? I love these guys!

If so can you tell me about yours, how big it is and if it's grown to that size fully and no more, (i know they can get to 18 even 20", but generally stay aorund 5-8"? in a smaller tank), edit : just read 8-10"..every care guide says something different, i just think it depends.lol
Could you tell me if you have it in a tropical or cold water tank (i know they are cold water but can withstand up to 28c, or so the guy in the shop said.)

Any habits they have, what their like with your other fish and what fish do you keep them with?

Anything else would be appreciated too. 

Ive read all about them on the net and from peoples experiences and care sheets and so on, but i want to know if anyone here keeps them?

thanks.


edit: forgot to add - I knwo that their supposed to be housed in groups or at least more than one, yet ive read so many paragraphs on the net by people who own them and only have one. They say their fun and they eat from theirs hands and they go on and on....so do they really need company? ive read soooo much on single housed ones doing very well. o.0


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

I used to have 3 in my pond, with a few koi. they were no problem to the othr fish whatsoever, but yeah they can get a bit large for tanks, my biggest was about 19" and two smaller ones were around 16/17". but yeah they were good fun


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

mike515 said:


> I used to have 3 in my pond, with a few koi. they were no problem to the othr fish whatsoever, but yeah they can get a bit large for tanks, my biggest was about 19" and two smaller ones were around 16/17". but yeah they were good fun


Whats your views on company for them then? ive read so much on ones housed on their own and no body seems to have any problems.
o.0


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## groovy chick (Aug 1, 2006)

I've never been in this part of the forum before :grin1: Anyway i had a weather loach he lived for about 5 years and he was roughly 6/7 inches. He was called Roach quite a funny little thing. We kept him with our goldfish. When it was time to clean the tank you had to watch cause he would just jump right out. On more than one occasion he would be on the floor. Funky little things though :grin1:


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

and he seemed fine by himself?

They are funny and very slippery little jumpy devils! lol

I do actually have one y'see, and he's only 3 and a half inches long, he's in a smaller tank until he grows and he'll be moved.
He loves his catfish pellets and has even had some fish eggs as my tetras were spawning yesterday.
He's in my tropical tank until my house is sorted and the tanks are in permanant place. Im just not sure on if he needs company like advised cause everyone seems to just have one.o.0
He's doing so well too, and does'nt seem to mind, he is active eating and seems happy enough. I read if their by them selves they stay still for long periods and seem listless, mine is'nt! and he's infront of me on my desk so i get to watch him all the time.
I just want peoples first hand experiences with them, as it's all very interesting.


edit: house sorted as in, we're having our bathroom and kitchen done, alot of work is going on and evreythings a right mess so our larger cold water fish are just in the hallway until everythings finished and i can start doing a better set up for them.


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

depends on the actual fish really. my bigger one was always a bit distant towards the others, usually spent his time at the other end in the plants


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

what we call a weather loach, must be something different. little greyish guys. i never had one over 4" or so. and that was big. mine in a community tank.


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## groovy chick (Aug 1, 2006)

Yeah ours was very happy by himself :grin1:


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## Venomous Poison (Jan 12, 2007)

i had one that was kept in a tank with 4 goldfish and he was oki.... and cleaning out was fun he would jump on to floor.but i had an unfortunate thing happen i had one of those castle ornaments in my tank and i came home from school one day to find he had got stuck in one of the grooves inside the castle and he died  so beware!


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

Venomous Poison said:


> i had one that was kept in a tank with 4 goldfish and he was oki.... and cleaning out was fun he would jump on to floor.but i had an unfortunate thing happen i had one of those castle ornaments in my tank and i came home from school one day to find he had got stuck in one of the grooves inside the castle and he died  so beware!


 
funny you should say that, i have a castle too, but i did think that, and am planning to take it out, at the moment he's not big enough to get stuck and he has sat in there.
But i will be replacing it soon with something nice he can hide in but wont get stuck in.



Thanks everyone for your comments, im glad all of yours dont seem to get stressed alone, as mine seems fine for the moment.
Just caught him resting his head on a ledge on the castle with his body hanging down. he's very sweet and he really does'nt mind the guppies and zebras swimming around, they all get on so well.
I'll move him when he gets a little bigger, but he's so small right now.


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## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Not being a fish keeper and knowing nothing about loaches but I was amazed when I googled for them:

"_Misgurnus anguillicaudatus_ is a true cold-water fish, and has survived being kept in ponds in Canada, but is so highly adaptable that escapees from commercial food-fish farms have succeeded in colonizing parts of many warmer countries.
Their adaptability has led to outright bans on their being imported or kept in certain places because of their adverse affects on local fauna. Hefty fines are imposed on culprits in Queensland, Australia. 
In England, a permit is required to sell or keep "Weather Loaches", but the species actually listed is _Misgurnus fossilis_, a European species."


"The fish acquired its name "Weather Fish" from their long recognized erratic behaviour during changes in barometric pressure. At these times the fish may become very active and agitated. They were kept in containers as weather predictors and historically may be one of the longest kept species of fish. 








Part of the species' ability to survive poor conditions is because of its ability to swallow atmospheric air and pass it through the gut, extracting oxygen internally. Excess air is expelled via the anus. This ability has led to fish being found alive encased in mud, with no actual water present."

Loaches Online - Community Edition — Loaches Online


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

Yeh, ive read all of those, they truely are an amazing fishy.
Ive liked them for a while, and i hope mine lives for many years to come!


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## Mez (Feb 19, 2007)

Get him some buddies!
They like company of their own species.
Are you keeping him in a cold water setup?
Ive seen a few that were kept in a tropical setup that were a least 16" long in a display tank..
Aparantly, they swim up and down the tank sides vertically to try and get out if there is a storm coming (in the wild they will go on the move when a thunderstorm comes), as they can tell by the air pressure. So the scientists say, mine used to swim up and down quite often without there being a storm anytime after..
They get very tame and curious too, especially as they get bigger.
You can keep them with anything that cant fit in their mouths and anything that wont attack them (or is territorial, their skin dosnt heal very well from bites etc and is rather susceptable to bacterial infection), or any other big-eating bottom feeder (such as large plecs/synodontis etc, but if he's cold water this wont matter anyway).
Like i said, they do like company!
James


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

Ive read so much about company on care guides,and even more on housing them singley from people who've said they never had problems or found them quiet and still. If he get's listless and not very active like it says they should when housed alone, i will get him a buddy. Right now he's active eating and seems fine.
I'll wait and see.
He's in a tropical set up right now and will be moved to a cold water one when bigger.

tbh i'll probably get him a friend anyway since they do like company, even though they seem ok on their own. I do love the species,and it'll be nice to see them interact in a bigger tank!


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

I wouldn't worry about getting him company to be honest. If you think he's be happier with more loaches then go ahead but if you think he's happy on his own then don't worry


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## Jinx (May 31, 2005)

mike515 said:


> I wouldn't worry about getting him company to be honest. If you think he's be happier with more loaches then go ahead but if you think he's happy on his own then don't worry


 
Yeh well i am not too worried right now, but as i said since i like them it would'nt hurt since they supposedly like company to get him a friend when i have a bigger tank set up.
It may turn out i wont have room, i just dont know yet.
Just waiting for my house to get finished!
It's such a mess right now as we're having the kitchen and bathroom re-done, so i have two small tanks in my room which are staying, and a larger one with fancy fish in that i want to move and maybe get a new bigger tank for when evrythings finished and i know where it's going.
It's mahem here!
lol


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## calz (Dec 24, 2008)

We had a weather loach when we started off our tropical tank,nice loach it was.happy enough it would seem to be alone,if we put our hand in he would just swim along and rest within our fingers.
Funny animals the way they act often would see him balancing on one left of a plant or resting somewhere bizzare.
unfortunately one day we changed the tank around getting a new stronger filter and when we had taken the old one out we didnt even think too seal off any areas cos he never attempted to jump out,but one day he went for the break and we was out the house for too long and we found him curled up stiff as a board on the floor.
Was fairly big loach think i got pics somewhere had him from about 3 inch in length.

we since we liked him so much we brought 3 more babies and they have the time of thier live intwinning with each other,we now have 2 males and female and they are already reaching a decent size.They in cold water tank this time on thier own,they all have funny habit of swimming up and hanging around on top of the filter,til another one comes up knocks it off and takes the place,lol

Only thing with loaches is you really do have to make sure all areas are sealed since they will try to make a break for it at any time.Sometime they just lay there in a line face beside the other looking out the glass,other times they all 3 rubbing against each other.
they for sure are not boring and always up too something.
If i get more time i show some pictures of them.


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## Xx_JoJo_xX (Feb 18, 2008)

I have a weather loach but he is only around 3 inches, had him for about 2 years, had no idea that they like company of other loaches! I might get him a friend, besides the goldfish!


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## gizzard (May 5, 2008)

how would you keep one in a pond if they keep trying to escape?


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