My Fish Tank Blog

There’s little more relaxing than watching a thriving aquarium and the wonderful  interaction between fish and their environment.  However, when things inside the aquarium cease to be wonderful, it becomes a stressful experience for both fish and fishkeeper.

A number of factors conspired (in my opinion) and contributed to what I perceive to be a persistant bullying problem in my aquarium.  I chose to add a group of seven botia sidthimunki (dwarf loaches) to my tank.  I researched first and decided that their small size and active yet peaceful nature would make them a good choice for my community aquarium.  Indeed, they are eye-catching and fun-loving fish.  Once added to my tank, they fitted in perfectly.  This continued for some months.  However, in this time, one of the loaches had grown particularly rotund.  I assumed he was probably dominant as he appeared be fulfilling a leadership role among the dwarf loach community.  At this point, I lost one of a pair of angelfish.  The dwarf loach began chasing the remaining angelfish.  The loach in question does not chase any other fish.  The other dwarf loaches generally will not get involved.

I wonder if I should have foreseen an issue between my dwarf loach and angelfish.  Much as I am a huge fan of botia sidthimunki, I am thinking that the most responsible way forward would be to rehome the loaches.  Do you agree?