How I Bred Reticulated Hillstream Loaches at Home

In this video I'll show you how I bred Reticulated Hillstream Loaches in a simple ten gallon aquarium.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Thanks for watching! Feel free to leave questions in the comments if you have them, and If you enjoyed this video, consider subscribing to see future projects.

[@tropy7]

thanks for the great video

[@melissaturner1737]

Your channel is new to me so I’m not sure if you’ve addressed this but what water parameters do you have? Do you ever really adjust your PH?

[@MakeMoreFish]

@@melissaturner1737 I would describe my water as medium soft with a neutral pH. I very rarely mess with it. Crushed coral or aragonite in tanks with Africans, RO water sometimes mixed in the soften things up more for some south Americans. My water works well for me generally

[@melissaturner1737]

Thank you I have 6 beauforia and 4 reticulated that I’d love to spawn since they aren’t common where I’m from.

[@Constantine_Cvl8]

Will you ever attempt to breed a Gastromyzon species? Considering how the only records known so far are from a German magazine and a passing mention by Rachel O'Leary

[@Estipi18]

I like it, straight forward, no unnecessary speeches, good timeskips and all the info you've collected ,shared Awesome!

[@McQuackeen]

Wow definitely not convetional like what alot of forums say as well. You proved alot of them wrong. Very informative and detailed video with fry vids as well. Thanks for that!

[@daduck87]

I'm sitting here watching this video because my hillstreams started chasing each other. So I wanted to confirm it was breeding behaviors. I look back at my tank and poof big poof of eggs. Seen them hooked up and all. That timing was great.. lol

[@PureAndShrimple]

Definitely on my bucket list!

[@feralon9570]

I came here because I found babies in my 20 long. I've had my two loaches for about two years, I added a massive piece of driftwood to the tank and poof, babies! I needed advice on care of the little ones. Thanks for the video, it was a huge help!

[@pelhamsaquatics]

The breeding programs you share are the best ! Thank you for all of these, I appreciate your work very much🙂👍🏻

[@homeaquatics2289]

Truly an amazing and interesting video. Keep up the good work!

[@alexnguyen3022]

Your channel is an absolute gem. I learned a ton from it and managed to breed my loaches for the first time after almost a year. Thank you so much.

[@scottdaniels3033]

Badass! Love the species and you just showed a very simple way to keep them. Well done.❤

[@toastercosmique4390]

impressive, we will watch your carrier with great interest.

[@korikibou2177]

Clear and informative. Loved it.

[@haleydevore8057]

Great video! Lots of great info without the fluff. Good speaking/editing skills, easy to understand. Particularly impressed with the unique insight, proving conventional wisdom false. Really like your point about the difference between “what the fish is built to ensure vs. what they prefer “, which I’m sure could extend to many other species and situations. Subscribed, and looking forward to more of your videos.

[@Roonlovesfish3874]

This is so instructive! Thank you so much for disseminating all the information. 🙂

[@MakeMoreFish]

You are very welcome, thanks for watching!

[@tauneantonio6121]

thank you for the information, I really like how you presented it.

[@stevenalves9859]

Great video! Very detailed and informative. Hillstream Loaches are some of my favourite, but I've never been able to breed them. I will definately try adding more protein to their diet. Thank you.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Thank you! And best of luck, let me know if it works out

[@hanhtay2924]

Wow thank you so much. I am so glad i found your channel. Keep it up

[@netandjer7024]

once again great video!

[@heykerryann]

I love my loach. He looks up at me with puppy dog eyes and then flutters his little fins. Very protective over his best buddy the Cory. Nice videos. ✌️

[@SlickNick3]

Great video Lowell that looks like a nice setup for them I agree they prefer the nice round rocks like what you have! The fry are adorable

[@MakeMoreFish]

Aren't they? When they were little they were white with black spots like holstein cows.

[@SlickNick3]

Very cool! I may have to give them a try sometime. Looks like a fun project

[@JJLewin1]

Great Video, I have noticed two of mine seemed to have paired up and have been dancing around together. Fingers crossed that there may be a few baby's at some time. The Hillstream Loach is a lovely creature. We have them in all of our tanks.

[@andycarter4581]

Great information, thanks

[@LRBaquatics]

Great video!

[@UrosHajdin]

on a binge. great videos! im looking to open up a small shop from my garage!

[@mcs1048sru]

Appreciate you making this video. Love hillstream loaches and it’s so nice to see them thriving in a 10g considering my wife doesn’t have the same passion for aquatic life as I do lol. Nevertheless great video, going to try to model this

[@Ceretrea]

Very interesting! The difference between what a creature likes and what it endures should be a lessen to all of us who are trying to provide natural setups. Hillstream loaches being omnivorous is my learning point for today! Algae must be used as a fall back food rather than a staple, given you didn't have much in there and they left the diatoms in favour of more nutritious food.

[@dbielby]

It would be interesting to compare how these breed with plecos! Thanks for the well done video! Appreciate your hard work on this. Thank you.

[@ESF19791111]

GREAT EXPLAINING VIDEO :) LOVING THE SETUP :) THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)

[@tylerwaren5959]

Great video

[@donnacastledine]

Really interesting so thank you..I was video hopping as I have two in a large tank along with various frogs, guppies, cherry shrimp, wood shrimp, Khuli loach and I noticed some behaviours so I wondered if they were possibly mating behaviours..definitely an interesting addition to my aquarium

[@MakeMoreFish]

It's hard to tell. They wrestle with eachother frequently and that behavior doesn't seem to depend on sex of either participant. I figure at some point that interaction can end in a spawn but for as many hours as I've watched, I haven't actually seen a spawn. Not that I know of.

[@Guppy_Girl]

amazing! thank you for sharing.

[@emadsamimi9652]

Your videos are amazing thank u 👍🏼♥️

[@MakeMoreFish]

Thanks so much!

[@garageaquatics2023]

Thanks, Lowell. ~Ron

[@pelhamsaquatics]

Dibs on the fry my friend!!😂

[@garageaquatics2023]

@@pelhamsaquatics Deal!

[@peridot-20]

Great Info 👍 My Hillstream breed in a community tank in hard water of Ph 7.6, temp nearly 76.6F / 22c on heater but i have high flow from canister, U4 and 2 airstones but mine feed of Diatoms in the tank which is extra food sauce besides fine bug bite granules besides Tetra tabimin tablets and doing a water change at 72F kicks them off more.

[@richardwaldhouse8067]

Thank you 😊

[@PotooBurd]

They are so cute 🥰

[@shimimaru9796]

So very cute, now I have it 4, and I hope I can make them breed like you

[@ciaronmackle5807]

Ive three they're a beautiful little fish

[@allonekingdom]

You make really informative videos about reproduction Lowell

[@Terrario_YouTube]

Another interesting video 👍 I like your work 🤩 May I please use part of your video for one of my next tutorial ? Thanks Marc

[@willembastiaan743]

I bred a lot of Sewellia Lineolata and also the Sewellia Albisuera in the past. The key to succes was mainly lots of fresh water changes. It activated the mating process. They never got brine shrimp or similar stuff and they were only given dried food. But I had a lot of detritus worms in the aquarium. Maybe that was helping in the breeding process. Be carefull with the you ones. If they don't have the flat shape yet, they tend to stress out easy and die from stress.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Thanks for sharing, water changes work wonders.

[@KuyaFincher]

I would love to see u trying to breed Borneo suckers (Gastromyzons)... I suggest you should try😊

[@alwaysanovice]

Awesome tutorial! My son and I have been considering a 4-20 gallon long breeding setup. All suggestions are welcome.. Much Love, Coop.

[@lisasaxon7828]

Hi, new subber here. Just checking out Sewellia Lineolata scapes n breeding as iv had two males for a year and just acquired 3 females for them. Very hard to get these in my area plus when you can they are $50 aust each… I have been keeping my two males in with my Rams originally for most of the year but if 4 months ago I had to add to my Pea pUffer tank as the Rams have been breeding and didn’t want anything to predate on their eggs/fry. I have set up a 60 litre - 15 g tank with a lot of my existing rocks from other tanks and a large section of used wood (I may remove that wood when tank is cycled or leave in?) I had so much old ControSoil substrate that I used that instead of having to go source new sand/gravel etc. the rocks I’ve used are a mix of granite as some of your are, some regular river rocks and I think smooth quarts stone. It will be cycling for a month but during that time I will add siphoned water from my other 2 tanks to give things a kick start, plus swapping over a used sponge filter. I have been trying to cut back on number of tanks, last year up to 7 😩😳 as it’s just too much work and I have bad neck, back n wrist so maintenance becomes super hard and I tend to neglect water changes. I just recently got tanks down to only *2*….yay🎉…but now having to set up a Lineolata specific tank means up to 3 again. My 2 breeding pairs of Dark x Rams iv placed in a long 76 litre (a bit like those 20 g longs in the US) and I’ve placed a divider midway so each pair can spawn without feeling threats of others. I really like they way you speak and you sound well informed. Nice lil tank and I’m going I have the same luck in breeding as you have. I love watching my two lads flitting m Shloopin about and now the ladies are on the scene (although on,y half the lads size ) there’s been a lot more flitting n Shlooping…lol Let’s hope I see some fry soon, although while still in the Pea Puffer /Kubotai tank lil Shloop era may not survive … Can’t wait for them to be in their own tank so things can really start happening. Lisa… Perth West Australia 💙

[@MakeMoreFish]

You Australians don't mess around! So many ambitious breeders over there. I love it. Sounds like you've got some great projects going on. I hope and expect that you'll have no trouble with the hillstream loaches in an appropriate setup. Good luck :)

[@Dobromir_Chodkowski]

Another very interesting video of yours! Congratulations on the fry. The baby brine shrimp in such big amounts you buy or breed yourself?

[@MakeMoreFish]

I hatch them each day from dehydrated eggs. They are very helpful for feeding young or small fish

[@ZtP90000]

Will pest snails gonna be a problem in the tank where we breed them ?

[@brianlong1060]

Any recommendations on where to buy genuine sewellia loaches (reticulated HSL)? I've tried my LFS and one online retailer and generically advertised hillstream loaches seem to always be another species (typically spotted not striped). Great vid! Fantastic fish!

[@MakeMoreFish]

Spotted sounds like the Chinese butterfly loaches. Also very cool. I've never ordered them online but I remember seeing them on flipaquatics' website for sale. Many other vendors seem to be having a hard time getting them in stock

[@EcoHabitat90]

Very informative video.. well done.. how do you water change in this aquarium.. i think vacuuming might suck up the eggs that are scattered in the sand.. are you removing water from the surface only? How often you water change?. Thank you in advance

[@MakeMoreFish]

You're right, I didn't gravel vac at all until after fry had hatched and even then, very carefully until they got bigger. I changed water very little at first then as they grew and needed more food, I was changing water every day or two

[@EcoHabitat90]

@@MakeMoreFish That was a very clear reply thanks a lot.. Keep up the good work... Subscribed to get interesting updates from you ❤️❤️

[@prash11leo]

I have 3 Borneo sucker loaches.. I've only seen them on the glass walls I hope the algae or diatoms there will be sufficient for them.. I've never seen them sifting through sand or on rocks (I have only lava rocks and it's probably too sharp for them)

[@valiaudet3415]

Yep lava Rock and dragon stones are sharp. Switch to smooth. You'll love their antics on smooth stones

[@jungleman4800]

Get pool filter sand. Mine love it.

[@Sinserg]

The fact that they don't eat their fry it's amazing.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Yes it is. They certainly seem to be omnivorous but maybe not predatory. Maybe just opportunistically carnivorous

[@Sinserg]

@@MakeMoreFish I see, well congrats I'll be super excited if I could get a fish like that to breed. 😃

[@GiovanniGiorgio-sy1br]

Hi,Your videos are amazing thank u , i have 3 of Hillstream Loaches 1 male 2 female and but there is no sign of frying 😮‍💨😢😭

[@TheBSideDJ]

are snales not eating eggs ?

[@briangrant2426]

How I breed HIlstream Loaches: buy 6 HSL's, bring home, put in tank, they start breeding and never stop. Easy peasy. I can't imagine the horrible conditions they would need to be in for them NOT to breed!

[@The_real_LMat]

How do you sex them?

[@The_real_LMat]

Can they breed in a 10 gallon?

[@briangrant2426]

@@The_real_LMat I don't see why not.

[@KeepingFishSimple]

Great videooooo

[@MakeMoreFish]

Well thank you sir, enjoyed your interview with Malik. Great conversation

[@SPIDERKING777]

I'd love some of them if you still breed them

[@djmitchell3938]

Where did you get the coarse sand?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Cemex 30 mesh Monterey sand. My LFS sells it by the pound and as 50 lb bags but I believe it can also be found at hardware stores

[@tomyplayz7118]

Hi, sorry for the late comment but I would like to ask about the permanent tank size required for a Hillstream Loach, would 20g work?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Hmm my judgement is skewed now. All I do is keep too many fish in a tank. I think a 20 gallon would be just fine.

[@rebeccahopper6472]

I know this is old, but I was wondering do you do water changes and clean the gravel?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Yes, with a python. Less aggressively on the gravel cleaning if I think there are eggs scattered around

[@bass55man]

Which repashey formula did you use 7:58

[@MakeMoreFish]

I think that was soilent green.

[@richardmatthys7133]

Where do you get the repasy cubes?

[@MakeMoreFish]

When I make my repashy I pour it into mini ice cube trays to get the cubes. Here's a short video demonstrating kzbin.info/www/bejne/aarKiWiXq5afnMU

[@rrrrrr-ry3cn]

Do you think the loaches would mind/ the fry get eaten by endlers?🤔 thinking on trying in my own tank

[@MakeMoreFish]

The adults wouldn't mind having other small fish around, not in my experience anyway. Some fry might get eaten but building piles of small rocks can create lots of crevices where the fry can be safe until they are too large to be eaten by the endlers.

[@macro820]

How many babies do they have at a time ? We just found a baby in our tank but we're only seeing one of them

[@MakeMoreFish]

I'm not quite sure what the range of spawn sizes is. Mine totaled in the 30s but I have a feeling it was more than one spawn. I bet if you look around you might find more than one.

[@ryanaka9336]

hi sir, sorry for the late comment but i would like to ask the tank mate, Can I add small shrimp and tetra fish to the breeding tank?

[@MakeMoreFish]

I wouldn't worry about shrimp and as long as there are rocks or other structures for the fry to hide in, adding other fish might be ok. Though it is a risk of predation. In almost all cases I prefer species only tanks when the goal is maximizing fry survival

[@ryanaka9336]

@@MakeMoreFish thank sir

[@thegreekanimalkeeper]

so if i am not mistaken you just feed them and they breed??

[@MakeMoreFish]

Without predators in the tank, yes. Pretty much.

[@richardmatthys7133]

Mine love zucchini a lot

[@takeover4726]

do snails eat their eggs?

[@valence124]

Hi we have 4 hillstreams at least one male, but they are in a 20 gallon guppy fry grow out tank, do you think it would be possible to breed them in there? Also what were the cube food called thank you.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Yes, definitely. You can build a pile of smooth rocks to make a place for the loach fry to stay safe until they're big enough not to be eaten by guppies. The cube food is repashy. If you scroll back a little on my channel there's a video all about how to make the cubes

[@valence124]

@@MakeMoreFish thank you. I liked the repashy video too, but one more question if that's okay. Which repashy would you recommend as I see there's a few different ones. I've also ordered mini ice cube tray too lol.

[@MakeMoreFish]

@@valence124 I used soilent green and community blend. Maybe even spawn and grow. Personally I don't think hillstream loaches are algae eaters I think they're omnivores. They did fine for me on a protein diet. If I had to pick one I think community blend. Your guppies will like it too

[@BenRongey]

What temp did you keep the water at?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Room temp, 70-74

[@BenRongey]

@@MakeMoreFish Thanks! Really enjoy your videos.

[@marct138]

Most eggs will end up in the sponges?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Fish eggs in my observation are denser than water and in the absence of strong current don't travel much laterally. They typically sink to the bottom and would be unlikely to be caught by a sponge filter unless it was coarse foam and running on very high air pressure.

[@user-bc2wp9cd1p]

if keeping them with shrimps will they breed?

[@MakeMoreFish]

I think so

[@greenthumbaquariums1185]

Any tricks for getting hillstream loaches off of the glass and into a net?

[@MakeMoreFish]

I use a net to lift them up above the water line then carefully work a thin flat plastic object like a credit card or putty knife under their tail, lifting gently until it breaks the anal fins' grip on the tank glass. They fall straight down into the net.

[@greenthumbaquariums1185]

@@MakeMoreFishThat sounds very promising. I almost want to try it now even though I don't need to move any :-)

[@robinjongmans2020]

how long does it takes to grow them up?

[@MakeMoreFish]

4-5 months till I was comfortable selling them

[@robinjongmans2020]

@@MakeMoreFish thx!

[@aperson336]

Are you going to sell them

[@craigquinn8225]

soft water is the key here but the good diet helps

[@gmwsgmws3741]

How often did you change the water and how?

[@MakeMoreFish]

not often at all before babies hatched. Afterwards once the juveniles were eating a large amount of food each day I was changing a ton of water. Every day or so. I do water changes with a python

[@gmwsgmws3741]

@@MakeMoreFish is once a week often enough?

[@MakeMoreFish]

@@gmwsgmws3741 Totally depends on tank size and how much food you are feeding, very hard to say but easy to judge over time by testing water. For a few adults, once a week is probably more than enough. once population gets dense that might not cut it

[@barryjames3747]

My LFS is currently charging £15 each for these little buggers. The prices always fluctuate with fish, especially here in the UK , so this looks like a possible lucrative project.

[@MakeMoreFish]

Approximately $15 here but they don't move in high volume. I think people have been scared off by thinking they need a specialized environment.

[@Ishiisan]

I wish you were local! I can’t find these guys 😩

[@MakeMoreFish]

Me too, I wish I could pass more fish on to people who are actively seeking them out. I hope you find some!

[@tomkielty1191]

What's the cube food please?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Repashy soilent green and community blend

[@tomkielty1191]

@@MakeMoreFish thank you

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

What happens with your Paramecium? I don't see that you give it to your fry.?

[@MakeMoreFish]

They aren't ideal for every scenario but I use them frequently. They'll appear again in future videos I'm sure

[@HeyItsCeeJay]

You were stuck on 666 likes, I couldn't let that stand lol.... YW 🤣

[@MakeMoreFish]

the curse is lifted

[@talonjuel2098]

Do you sell them?

[@talonjuel2098]

I forgot I made this comment, 9 months later I now have 5 and hope to breed them soon

[@leemcglinchey5776]

I want to get 4bove these but everyone I know or see utube videos they have them in lower 70s my tanks at 82 that's been best for me having my gbr rams & apistogramma cacatuious I have only just had my pair ove apistogramma macmasteri so don't know about then at min keep showing signs but nothing solid or like going into cave to spawn just yet but keeping my fingers crossed with that would the hillstream loaches be OK in conditions around 82 some breeders have had them spawing in 85s but don't want to get the buddle ove joys have them die on me as they are quite expensive will cost me 9.50 each or 2 for 18 pound

[@Aquafinity]

Great video Lowell! Your fish look very nice! New supporter + fellow fishtuber here! You're welcome to join my fish community as well. FishFamUnites! ✊

[@MakeMoreFish]

Thank you, and welcome

[@robestey5628]

Just an excellent video - thank you. I now know I have a little male. Time to find him a girlfriend.

[@bipuldangol]

So the snails in the tank didn't eat the eggs?

[@MakeMoreFish]

Evidently not, or at least not all of them.

[@dunidudilshan1236]

I am Sri Lankan. I like to breed this fish in Sri Lanka. What are the environmental factors required to breed this fish?

[@thekaizer666]

environmental factors must first include having a brain, since you already have at least one functioning ear and eye, and at least one hand. everything was explained in the video, did you even watch it?

[@kenjiro2676]

Hopefully people don’t breed adults that eat fry, don’t want them passing down that trait, if it’s a trait at all.

[@juli8vdberg562]

They don’t eat algae… they eat micro organisms like shrimps etc etc… micro organisms eat algae and not one fish ever does

[@MakeMoreFish]

well that second part is probably not true. Superlatives are hard to apply to fish.

[@juli8vdberg562]

@@MakeMoreFish find me one fish that really truly only consumes algae

[@MakeMoreFish]

@@juli8vdberg562 Oh I wouldn't say that about any fish I know of. That would be another superlative and that's my point. We don't know enough to say always, never, none, or only. Now I tend to believe that even fish we consider to be herbivores or algae eaters are really omnivores, but I don't know that, and I can't know that with certainty. But are there fish that eat algae predominantly or preferentially? I would imagine so. The way that trophic levels work out in ecological niches, I would have a hard time believing that there aren't some examples out there. It's a big world and really, the only way to be absolutely wrong is to be absolutely certain of anything.

[@Jerry4baker]

Only took 1 video for me to subscribe to your channel It was the outdoor daphnia video. I have wanted to breed hillstream loaches for a long time this might be some help

[@gr_aquatics]

Great video!!