What You May Not Know About Hillstream Loach Aquarium Fish

Hello today I want to share with you my experience keeping reticulated hillstream loaches. Hopefully this will help some people and some fish :) Hope you all enjoy! If you love clean Homebred top quality aquatics check out the site below. Thanks for your time! :D
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[@phreakerbythespeaker9902]

I seriously laughed out loud when you stuck your finger in the water and said "yeah...75, 74 degrees or so"

[@lisac5287]

Interesting topic Lucas. Certainly they appear to be designed for high flow. But I think we sometimes conclude that what a fish tolerates in the wild is what they require or even prefer. They breed readily for me in a 20 long with a simple sponge filter.

[@meganmoncure8234]

These are definitely on my list! Thanks for all the great info!

[@toetoe160]

You are so good in this, love to watch you.

[@VetAquatics]

I love these guys! I had one for quite a while, it was a super cool fish to keep. They look awesome.

[@josemontalvo4532]

Nice vid. I enjoyed watching. Thank you for sharing.

[@scallywagintexas7648]

Still setting up my fish room. I may have to try and breed these little guys. Thanks for the video Lucas! Hope to see you at Aquashella Dallas 2020

[@catfishcave379]

Mine are breeding like rabbits-I keep them at 71 degrees until summer pushes it up. Aquaclear 110 on a 40B. Big rocks, wood, some sand, some gravel and live plants. Tank mates are LF white clouds. They love shrimp pellets! Lots of algae. The fry are SO CUTE!

[@TamNguyen811]

what's your initial number of loaches and rate, what's the lighting period? do you have videos on them?

[@catfishcave379]

@@TamNguyen811 I started with six. Fluval 3.0 lighting at 50% with lotus plants - lights ramp up and down over 12 hours. Sorry, I don’t make videos. Also devour bug bites.

[@angelad.redcay738]

This is very encouraging. I’m on a waiting list at my lfs for one of these.

[@GlassSurfing]

Thanks for sharing this! Awesome

[@klcpca]

Hillstream Loaches are my favorite fish!! My "dream tank" is a 40B set up much like Rachel's 150.... maybe someday!!! Thanks for the great info on these awesome little fishes!!! 💖💖💖

[@JradIronman]

Good to know thanks Lucas!

[@aloratalyn]

The most adorable thing evee was when he gobbled that piece of food down lol I feel like the more we breed fish in captivity the less they require the parameters that their wild counterparts do.

[@jackanddan]

we love our hillstreams.....Jack has 8 in his set up and they do kung fu battle sometimes too.....very fun to watch....he absolutely loves them and we are hoping they breed for him after we get done with his renovations and they can settle in better....

[@AussieAquatic]

Awesome little fish......….Great video :)

[@mytropicalhobby3567]

Great video, thinking about getting some for my tanks

[@tinadoyle3803]

Learned a lot thanks.

[@jjxtwo1]

I like your style of fishkeeping. 👍

[@cjfilenius1446]

It’s always fun trying to keep count of the fish

[@YashasYo]

Really helpful video

[@Love4Aquatics]

Awesome info thanks!! Could you please do a vid on your half beaks? Similar to this? Basic care etc.

[@GoldfishCorner]

Well done Lucas!

[@fishiontanktics9356]

I love my hillstream loach tip of the fin is red. Awesome fish.

[@deborahsoviak101]

Digging that music👍😁oh, the video was great too😂😂

[@madfishdiva]

After keeping and breeding these fish for over two years I’ve definitely noticed that traditional wisdom on this fish does vary significantly. I began with seven and now have 28+. I think I have been successful because of huge water changes.

[@danzo5521]

Could you give some tips for breeding them

[@madfishdiva]

@@danzo5521 Sure. I have a couple of videos on their set up and perimeters, but you are welcome to email me.

[@danzo5521]

@@madfishdiva Thanks! I subscribed

[@AussieAquatic]

Fantastic!!!

[@Arks123]

Nice spotlight 👍

[@DaniKenAquatics]

Love the Loaches very cool !!!!!

[@sharronmiller451]

Love all the a Hillstream loaches. I have them and Panda Garras.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

I really like your snails. I'm slowly setting up a planted tank with cherry shrimp and various snails. Right now I have mystery snails, wild ram's horn snails (which stay tiny) and nerite snails. Inverts are so underrated! One of the fish that I've heard can live with breeding shrimp are hillstream loaches. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them.

[@wildheartaquatics799]

I love your channel and your awesome aquariums. We were told that out Hillstream Loaches wouldn't breed. I have lots of videos on my page that they indeed do lol.

[@bodianbear2411]

This is ground breaking stuff man great job Only Problem in my area Can get to 37-41°c with very high humidity

[@sharronmiller451]

Love them!!

[@KGcichlids]

Great video, interesting behavior of your panda garra

[@ReneesZooTube]

I've avoided keeping them due to the high flow requirement. After seeing this, maybe I'll put them back on my list for the future. 😊 Thanks for this!

[@tonyhind6992]

I have found they can live in low to no flow. Easy fish to keep.

[@mstevens6723]

Im trying one. I too kept hearing "high flow is required" and was bummed that id have to wait for a different tank set up to get some. But as i researched, it became super clear that they dont require the high flow to be happy. Even breeding for multiple respected fishtubers up to 80 degrees (max end). The common denominator for success seems to be fed well, rock piles, good water and most important, CONSISTENCY. high tolerance to ph range, hardness etc just needs to be consistant. Im so glad i dug a little deeper because i will definately be trying these little guys!

[@charlesblack2523]

I have been wanting some hillstream loaches for a while . I think they are beautiful fish

[@charlesross9260]

Yeah they are just neat fun little fish

[@shesellsfish]

Ok...officially just blew my mind. I did a lot of research on these guys, watched and paid attention to Rachel's hillstream tank and Mad Fish Diva's tank...and here you come along and blow it all out of the water...nope don't need high oxygen, nope don't need fast flow...nope don't need special food...water, rocks, plants, and Tetra Color Tropical Granules...😂

[@goobot1]

Just like how people think goldfish only like cold water just because they are tolerant of it. They actually do like warm water.

[@mred9335]

Love these.you forgot to mention, a lid is a absolute must! they will jump out of the tank. dont ask me how i know.

[@V1kte]

He didn't mention it because as you see he doesn't have one :D. His setup simply defies laws of nature xD.

[@AquaMalik]

thank you so much for this!!! a lot of people need to see this 100% also whats the temp in the discus tank ? my discus are in 76/77F water in winter unheated tanks! and doing well! love your tanks! definitely sharing this one! cheer bud

[@LRBaquatics]

I have been running my discus at 83-84 F.

[@TimsBitsnPieces]

Hi Lucas, they are beautiful looking fish. I'm going to see if we have them here in Australia as i'd love a few of them... what no filter?? OMG how bad of you.. haha.. keep up the great work your doing. Just a quick question.. what is the difference between these and the Hillstream Loaches? I gather the colour as these are black but other things ??

[@Ephem13]

I put sponges on all my intakes. It protects shrimp, sucker fish, catches large particulate, provides a great place for many plants to grow, is perfect for bacteria...it's hard to find a reason not to use sponges.

[@Ishiisan]

I want these guys!

[@BeeKayCee911]

I love my 4 Hillstreams🥰

[@AquariumCop]

Love em' ✌️💞

[@caewalker9276]

Thanks Lucas. I've been getting lots of algae on some big rocks prepping for some Hillies. Probably the only fish I've wanted to keep for a second time.

[@gino.from.chicago]

Hey awesome video! Could I add a group of them in a 40 breeder bare bottom with 4 fancy goldfish that are about the size of a golf ball? I’ve always wanted to keep these little guys! Thanks bro!

[@cosmicthespider7974]

I’ve got a hillstream loach in my betta tank. It lives in 82 degree water and he does just fine. He always knocks my rabbit snail off the glass 😂

[@whitewolf5886]

i love it the panda garras, you made a video of them? i got them recently and i would love to know more things about them

[@LRBaquatics]

I love them too and still have some and are on the breeding bucket list but havent made a specific video on them yet.

[@whitewolf5886]

@@LRBaquatics i have two of them, i would add 1 or 3 more, when i finish the cycling of my new 38g Cause i think they're getting a little stressed, by this fights of hierarchy.

[@whitewolf5886]

@@LRBaquatics i need to find and add more hiding spots for them. Only had one at the moment.

[@whitewolf5886]

@@LRBaquatics i will wait for that video to be made, by the moment, have a good day 💖🌺

[@ChrisJaanes]

I have 2 and I love them a lot, one is a "Borner Sucker" and the other is this variant, though they like to constantly fight gliding around the glass surfaces trying to push one another around. It does worry me a bit 'cause I like things to be pretty chill so I may have to split them up if it carries on because I'm not entirely sure they're not gonna stress each other out too much even if they don't really do any physical damage!

[@user-kw5mw8jp8o]

I don’t know if you’ll read this or what has happened to them but it’s best to keep 1 or more then 3

[@ChrisJaanes]

They were the last 2 in the shop when I got them, thankfully I've got two tanks and was able to split them up ^^@@user-kw5mw8jp8o

[@Cinnamon_Cinnamoroll]

I put em in a tank with a betta and they been foing pretty good actually

[@chevyfish4028]

The only reason I never got this particular hillstream loach was the high flow conditions. Might have to rethink this. Thanks for your info Lucas on such a cool fish.

[@stelthtenau]

Same. Might b nice with a betta and bumblebees

[@angelshredz_2156]

Fluval Flex ?

[@BlatentlyFakeName]

Not sure where the myth came from. You just need to keep water moving and expose it to air to oxygenate it.

[@mstevens6723]

Its because in the wild they are typically in high flow fast moving streams, not always but primarily. Well.......our fishtanks arent wild lol. They can do well in this condition but also do exceedingly well without it. But i assume thats where that myth started lol

[@TenOfClub]

Right, in southeast asia, We don't spoiled them like giving them some strong sucktion power head..

[@kevinking7860]

I have ordered 8 of these as I think they would be happier in a small shoal

[@Zezhuanth_Irthos]

was that a guppy in there with the loaches? what kind is it because I love both!!!

[@krisdog88]

Mine like to climb up IN the filter up the output flow. Silly critters!

[@MrZH190]

Lucas Rocks!

[@kabong1978]

I have a tank with pea gravel substrate. I keep a small glass dish of sand with 2 small freshwater clams in the same tank. The bowl is just so I can keep track and actually see the clams. I frequently see the hillstreams in that dish sifting away at the sand. They flip it up onto their backs and just sift away.

[@LRBaquatics]

Ever seen eggs?

[@kabong1978]

@@LRBaquatics unfortunately not. I need to get a couple more to make sure that's even possible. I'm about an hour south of Indianapolis and need to make a trip north when I get a chance. We don't have any decent fish stores around where I live.

[@saradenhollander3768]

Since there have been several individuals negatively commenting on Lucas’s way of keeping these fish, I thought I should suggest to everyone that you may want to check out Cory from Aquarium CO-OP KZbin channel. He has bred and raised these fish in cool and warm water temperatures. He has bred these fish in low and high flow water. So just because Lucas is keeping his fish this way does not make it wrong. He is simply stating an opinion that I feel we should consider as not all information on the internet is accurate.

[@mr.monitor.]

That long fin danio is huge. You must have had that a while.

[@LRBaquatics]

Thanks for noticing most people wouldn’t! 👍

[@giraffeyjackie]

How often do you change water with no filter? Loving your take on the hobby 🐠💙🐠

[@LRBaquatics]

Sometimes every other week sometimes months.

[@emilefarmer8513]

Great vid, thanks ! Do you know the exact latin name for this particular hill stream loach?

[@LRBaquatics]

sewellia lineolata

[@velidae]

Do you think 1 betta, 6 kuhli loaches, and 3 hillstream loaches would be ok in a 15 gallon? I'll probably have 10-20 shrimp in there also. Looks like you have quite a few in a small tank. People seem to say hillstream loaches are only suitable for 20 gallons or higher, is this true?

[@aubreebey1]

I know im late but my tank is constantly at 79 might jump up to 81 during water changes.... you think they would survive i got 55 gallon high flow cuz my filter is rated for a 110 gallon and a bubble wall and air stone...

[@jonstfrancis]

Some of these species come from streams with large fluctuations in flow due to the monsoon season. So I suspect they spend a lot of time in shallow puddled areas when the water levels drop. Never had much luck with them though, what do you feed them? I think good lighting helps with a biofilm for them to munch on.

[@LRBaquatics]

Biofilm probably helps alot with gut bacteria and sorts. I feed them tetra color tropical granules.

[@jonstfrancis]

@@LRBaquatics Interesting, thanks Lucas. Will buy them granules if I try again with the hillstream loaches.

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

If these are kept with Rainbow fish.CLown loaches..do they protect the spawn? So that they are able to reproduce in a large tank with lots of structure and lots of Rainbows,small barbs also?

[@michaela-be4le]

Pandas and hillstreams, two amazing species :)

[@Amy-zf1mn]

Thanks for your video LRB Aquatics. If anyone has any insight I have a hillstream loach in a 15 gallon, just got home from work and he has turned pale for the first time - I have had him for a month. I never see him leave the glass - there appears to still be some brown algae in places.Will they turn pale if they are starving? I have not seen him eat any of the wafers or repashy for my other bottom dwellers - thanks

[@LRBaquatics]

Sorry to hear this about your fish. Are you keeping the tank too clean? I have a feeling healthy amounts of biofilm may play a role in their gut bacteria. Could have also eaten bad food that was rotten and maybe fighting of a fungal or bacterial infection which can pass with time. Just like we turn pale when we are sick or have food poisoning. Sometimes medications can help but its a guess wether it will be fungal or bacterial, tends in IMO its usually fungal which I use API Fungus Cure. You can treat in tank or hospitalize the fish. Just remember if you hospitalize, especially for something like this, you want to make their tank comfortable. Any added stress can be more detrimental to their health. Also keep in mind if healthy biofilm is destroyed by meds that could slow their chance of recovery from food poisoning. The choice would be yours to have to make and would look at the severity of the fishes health in determination of the decision.

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

Have you bred these in your hard water ?

[@Ductie94]

Would you able to keep them on something like eco-complete ? I heard some had success with corydoras despite the general conception that they don't do well on sharp gravel. Thanks for the video !

[@LRBaquatics]

I wouldnt want to keep them on eco complete. I would go for sand as a substrate or smooth gravel

[@V1kte]

@@LRBaquatics What if the aquarium is rought gravel, but abundantly decorated with wood and stones? Will they be smart enough to hang out only on surfaces that are safe for them, or would they still try to crawl through the gravel and get injured?

[@matthewzito6130]

Will they graze algae off live plants like Anubias?

[@vincentmarceau2249]

I see them once at my lfs...i still regret not take them. For my defense i was out of a quarantine tank.

[@tylerclutts5778]

Hey I know this is an old video but do you think they would be fine with pictus catfish? I ask because my pictus are frenzy feeders and try to swim off with the wafers I put in

[@LRBaquatics]

They are very similar

[@chrispeters2645]

Cool video, Hillstream Loaches are on my LTK list. What type of Danios are they that they're sharing the tank with (rerio - leopard / kyathit - ocelot)? I'm a new fishkeeper and after I set up my first tank last July (a 60litre temperate), the first fish I bought and stocked were a group of 8 danios, which were sold to me as longfin blues - Danio kerri, (super active and obviously very hardy fish, I've still got all 8). In the months since and despite ongoing searching, I've not yet found anything that's an actual match to their colouring and markings: silver/blue with dark spots/blotches, similar to the ones in the video, except with mine the markings only show as a broken double lateral line, from behind the operculum and into the caudal peduncle, ie. < and with white edging to the dorsal and caudal fins. Been subscribed to the channel for a little while now and thoroughly enjoying catching up with the back catalogue of content. Happy New Year, btw (I know it's been a few days now, but still).

[@LRBaquatics]

They are leopard danios. Happy New Year to you as well!

[@bones1026]

whats the other kind of fish in with your hillstream loaches? i love how they look

[@LRBaquatics]

Longfin leopard danios

[@sarajseiberthesavannahdarter]

Hey Lucas, I know this is an older video but I've been looking into getting some hillstreams, I've seen some people say they need 50 gallon tanks but I see your tank isn't that large and seen others says they keep them in 20 longs. I'm planning a 20 long, how many y would you recommend putting in with some dither fish like white clouds or danios? Thanks

[@LRBaquatics]

You can fit 10+ in a 20 long with no filter. White clouds or rice fish would be better choice over danios imo danios can have more potential to nip at them. Hope this helps ya. But yeah you don’t need a bunch of space for them or even any flow. Getting healthy ones is the key.

[@alexnguyen3022]

I bred them in a 15 gallon. I had 7 specimens at the time of spawning. Now my tank has 19 adult loaches, plus many cherry shrimps and 7 lambchop rasboras. All doing fine, they haven't got any issue for months. The tank has plenty of rocks, fast-growing plants, and 2 sponge filters (1 air driven, 1 pump-driven with 400 Lph so about 1.7 gpm). Weekly or biweekly water change of 10%. I'd say 20 long is perfectly fine for 10 of them.

[@kathleenmonsegue9700]

Are they super sensitive to aquarium antibiotics?

[@RaceSmokie]

Hey mate! Question is,,, borneo loach and hillstream loach is the same thing if we speak in the terms of keeping, breeding, feeding,,,? I know that they are different species. :)

[@LRBaquatics]

Yeah pretty much the same

[@adilshaikh287]

Can I keep them with betta....at 26 degree celsius... Pls help

[@tonyhind6992]

Same water as me. I have 3.

[@CypressPhotoStudio]

👍🏻👍🏻🤠

[@agonquin]

Can you keep hillstream loach with a goldfish tank and if so, normally with goldfish water it's recommended to have salt added at 1 tablespoon per 5 - 10 gallons of water ... wondering would hillstream loach torerate that type of water conditions. Thanks you

[@LRBaquatics]

You could keep them together. Give the hillstream a decent size pile of rocks to play and hide in. I dont know about the salt but they can tolerate the same conditions.

[@kevinmcfadden9553]

I have heard these are okay to put in with goldfish/comets. Is this true with the higher amounts of ammonia from goldfish?

[@LRBaquatics]

Goldfish like to mouth on stuff that would be my main concern. If keeping planted aquarium or filter with alot of beneficial bactreria the ammonia shouldnt be a issue. But would worry about the gold fish trying to chew on one even though if healthy hillstream should be easy to get away. But never have personally tried.

[@rominmaharjan8974]

Can Hillstream loach and shrimp be breed in same tank??

[@johnmarkzimm]

Do you know if they will eat baby shrimp?

[@leo2o915]

Im getting two for my 20 long planted with guppies Corydoras and some shrimp And snails I don’t have a lid on it are they known jumpers ?

[@cuddleswithcavies9969]

I don’t own any personally but I’ve been doing a fair bit of research about them and probably the one constant I’ve found is that they can jump and climb. So I’d definitely make sure you had a tight fitting lid.

[@sagaracharekar7839]

how many do you think I can keep in a heavily planted 10 gallon with a sponge filter and air bubbler?

[@LRBaquatics]

20-30

[@RandySoWavvy]

Are you going to be selling these on your site anytime soon? Or can you let me know where you bought yours from? I’d love buy 2-3 for a 29g guppy tank

[@LRBaquatics]

I got mine from a fellow hobbyist from a swap. You can get most local fish stores to order them.

[@ricodegallo3060]

👍

[@giftofthewild6665]

Can I keep them in pH of 6-6.5? Tank is unheated (varies seasonally between 19 to 29C) and low flow, heavily planted.

[@LRBaquatics]

Hmm I don’t know I’ve never kept them that acidic

[@fishiontanktics9356]

Alright alright

[@TinyMoMosWorld]

Do you sell those?

[@robertjohnston25]

I’m in the market for an algae eater on my 125g. I’d like one of these guys but I’m still unsure it’s a good idea. Would they suicide on wavemakers? “Crawl” into my overflows leading to my sump? And idk if I could even ensure he gets food with 23 clown loaches and 6 roselines. Will they compete for the food at all?

[@LRBaquatics]

Yeah doesnt sound like a good environment for them. Maybe a chinese algae eater... even though they are my least favorite fish. Siamese algae eater maybe as well...

[@robertjohnston25]

LRB Aquatics -Aquarium Hoarder yeah I was thinking sae as cae I hear turn into mega jerks and might not eat much algae as they age 🤷‍♂️

[@FishRfun]

Yesterday the spotted hillstream loach I ordered came doa. There's different kinds but I like the spotted. It has the most alien look I think. The tiger is nice too. What's yalls favorite?

[@LRBaquatics]

I like the reticulated look myself

[@alexsaquatics7620]

👍✌

[@leo2o915]

Are they shrimp safe ?

[@alexsaquatics7620]

Question. Do you have those sponge filters in just for the bacteria and do they need to be on

[@LRBaquatics]

They are in there because I havent taken them out yet. I have been taking them out slowly as I go.But it doesnt hurt to have them in there because the extra bacteria in there in helpful and can allow for me to do bigger water changes.

[@LRBaquatics]

and no they dont need to be on to hold bacteria

[@danielmorgan2416]

have you tried this with any Pseudogastromyzon species of Hillstream loaches?

[@LRBaquatics]

I haven’t but by the looks of them and experiment with similar fish I would say they would work just as well.

[@danielmorgan2416]

The Gastromyzon borneo sucker types are reputed to be shyer and hard to breed. Thats why I was wondering, the purple and yellow finned pseudogastromyzons are really cool looking. I like these sewellia lineolatas too, think they will be my first try after seeing your success with them.

[@flyingcrocodile4630]

Thanks. There is a lot of false info about keeping fish. These are super hardy fish. I have four of them in a 1 gallon tank (over three years for three of them). The tank is about 5 inches in diameter and 15 inchs tall with a small carbon and sponge filter powerhead venturi blasting a vertical stream of bubbles and water down the wall. And (shock horror) I do 66% water changes once every 6 -8 weeks (filter/water/bubble flow dependant). I have a short video of them and tank on my channel if anyone doesn't believe me. Only uploaded 2 videos so it won't be hard to find lol.

[@helbrassen4576]

i have these loaches in a 600liter aquarium together with some clown loaches.

[@providedjoker2649]

Will they do well in a sand substrate?

[@LRBaquatics]

Yes but in a no filter setup will kick stuff up which can cause cloudy water

[@steelviper1]

Anything over 80 degrees for a long period of time will shorten there life span. I have bread these in an outside pond by the hundreds. They can survive in water temps as low as 54 degrees. In my experience. :)

[@LRBaquatics]

Interesting, thanks for sharing

[@ForeverInFaith]

Oh wow. Could I put them in with goldfish in an unheated tank?