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Not the most common loach available, their large size and habits make them suitable for the more advanced or adventurous hobbyist . If you are willing to meet their needs they can be one of the most entertaining and rewarding fish you keep.

Thank you Debbs for the photos and the profile

Quick stats:

Listed tank sizes are the minimum
Size:	8-10" (23cm) is common in the aquarium
Tank:	75 gallon
Strata:	All
PH:	6.5 to 8.0
Hardness:	Soft to medium. dH range: to 15
Temperature:	75ºF to 80ºF (24-27°C)

Classification:

Family:	Cobitidae
Sub Family:	Botiinae
Order:	Cypriniformes
Class:	Actinopterygii
Genera:	Botia
Species:	Modesta

 

Common name: Blue Loach , Orange-finned loach Image gallery: Additional species photographs Discuss: Badmans' Forum Distribution Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia

Tank Set up:

Provide plenty of cover such as plants, rocks, caves. These loaches are known for uprooting plants, but they also thrive well in planted tanks.

4 Any less then 4 they will exhibit shy behavior, sometimes hiding all day and night. They also can be aggressive towards other tank mates if not kept in a school.

Omnivorous; they will eat just about everything. Worms and snails are a particular favorite. It is recommended that they be fed twice a day.

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 throughout 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.

for modesta’s are large gouramis, barbs and semi-aggressive cichlids. They also get along with most other loach species. 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.

Large rivers and flooded fields with muddy bottoms in its' home range.

Breeding:

Breeding has yet to be accomplished in an aquarium. Here is an account of their natural breeding from Fish base.
• Above the Khone Falls of the Mekong basin, it migrates into tributaries and small streams, where it spawns during the early flood season. When water starts to recede, it moves back to the main tributaries and to the Mekong mainstream.

Redtail Botia Loach Click photo to buy Botia modesta

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From: Doug Date:3/5/2009 I had a pair of these guys....they would chase each other around my 75 gallon endlessly and make and audible clicking noise while doing so. From: Muralee Date:9/1/2006 Once I had four of blue loaches with other community fish including clown loach and Pakistani loaches. When compared with Pakistani loaches, the blue loaches are bit shy and usually swim with own it's species. Most of the days they hide themselves into reefs. The extreme problem of this fish are they are more prone to be jumpers than other loaches.

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