The Loaches are Coming! The Loaches are Coming!

Everything is status quo with Liz's Aquariums these days. I'm very happy with all my setups, and they're all doing great. 

The 150 has several pairs of angels, and they're getting some size on them (there are 5 domestic/wild crosses and one wild P. leopoldi), so I suspect peace will not continue forever, but so far, so good. There is bickering and a lip lock here and there, but there seems to be room for everyone. 

The geophagus seem to be doing fine as well. I have excess females, and they seem to have topped out size-wise at only 2.5-3", with the dominant male being closer to 4. The subdominant males are somewhere in between. I really thought these fish would get bigger, but it does not seem that they will, considering how long I've had them. Ultimately it is better for the tank if they don't, though I would not mind having fewer but larger specimens. 

The 120 also has two pairs of angels that spawn regularly (there are 7 domestic/wild crosses from the same spawning as the ones in the 150) and, again, they bicker but there seems to be enough room for everyone. I know I have had plans to remove them in favor of loaches, but currently I am loath to get rid of them. They are so pretty! I don't think I need all 7, but I would like to keep some if I can. This means it won't be the Asian setup that I promised, but I'm enjoying the angels currently. 

What I ought to do is swap out the angels for pearl gouramis. I have a trio in the 150 that I put there when I took down my 45-gal one day when I'd decided to downsize. I should have put them in the 125 but I did not feel comfortable at the time doing that, since it lacked appropriate cover in the upper strata of the tank, and it still does, and I was not confident about the cycle. Those fish are stunners. True stunners. It took them months to feel comfortable to come out in the open, but now that they do, they are gorgeous. There is a nice male with amazing color, mainly a coral throat/belly, and the iridescent spangling that they are known for. The females are very similarly colored, so you don't miss out on color keeping both sexes. They would make a nice replacement for angels in the 125, especially with their long feelers, similar to angels, and with them I could maintain the Asian theme. The loaches that I plan would be on the middle to bottom, with the Denison's barbs, and the gouramis would be up at the top. 

As for the loaches, I am ready for the zebra loaches, or Botia striata. I have a trip planned to Skoolz of Fish, a local shop that usually carries them.