But they don’t just look really neat, they’re also quite easy to keep. This went on non-stop for about an hour until they seemed to lose interest, or maybe got tired, and each went their own way. It would be nice to see fry just appear without putting a lot of time into them. The male swam under the female up to her right side and clamped his pectoral fin between her pectoral and pelvic fins. However, as my series of developmental photographs show, the fry changed dramatically over a short period of time and it became apparent that these were actually a sucker-belly type hillstream loach, not only from the markings and ‘shrinking’ of barbels, but by their sudden ability to ‘cling’ to the glass and décor using their modified pectoral and ventral fins. An account of the spawning of Sewellia lineolata by Eric Bodrock, Sewellia lineolata: The Reticulated Hillstream Loach; Easy to Spawn or a Whole Lot of Luck, Fishes of the genus Botia in the Indian Region - part 1, Fishes of the genus Botia in the Indian Region - part 2, Sewellia lineolata - Natural habitat and How They Get To Our Aquariums, Loach Book Published by Loaches Online Editors. nest I moved some of the larger stones from the center of the rock pile and made a pit just large enough to add a one-inch deep, four-inch round, terra cotta flowerpot coaster. The next afternoon I pulled the coaster out to see if I could find some eggs. They slightly curled together, shook for four or five seconds and a stream of about twenty tiny white eggs fell from them to the bottom. Some of the fry were still as small as half a centimeter!

I used a hair to give a reference on just how small these fry really are! The hillstream loach is an awesome looking freshwater fish that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Thinking that the female had depleted her eggs and they were finished spawning, I decided to try to collect some eggs from the aquarium. Adult males and females are easy to distinguish by their head formation when viewed from above or the underside.

I checked the coaster two or three times a day for eight days and always found fry, anywhere from two to six each time. If you’re looking for a unique critter to add to your tank, this is a good choice! To double check, I slid the shoebox halfway off the counter top to dry off the underside, but much to my surprise, it wasn’t wet at all! A submersible power head with a foam pre-filter was placed inside the aquarium near the left side and vinyl tubing was used to connect the power head discharge to the PVC fitting on the outside of the aquarium. We feed our Hillstream Loaches a mix Northfin Veggie, Community and Fry Starter. I think it is important to offer a wide variety of foods. They are not picky eaters and will accept foods that are small enough. I started wondering and thought that the Shiners would love the ‘hill stream current’, too. I pulled up a chair and sat quietly, watching to see if I could catch any spawning activity.
Along with some debris, sand and small blackworms, I hoped there were some eggs in there too! Some of the fry were still as small as half a centimeter!

As I intently looked into the shoebox, I didn’t see a thing except for a little bit of dirt and sand. The same day I was setting up the lineolata’s aquarium, I was also setting up my three pair of Rainbow Shiners (Notropis chrosomus) in another aquarium to attempt spawning them. On August 20, at day fifty-one, I added the only seven young I had in the grow-out box back into the aquarium with the adults. The trick is to find a way to get their eggs and/or fry away from all the other fish who will consume them. I first saw these fish in the early part of 2004 and I knew right away that these were one of those fish that I had to have. At forty-one days, August 10, the largest fry seen in the grow-out shoebox was one centimeter in total length, which is from head to tip of tail. After fifteen minutes of the flashlight inspection and my eyes playing games with me, I convinced myself that I did see something moving about on the bottom. Several days after I knew they spawned, I removed the Rainbow Shiners and the H. tweediei from the spawning set up to eliminate any chances of these fish eating the young.