YoYo Loach R.I.P. Jumped Right Out Of The Tank

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fredmertz

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
77
I've had 3 yoyo loaches for almost 8 months and rarely saw any of them get anywhere near the top of the tank.

Last week I read a description of the Yoyos that said they are great jumpers and frequently jump out of tanks. I remember thinking that that seemed so unlikely with my guys.

Well, I got home from work today and the biggest one was underneath my tank stand and no longer living.

I have a 3-month old Rainbow Shark that has been getting aggressive and I am wondering if he chased him out. The loach was noticeably bigger -- is that possible.

I am really bummed.
 
I have had blue botia loaches (aka. red finned loach) for about a year now. I always had a canopy and figured I was "safe" from the escape attempts I'd read about. The only hole was an unused access port in the canopy for a heater or extra lines to run. The hole was about 1.5" squared (if that) and my loaches were all fair sized, so I never thought it would be a problem. Not to mention, the fact that the hole sits 2-3" above the water line to begin with and, like yours, I had never seen them even go near the surface. I assumed there was no way for them to ever know it was even there..

Then, one morning, I found my biggest loach laying under the tank - dried out and dead. I still didn't believe the access hole was the culprit! I figured he much have taken a good run at the flap opening (it's just light plastic, afterall) and somehow pushed up and out of it. I put something on top to weight it down and figured it was a lesson learned.

The next night, as I watched the TV right above the tank, the next biggest loach in the crew (the new alpha) zipped right up and out the hole in the back of the canopy! He landed on the floor and flopped around for a good 10-15 seconds before I got him netted and back into the tank. This was over 4 months ago and he still lives (and is still running the shoal) and no further escape attempts have been seen. Still, I quickly covered the hole with netting and made double-sure there were no other small holes to squeak out of, and haven't had any trouble since.

I always joked with my buddies that the first guy got out, never came back, so the rest assumed he got away to greener pastures. After the second one bailed and found out what was actually on the "other side", they all realized they were far better off in their little driftwood hangout.


Long story short, you would be surprised what a fish can fit out of if they want to... why the want to is another question. Change in water conditions, temp, community, etc. could all be culprits... or maybe he was just curious? Either way, track down the "how" and fix it quickly so it doesn't happen again (the other 2 might be planning to follow him).
 
apparently fish that are more elongated(loaches,sharks,most algea eaters,etc)are chronic jumpers. i read one article that offered an explanation,they are most commonly on the bottom,and in the wild,that could be several feet down. so they could swim really fast towards the surface, but after going up 3 feet,have plenty of space to slow down. in most tanks, if they swim nice and fast towards the surface for a couple feet,theyve hit the lid. my CAE was alone in his 20(bought him when i was new,and didnt have the heart to get rid of him. he was a decent size when he jumped) and i could sometimes hear him hitting the lid at night( REALLY freaked me out. didnt associate the noise with him until he jumped)
 
Any good ideas on how I can screen the top off and still leave some room for the automatic fish feeders? Trying to avoid cutting up styrofoam.
 
maybe put a peice of cloth over the top and tape it down,have it over the automatic feeder
 
Remove the aggresive shark then it will never happen again... ?

Poor thing R.I.P

Did you do any CPR on it to try and get it back to life?
 
My yoyo is missing :( he was in a 35 gallon with 6 zebra danios. After reading this thread I checked all around and under the tank stand and can't find him anywhere. I moved and checked under everything in the tank and still no luck... I have no cat or dog so no chance of him being eaten if he did get out...
It remains a mystery to me.. where did he go?
 
My yoyo is missing :( he was in a 35 gallon with 6 zebra danios. After reading this thread I checked all around and under the tank stand and can't find him anywhere. I moved and checked under everything in the tank and still no luck... I have no cat or dog so no chance of him being eaten if he did get out...
It remains a mystery to me.. where did he go?

Well first of all Rey need more than 1 in a group. Three minimum. He could be burried in the substrate Mabye?
 
Well first of all Rey need more than 1 in a group. Three minimum. He could be burried in the substrate Mabye?


im not sure, he's rather small... maybe 1-1.5 inches... it doesnt seem like he would have the strength to move enough gravel to completely submerge.
 
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