Saltwater & Reef

HeatherW · 02-15-2012, 10:53 PM

So I am getting ready to place my order for loaches. i have a 90 gallon tank that I am stocking. going to have 2 german blue rams in there and some loaches. I was looking for around 5. can I mix the yo-yo and polka -dots? will they hang out together or is it better to keep them all the same?

toddnbecka · 02-15-2012, 11:44 PM

You need to keep all the same species. I'd go with the polka-dots, they're less troublesome to other fish than yoyo's.

HeatherW · 02-15-2012, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

You need to keep all the same species. I'd go with the polka-dots, they're less troublesome to other fish than yoyo's.

yay! thanks for getting back to me. that is what I decided to do. I went with 6. hope they will be happy.

how many do you think the bottom of my tank can hold? i have a 90 gallon with a pair of rams in there and the loaches (other fish up on top, but it is just the bottom that I need to be worried about with these guys right?)

toddnbecka · 02-16-2012, 12:37 AM

I have a group of 9 in my 125, a 90 should be fine for 6. I also have a fat Synodontis eupterus and a handful of BN pleco's in there, along with 4 severums, a couple of cutteri, 4 yellow Lab's, and schools of Colombian and white skirt tetras. Also a zebra knife fish that I haven't seen since it went into the tank, but I presume it's still alive in there somewhere.
The loaches mainly interact with their own species, and nothing else appears to bother them either. If you were going with less shy/mellow cichlids than Ram's I'd say toss in a group of Sid's too. They'd stir the polka-dots around a bit more, but would probably be too active for Ram's.

HeatherW · 02-17-2012, 02:54 PM

Yoyo or polka dot?

toddnbecka · 02-17-2012, 08:14 PM

Looks like polka dot to me, gotta be really little ones though.

HeatherW · 02-17-2012, 08:46 PM

thanks! they are pretty small! I only got 2 - they ran out so now I need to order more. thinking another 4-6 more.
theya re acting kinda crazy tho - up an down the sides over and over! hope they are going to be ok.
oh - and one jumped out of the bag when I was acclimating them! I about had a heart attack!!!

HeatherW · 02-19-2012, 06:18 PM

just had to update - I found 4 more at the LFS so I snatched them up. now I have 6 in the tank. I love these guys!! Let me tell you it really pays to know ALL the names of the fish you want - everyone calls them different things.
here is a pic of one of my little guys

HeatherW · 02-24-2012, 12:51 PM

so now I have a new question about feeding. I have 6 little polka dots in my 90 gallon. I got some little pellets to feed them too. I know they will eat the flakes and everything else I put in there as well.

do you feed the pellets to yours? how much? should I feed one pellet per loach or is that too much? it is the APi brand bottom feeder - premium shrimp pellets for bottom feeder. it is a sinking pellet and they are pretty small. should i feed them these every day or every other?

any input would be great!

Koikid88 · 02-24-2012, 12:59 PM

2 GBR in a 90g!? They will look so small.
I personally love the look and behaviour of Yoyos. I have a dozen in my 90g. $3/1.99 for healthy little guys, why not.
The more you have, the more they play together and leave other fish alone. If you only have a few in a 90g, they will be 'bored' frequently if they can't see others of their own. This applies to a few types of loaches, I think polkadots too.

I know what you mean about the names, There's the scientific term, then all the common names. Some keep the actual name, others use the more customer friendly names like Rainbow shark or Yellow lab.