Botia sleeping habits

[depdiver]

One of my tiger botias has the most un-nerving sleeping habits. He sleeps curled up on his back on the bottom of the tank near a plant. He looks dead. You will see him swimming around with the other botia, just having a wonderful time, a few minutes later he is laying on his back curled up looking very dead. Then he hops back up flips over and swims around and looks for food. I don't know how many times I have reached for the net to fish him out only to have him jump up and laugh at me. Love to watch the little guy, wish he slept like other fish.

Dep

 

[Fruitbat]

depdiver....

It is quite common for Botia and related genera to assume all sorts of goofy sleeping positions!! I've got Yo-Yo loaches B. almorhae that sleep on their sides and Sinibotia robusta that sleep upside down like your Tiger. Like you....there have been a number of times that I figured they were deader than stones before they uprighted themselves and swam away.

-Joe

 

[jibboo]

my yo-yos do the same ... sleeping on their side. You can usually see their gills moving a little to know they aren't dead, but yeah ... the first time I saw it ... it was definitely a little unnerving ... then I thought they were sick for a while ... but now I just find it interesting.

The best was when I used to have this little castle with a window ... and the yo-yo would lay on its side in the window with its head drooping out one side and its tail drooping out the other.

Don't know if yours do this ... but if I walk up to the tank to get a closer look, mine usually get up and swim away.