Shy Yo Yo

[poppab02]

Are Yo Yo Loaches generally shy? I don't see my new one hardly ever. I'm new to keeping them so I didn't know if that was typical of them. I don't ever see him, day or night. In fact, I thought he was dead until I moved everything around today. But he seems to be doing fine.

 

[Essayons89]

Not really, they are pretty active, goofy fish. Did you only get one? They are much happier when kept in groups of at least three fish.

Bryan

 

[Menagerie]

I have two and they are out a fair amount. They really like zucchini and cucumbers!

 

[poppab02]

All they had was one, when they get more in I plan to get some more. Will they school with my Clown's?

 

[pkremer]

I have 2 of them also. I think they hid from me a bit for the first two days, but when they realized that I am "the keeper of the food" they stopped hiding.

I have had them for about a month now, and I love them! Mine are extremely active all day long, scouring the gravel and all the decorations for food. I would recommend getting another one or two, personally. They stay fairly small and are just fun to watch!

A couple hints: They sleep on their sides and I swear mine look dead when I turn on the light in the morning. But a few minutes after I turn the light on, they're out and cruising around. Also, mine pig out like you wouldn't believe! They've devoured everything I put in except shrimp pellets. I have learned to break up an algae wafer into 5 parts and drop them in separate parts of the tank. If you don't, the biggest yo-yo will chase everyone else away, and eat the whole thing by himself in one sitting. They look so funny with their bellies all huge! They don't seem to be suffering from my early misfeeds, but I try to avoid the bloated belly.

Paul

 

[Essayons89]

They are by far one of my favorite fish. I had one who was vertical with its head in the substrate, spinning around like a top. Another gets up into a piece of driftwood and sticks its little snout out between a crack in the wood. Pretty funny to look at when all you see is the nose and the "whiskers" poking out.

I only have two. I lost one awhile back but a friend of mine is sending me her two yoyo loaches. I feed mine shrimp pellets, bloodworms, algae wafers and the munch on the occasional veggies that are thrown in for the plecs. If you are overrun with snails don't worry, you won't be for long.

I don't think that they will actually school with the clowns but you might see them in a loose shoal occasionally. I have clowns in a seperate tank and haven't kept the two species together.

Bryan

 

[Fruitbat]

poppab02...

Your YoYo Loach (Botia almorhae) probably won't school with your clown loaches. It isn't at all unusual for a lone YoYo to be a bit secretive...it will be more active if and when you get him a playmate of his own (another YoYo loach). Some individual loaches are just less 'out in front' than others....I've got a Botia striata that I didn't see for almost 3 weeks and I figured he was deader than the proverbial doornail. All of a sudden he decided to make an appearance and he's been far more active ever since.

Try some frozen bloodworms in that tank....many times that will lure shy loaches out of their lair!