YoYo Loaches Eating Amazon Swords

[Dreamroper]

Hello,

Well, I've confirmed that my YoYo Loaches (which I have never had before) are eating my Amazon Swords.

I have a Tiger Lily and some Anubias that they're leaving alone, but I am bummed. I've also just placed an order online for some Wisteria, Hygrophila Corymbosa, and Rotala Rotundifolia. I sure hope they don't become YoYo fodder!

Has anyone else had experiences with fish eating plants?

Thanks,
Denise

[Delapool]

Sadly all the time haha - plenty of greens in their diet. Dense planting is all I’ve found.

[fishwonder]

What have you dropped in for bottom feeder food?

[Dreamroper]

I've been putting 4-5 shrimp wafers in the bottom at night. Do you think I should switch to Hakari Algae Wafers?

[fishwonder]

Originally Posted by Dreamroper

I've been putting 4-5 shrimp wafers in the bottom at night. Do you think I should switch to Hakari Algae Wafers?

Not sure. Are they gone in the morning? Are the Yoyo's eating them? Hard to say. Switching up the food to experiment may be a good idea.

[Dreamroper]

Oh, yes. They're definitely gone.

The YoYos have grown like crazy! 4 out of 5 are probably over 2 inches now, and were quite small when I got them a month ago. I also have MTSs in the tank, so anything that the YoYos don't get, I'm sure the snails do. I still have them in my tank in spite of having 5 YoYos.

Thanks for your response. I'm going to plant more soon and I'll just keep an eye on the situation. I was kind of surprised because never before have I had fish or snails, for that matter, eat my plants.

D

[Delapool]

Just an added thought - are they completely gone or uprooted? I gave up on hair grass or anything as it would be fine for two months and then get dug out in a night I think it was Rivercats who had the same problem with chain loaches but can’t remember what her solution was.

[Dreamroper]

The leaves themselves are gone other than the center portion. Only certain leaves, most of the plant is still there.

Think of eating an ear of corn, and it looks like that's what they did, went up and down the leaf, just leaving the center "stripe" of the leaf. Doggone it.

[Delapool]

Maybe try a scarecrow?

They can be an unruly lot. I’m a little surprised swords are getting eaten out but I guess sometimes I find some plants just don’t work out.

[Dreamroper]

Yes, it's not every night, thank goodness. Luckily, swords are easy to grow.