Pakistani (yoyo) Loach...

[bogwood]

Can these be kept singly in a community set up... or do they need to be with others of their own kind?... will they eat/keep small ramshorn snails under control?...

 

[Barracuda518]

Can these be kept singly in a community set up... or do they need to be with others of their own kind?... will they eat/keep small ramshorn snails under control?...

They need to be in groups of 3 or more. Its best to keep them in 4+ groups. Yes they will eat snails. Some people on this board have some of these loaches that are 8"+, so keep that in mind too.

 

[Captain Retardo]

I love yo yo loaches!

My friend has only 1 and it seems kinda sad (if fish have expressions)


dont yo yo's usually grow to 4 inches or 6 inches, i know there is some exceptions, but those are rare (i think)

 

[mikev]

dont yo yo's usually grow to 4 inches or 6 inches, i know there is some exceptions, but those are rare (i think)

There are some mysteries around yoyo's. Exceptions are not that rare, and they may not be exceptions per se: it seems that yoyo's are a mix of two or more species.
(I'm basing this on observations of my gang of five juvenile hooligans -- this is what they are really, but TheWolf, I believe, mentioned this before based on the observations of adults).

 

[Barracuda518]

dont yo yo's usually grow to 4 inches or 6 inches, i know there is some exceptions, but those are rare (i think)

There are some mysteries around yoyo's. Exceptions are not that rare, and they may not be exceptions per se: it seems that yoyo's are a mix of two or more species.
(I'm basing this on observations of my gang of five juvenile hooligans -- this is what they are really, but TheWolf, I believe, mentioned this before based on the observations of adults).

Here is a really good thread where The Wolf explained the differences:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=103153&hl=

 

[mikev]

Thank you Barracuda I did not see that thread.

I'll add some new data later (gotta run now).

 

[mikev]

Ok, here is what I see.

I have 5 young yoyo's, I had them for less than 2 months. All 5 grew at an incredible speed, they started at less than 1" and now the largest is about 2.5". (When I got them I was worried that the Barbs will eat them....now they entertain themselves by chasing the Barbs).

Out of 5, 3 are the classical YOYO's, and 2 have a seriously different pattern.
And, strangely enough, it is the last two who are largest and the fattest; so I have 2 larger non-YOYO's and 3 smaller YOYO's. Also, the non-YOYO loaches have the pattern a bit faded (dark gray on light gray), while on YOYO's it is much sharper (black on white).

Of course, a faster growth rate at this age implies ultimately a larger fish.

One cannot jump to conclusions on such a small sample, but I really wonder....

 

[Barracuda518]

Ok, here is what I see.

I have 5 young yoyo's, I had them for less than 2 months. All 5 grew at an incredible speed, they started at less than 1" and now the largest is about 2.5". (When I got them I was worried that the Barbs will eat them....now they entertain themselves by chasing the Barbs).

Out of 5, 3 are the classical YOYO's, and 2 have a seriously different pattern.
And, strangely enough, it is the last two who are largest and the fattest; so I have 2 larger non-YOYO's and 3 smaller YOYO's. Also, the non-YOYO loaches have the pattern a bit faded (dark gray on light gray), while on YOYO's it is much sharper (black on white).

Of course, a faster growth rate at this age implies ultimately a larger fish.

One cannot jump to conclusions on such a small sample, but I really wonder....

Mine were like yours, they grew really fast at first, from 1" to about 2.5" in 2 months, and then they slowed down a little before they all died I still havent figured out what happened. They all died the same night and the B. Striata were not affected at all. They are living and very healthy today. I am planning on getting some more YoYo's very soon (when the LFS gets some more in) and I will have the right set-up for them. This way, if they are the ones that get 8", I will have the proper room for them.

We kinda got off subject. Bogwood, did all your questions get answered?

 

[mikev]

Mine were like yours, they grew really fast at first, from 1" to about 2.5" in 2 months, and then they slowed down a little before they all died

Hopefully it is not what is going to happen here....

I'm actually not sure it was a smart idea to get them: they behave like a street gang and stress other fish...Certainly, they are not skunks, but right now they are semi-aggressive.

If you do get more of them, please watch for the growth rate: I'd love to see a confirmation of the standard YOYO's being the smaller species.

 

[Barracuda518]

Mine were not the only ones in that batch from the LFS that died. So I dont think its any thing I did. Mine actually lived longer then most of the other ones. Mine also were not aggressive to any other fish, other then to each other, in the 5 months I had them.

 

[mikev]

Mine were not the only ones in that batch from the LFS that died. So I dont think its any thing I did. Mine actually lived longer then most of the other ones. Mine also were not aggressive to any other fish, other then to each other, in the 5 months I had them.

5 months -- could be parasites?

They are not aggressive per se, the main problem is that they just cannot stand seeing other fish eating. If a khuli or a BN starts eating, they drop their food, and chase BN or khulis away. Yes, they mainly chase each other, but they also chase barbs for fun...they managed to make the barbs shoal, in fact.

And they never stop or hide.

Anyway, they will be moved to the tank with the bigger fish soon, let them try chasing clowns or take food away from an 8" pleco.

 

[Barracuda518]

Mine were not the only ones in that batch from the LFS that died. So I dont think its any thing I did. Mine actually lived longer then most of the other ones. Mine also were not aggressive to any other fish, other then to each other, in the 5 months I had them.

5 months -- could be parasites?

They are not aggressive per se, the main problem is that they just cannot stand seeing other fish eating. If a khuli or a BN starts eating, they drop their food, and chase BN or khulis away. Yes, they mainly chase each other, but they also chase barbs for fun...they managed to make the barbs shoal, in fact.

And they never stop or hide.

Anyway, they will be moved to the tank with the bigger fish soon, let them try chasing clowns or take food away from an 8" pleco.

I thought about parasites. But it would be strange for them to all die on the same night from parasites with no signs of anything. The day before they ate as normal and acted fine.

 

[mikev]

But it would be strange for them to all die on the same night from parasites with no signs of anything.

Same night? Has to be some poison in the tank (you know all the horror story about spilling Windex==maybe yoyos are just more sensitive to small doses of whatever it was) or some quick virus (fairly unlikely, but possible).

 

[Barracuda518]

But it would be strange for them to all die on the same night from parasites with no signs of anything.

Same night? Has to be some poison in the tank (you know all the horror story about spilling Windex==maybe yoyos are just more sensitive to small doses of whatever it was) or some quick virus (fairly unlikely, but possible).

I know, thats my whole point. I had 3 Botia Straita, 7 Zebra Danios, 4 Cories, and 6 Neons in the same tank. They are all still alive and well today. I would think whatever hurt the YoYo's would also hurt the Striata, but that didnt happen.

 

[mikev]

Truly strange (yoyo's and striata are very close), but I've seen real strange wipeouts.

At the store where I get most of my loaches, **something** killed about 120 khulis, both striped and black, while a stray schistura in the same tank was perfectly fine.