Tell me about yoyo loaches

[kuhlifan]

The only loaches I've ever kept have been, obviously, kuhli loaches (with the exception of a weather loach I had in my mom's tank when I was a kid). I'm wanting to set up a new tank at home, a 20 gallon extra high, which would have a 12x10x24 dimension. I've thought about some different loaches and would kind of like to try yoyos, but know little about them.

Would this be too small a tank, especially given the small floor? If so, I'll just put some kuhlis in instead. I know that I need to keep yoyos in groups, but I don't know how big a group.

Tankmates:
My mom has kept aquariums for years, and taught me a lot, but forums like this has showm me gaps in her knowledge. I've just convinced my wife to let me put in an aquarium at home. This comes after having a 10 gallon in her kindergarten class for a few years. She likes aquariums a lot now, but this is the dilemma. When we set it up, my upbringing at the time said "got algae, need a pleco." So that's what we got for her 10 gallon. Now I know that won't fly, and I have a growing pleco to deal with. It's been there for a few years, and has gotten larger, but still isn't huge. My plan is to transfer it to the 20 gallon for a while until I can rehab a 55 gallon I have or buy a new tank to transfer it into. The other fish from her tank would be a couple of guppies and red minor tetras.

Would these work with the yoyos, if indeed, yoyos would work with the tank? I'd also like to get some snails, which I understand the yoyos would love to eat, so I'd let the snails get very well established before I'd add any yoyos to the tank.

Thoughts please!

[bullisbm]

A 20 is way to small for YoYo's they will get large. I didn't believe what they say about their size until I actually saw a full size adult in person.

Now if you already have a pleco in a 20 you are already overstocked a common pleco will get BIG.. I have seen 18 inch ones and they do get bigger.

I think you might be ok with YoYo's in a 55 but that depends on how many you have.

Just my opinion..

[kuhlifan]

Yeah, that's the idea is to house the pleco for a little while and then move him to a larger tank in the near future. He's still snall enough to be comfortable in the 10, but will not be for long. The 20 will give me a little more time to cajole the wife into creating more space for a larger tank.

I have a 55 gallon that I got years ago from a pet store that was going out of business. It's not pretty. It's a regular rectangle, not long or tall, so it's sort of short and squat. Somebody has resealed it once, and did a poor job. It' doesn't leak, but the silicone seals are spread out nearly three inches from the corners in some instances. I'd like to pull out the old sealant and redo it...but I keep having visions of 55 gallons of water and flopping fish all over my floor. I've never resealed before, so I'm hoping to take this one step at a time. The 20 extra tall would be a cheap, effective and attractive step up for the location I have in mind.

Thanks for the help!

[helen nightingale]

12x10x24 is definately too small for yoyos. as well as their size, they can be quite lively fish and would need more space for chasing each other about. you should try and have at least 5 yoyos. just 1 or 2 would be a disaster, whatever the fish stores try and tell you (i learned that the hard way). they can get quite agressive if the group isnt big enough. the guppies and tetras could be terrorised if you had them and a yoyo in a 20 gallon tank

i have a tank a similar size to yours for dwarf fish that dont get any bigger than about 2cm. that seems to work well. i havent had khulis, but someone who has can give you advise over their suitability for a smal tank

what are the dimensions of the old 55 you have?

the yoyos will enjoy the snails. i rarely see snails in my tank, but i am always hoovering empty shells from the top of the sand. they must dig them out the sand at night

best wishes for your tanks. sorry if what i posted wasnt quite what you may have wanted to hear. i wish i had known what i knew now when i got my first loach