Loaches Online Forum

Hi folks,

Aquarium: 38 gallon, temp.82F

What's the ideal temperature for Yoyo loaches, to avoid ich,etc?
I did notice flashing within the first couple days of buying the loaches so I increased the temperature to 86F for a week, then backed off to 82F. It's now been 2 weeks and so far the flashing has stopped. Can flashing also be caused by water conditions, i.e. nitrates?
I've been doing ~25% [10 gallon] water changes every 2 days to assist with their introduction to the tank.

On another note, the 3 Yoyo loaches are doing just fine with 7 Tiger barbs. In fact, the barbs are schooling even better than before with the addition of the loaches. They are curious about each other and if the dominant male Tiger barb approaches a loach, the loach will actually chase the tail of the barb. So apparently loaches can easily cope with the curious barbs.

I also tried out one of the home cooked recipes [nasty mix of shrimp/cod/tilapia/beef liver/crab/banana/spinach/V-8 juice/garlic/gelatin] and made a seemingly livetime supply of frozen food.
The only problem I find is that little bits of food fly all over the place when the loaches or barbs eat it. Perhaps I'll just stick with pellets and flakes and avoid the mess.

cheers,
Dan

will your yoyos not chase after the tiny bit too? mine get very small frozen foods like lobster eggs and cyclops, and they snout around trying to get the last bits in any little crevice.

how often do you feed them? do you ever have a day when you dont feed?

is there an obvious food type they are leaving? maybe they are just fussy eaters, and if they dont starting eating it all, you could leave out that ingredient next time? or sometimes it just takes a while for them to get used to the idea that something is edible

Thanks for the feedback.

The little bits of food look like cod or tilapia, but for all I know it could also be particles of banana. They have had 3 feedings of this frozen mix so perhaps they are still getting used to it, or picky like you suggested. They don't seem to bother chasing after the particles floating about because they are too busy snouting through the piece that is intact. Maybe they get to it when the flecks of chow settle back into the gravel.

I try to have at least 2 days off from feeding; nothing worse to me than overloading a tank with too much chow. I'm sure I made a mistake having 3/4 - 1" of gravel, perhaps I should slowly scoop some out over time so the loaches can snout about through the gravel down to the glass bottom.

What do you think about using a container [glass cup etc.] to put the 'sinking' food in and minimize the amount of decaying food slipping through the gravel?

I've so far had luck with raw cucumber, tetramin tabs and algae wafers as well.

Fish will pick up the food and carry it around, so feeding in a cup would not work.

My fish will chase the bits. Maybe feed only half as much and watch them while they are still hungry enough to want to chase the bits.

Dan: I am no guru here.

Dan234 wrote:Aquarium: 38 gallon, temp.82F

I have 3 yoyos in a 110G but it well stocked with community fish. The temperature is 78F.

Dan234 wrote:What's the ideal temperature for Yoyo loaches, to avoid ich,etc?

IMHO you are barking up the wrong tree here as ich exhibition is substantially due to stress.

Dan234 wrote:I did notice flashing within the first couple days of buying the loaches so I increased the temperature to 86F for a week, then backed off to 82F. It's now been 2 weeks and so far the flashing has stopped. Can flashing also be caused by water conditions, i.e. nitrates?
I've been doing ~25% [10 gallon] water changes every 2 days to assist with their introduction to the tank.

Please excuse me and again IMHO you are barking up the wrong tree.
Please ref:
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/fyi-you ... style.html

Dan234 wrote:I also tried out one of the home cooked recipes [nasty mix of shrimp/cod/tilapia/beef liver/crab/banana/spinach/V-8 juice/garlic/gelatin] and made a seemingly livetime supply of frozen food.
The only problem I find is that little bits of food fly all over the place when the loaches or barbs eat it. Perhaps I'll just stick with pellets and flakes and avoid the mess.

I know that I sound negative but my comments are based on experience and will hopefully save you the hard earned experience which I have endured.
I would not have done the cooking business or the gelatin addition.
Please ref:
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/fyi-you ... style.html

TR

Dan234 wrote:What's the ideal temperature for Yoyo loaches, to avoid ich,etc?

IMHO you are barking up the wrong tree here as ich exhibition is substantially due to stress.

>Thanks for the feedback Jones; no offense taken. The flashing was likely due to the 0.25 ppm Ammonia that was present, likely causing the distress.

Dan234 wrote:I did notice flashing within the first couple days of buying the loaches so I increased the temperature to 86F for a week, then backed off to 82F. It's now been 2 weeks and so far the flashing has stopped. Can flashing also be caused by water conditions, i.e. nitrates?
I've been doing ~25% [10 gallon] water changes every 2 days to assist with their introduction to the tank.

Please excuse me and again IMHO you are barking up the wrong tree.
Please ref:
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/fyi-you ... style.html

>The temp. increase did assist me with speeding up the lifecycle of Ich...,and further water changes has put my water parameters back on track. How long do Yo-Yo loaches typically get in an aquarium?
Ultimately, I'm looking for 10 Tiger Barbs and 3 Yo-Yo loaches in the 38 gallon.

So far after 2.5 months in operation the 38 gallon has 7 barbs and 3 yo-yos. My guess is, I tilted the balance creating poor water conditions when I placed in a couple more barbs and the 3 Yo-Yo's at the same time. So considering the tank is fairly new [yes it was cycled completely after 3 wks.; seeded material from established clean aquarium], there's likely a fine line here until the tank can readily cope with the waste.

Dan

I try to have at least 2 days off from feeding; nothing worse to me than overloading a tank with too much chow. I'm sure I made a mistake having 3/4 - 1" of gravel, perhaps I should slowly scoop some out over time so the loaches can snout about through the gravel down to the glass bottom

Switch to sand to let the particles stay on the surface.The sand is much better for conditions all around as the smaller grain size does not let anything in between.Pool filter sand is cheap and readily available and inert.It also reduces maintenance substantially. It is not only the food that settles in the gravel so that may explain your ammonia.

Almorhea prefer 80F instead of 78F, they exhibit better eating characteristics and are more active. You should spray the surface with a powerhead to keep the O2 levels up also. The temp being higher means less O2 so more airation at the higher temp is the best. Mine have been held at 90F-92F for 3 weeks to stop ich so don't worry about getting up a bit,you must drop it ever so slowly though when you do this. I have over 20 in my collection.They are great fish !!