bulking up a grouping? yoyo ?/?vs?/? zebra...+ general info/

[mer flux]

Hi wise friendly loach-friends!
Im new and not really knowledgeable or experienced on forums but looking for some advice. I've had a thirty gallon community tank about five years now and learning all the time. A few years ago the tank started getting snails which turned out to be such a gift because they led me to loaches and their puppy like antics. The snails keep my substrate aerated and make a great snack and quite a nocturnal scene lovely. So i had five yoyos and with a tragic roommate overfeeding in the span of a weekend (poor little.hedonists) i lost three. When i went to replace the grouping the store only had zebras / candies and said it would he fine to mix them. They now after several months occasionally socialize/?/chase and I've never seen aggression between them but its hard to know.. Haven't heard them clicking in a while (how to tell if its stress ir joy or some such communication?) ... They have favourite individual and group hidey places and zip around. One of the newer zebras is a food carrier lifting the pellets off to some secret dining room!
Anyways the tank is well and pretty healthy with lots of open swim area, hide places and driftwood some java fern, (no other plants have survived... though id love to add more and keep things natural); smooth coral substrate (their barrels seem fine - but something i didn't know originally so i make sure there's nothing sharp). Its lit spectrum fluorescent tube during the day - would 'blue'? lighting be better?) i feed morning and night tiny amount with one or two fast days during the week. There's also a school of 12 sexed 2:1 f:m silver tip tetras, a hidey lil old spikey cat, a pleco, and now has just the 2 yoyo and 2 zebras. Oh and one remaining fast lil cory (the zebra loaches didn't seem to like sharing the bottom and i got suspicious of the zebras when the eyes went missing off two cories after the zebras moved in though have no proof and i would assume there could be other reasons or something i missed / my own damn fault (i try hard but ignorance is a tough teacher)... So that in mind still i don't think id risk any more.cories though they too are so sweet and puppylike with the cute little mustaches. So what i am wondering (apologies/warning non-linear thinker here) is this:
I know i need and want more than four loaches but worry it was a mistake to mix them in types, should i bulk up the numbers of both kinds or could i get say another three to four of either zebra or yoyo? And leave the other two? (my yoyos are at least three yrs old and the zebras i dunno but about two thirds the yoyos size and I've had about three months now) I've read some other of your posts here where it seems Zebra are smaller and therefore maybe better as my tank is only 30 gallons but i don't wanna outnumber the full grown yoyos if it might upset them... If i get more fish I will add even more cavey hides and am soaking more driftwood for the bottom as i type.
Any and all thoughts would be appreciated and many many thanks for all the helpful information and delightful photos and artwork herein! Loaches sure are nice company and i look forward to learning more about their habits and habitats and where they come from. And i am also curious if they can't be bred is there any negative impact from them being wild.caught then if that's the alternative?
&
as for other fish in the tank simple seems best but im wondering either to get even more of the tetras or f there are good larger more top tank dwellers that could be an option. A friend breeds gorgeous angels and I've had gouramis withoutlong success i also find they don't move much but they are pretty.
i do regular partial water changes and feed a mix of.flakes pellets very occasions dried bloodworms and will begin trying some other vegetables like peas zucchini or cucumber

[starsplitter7]

There are two things I would suggest. First. Have you checked your hardness and pH? The coral not only wears off their barbels but it also increases the hardness and pH. These fish are generally softwater fish.

The tank is really too small for adult yoyoys. If you want to add a couple more zebras, it should probably be okay. I love zebras and they will do fine with the yoyos. The zebras are more sensitive to bad water quality, so if something goes wrong, you will probably lose them first. I have had two bad water episodes with zebras, and I have found zebras unresponsive on the bottom of my tank. I placed them in clean water, and they have revived. For this reason, I do not toss fish unless they smell or are coming apart. (Same for fish found out of water -- I have held them under the filter and revived them).

Finally if you go on vacation again, make packets of food for each day and lable for each day you are gone and hide the rest of the food. It helps to reduce accidents. I alos will skip a day or two of feedings while I am gone, since I am not there for water changes. Remember adult healthy fish can go a month without eating. They will be hungry, but would do better than with overfeeding. I feel your pain. We have all been there.

[mer flux]

Hi and thank you so much for the reply. I won't add anything until i get the water checked. The coral itself seems to be very very smooth pieces and their barbels seem fine but i don't have much to compare to. Ill search here for some photos just to see if i can tell. Ill get some test strips so i can moniter the water at home.
i am going to have to move the tank in a few weeks so won't add or change anything until after that. i love the look of sand and could switch out the coral but how do you vacuum with a sandy bottom?...
As for the tragic vacation i usually do portion out but i was only gone two nights / three days and had fed them before i left and knew they would be fine - i didn't want to bother my roommate with it so i didn't ask but i also didn't say not to worry but he decided to be helpful and fed a shake of sinking pellets each day and when i got home i knew immediately something was wrong. Lesson learned! Thanks for the compassion. They got a nice burial by the lake and a harmonica send off.
And thats neat about reviving fish - i seem to recall something similar with a fish i had as a child coming home after school to them having jumped out of the tank and some cold water they came back. Lucky day i guess.
All the best and thanks again! Hope you have a great day.
~*~

[starsplitter7]

I would suggest a liquid test over strips if possible, because the strip tests I have used have either now worked or were inaccurate. It is super important to keep them airtight. The liquid is good for a year generally. Maybe you have better brand of strips than I do. If you get the water tested at a store, get them to write down the numbers for you. People used to just tell me the water was fine, and "fine" means a bunch of different things to me.

I know what you mean about helpful people. And fish are such beggers. I told my mom only to feed them when they are hungry. She laughed and asked me what a hungry fish looks like. I showed her the difference between hungry and begging, and she is now an excellent fish caretaker. Beggers are the ones that dance in front of you. The hungry ones are the ones that pop out after everyone ate, and race around looking for food.

With the coral you will see normal barbels one day and then you will notice them gone, ragged or bloody. The same happens if your water quality gets bad. I have had fish lose barbels, I move them to a quarantine tank, and wait for them to grow back. ANd then I try to make sure my water never goes bad. Sand is no problems and cheap. I bought a 50 pound bag of pool filter sand for about $10. You just stick the vacuum down into the sand, and the sand lifts up, so that the dirt comes out. If the sand goes to the top, I kink the hose, and let the sand fall, and then continue. Sand is easier than gravel. Make sure you vacuum it so you do not get death pockets.