Loaches Online Forum

Hi there,

We are new to loaches - and having read the advice on the LOL site have made many mistakes already - some which we are hoping to rectify with the addition of a new tank!

In our naivety and on the advice of the pet shop we bought our first loach - a clown loach about 1 year ago for our community tank (before reading about how social they are and that you need more than one!). About 6 months ago whilst looking for some other fish and thinking that we should have more than one loach, we purchased a Yoyo loach. To be honest I felt very sorry for him as he was on his own under a rock in a small tank in the corner of the pet shop. We should have twigged at the time, but the vendor stated that if we had "any problems with him" they'd take him back..... this is when the problems kicked off and I suspect he may have been back and forth to the pet shop from a few homes.

He was slightly smaller than our clown at this stage, but as soon as we introduced him to the tank he chased the clown constantly - rarely giving him a break. We thought he would settle down, but he hasn't. We then decided to get 2 more clown loaches, hoping that this may stablise things, or at least give our larger clown a break, the two new clowns (smaller) are chased but I think he pesters our larger clown more. As a result over the last month I've noticed what appears to be nibble/ marks on the top part of the tail fin of out larger loach. We really need to sort the situation out. I really don't want to take the yoyo back to the shop as he will just sit in a tank solitary and that's just unfair and cruel.

So! we are getting a new tank (separate to the one we have). Its 180 litres and the plan is to get 4-5 more yoyos and put our yoyo in with them. Does this sound like a good plan? I thought this way - all yoyo's together and our clowns get some much needed peace. Is there a chance he will just pester the other yoyos or will he settle once he is has more room and is with more of the same species?

BTW - I know it must sound like we have committed 'loach sin' after sin, but we are relatively new to fish keeping and are enjoying it and having read that the yoyos are so social I also thought having these in a single species tank would be enjoyable for both them and us!

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks

Emily

Normally, yoyos and clowns can co-exist peacefully, provided that the there are enough of each (minimum of 3 yoyos, minimum of 5 clowns, the more the merrier with both species), the tank is large enough, and there are enough hiding places for every single fish. As with all loaches, good aeration and frequent water changes are a must. Adding dither fish of some sort also helps, as loaches are more comfortable when they can see other fish swimming around in the tank. Rainbowfish, giant danios, and many other similar species are good in this capacity.

Fish do have individual personalities, and it is possible that you ended up with a irritable yoyo. However, the aggressive tendencies of a solitary loach can often be alleviated by adding more loaches of the same species.

Thanks for the information - I hope that this single yoyo is not just irritable! We're going to some expense with this new tank. I think that it is a case of space and too few - this new tank will actually be very big - in terms of other fish - we were thinking of getting a reasonably large group of tetras to go in as we thought that would be a good balance.
Thanks again,

It might also be worth chucking in a wider variety of hiding places. When fish have chased each other around if you provide plenty of these and things that break line-of-sight it distracts the fish. I have been experimenting with this and it is fair to say that the more that you have the better. The clowns go from cave to cave and you might stand a chance of seeing them.

I have had the big loach tank now for six months or so and it has taken them this long to start to come out a fair bit in the light. I started with one really good hidey hole and they all sheltered in there until the lights went off. BTW everyone on this forum says you should have a six-foot tank for clown loaches. This seems excessive to me. My tiny original four grew and thrived in a 90L tank for ages. I only upgraded when the biggest one hit the 5-6 inch mark.

I think you are doing good to separate the fish. IME Yoyos do tend to be a bit pushy, but can usually sort things out among each other.

Here is how to introduce them: Put the newer (and presumed less irritatable) Yoyos in the tank first. Let them get established for at least 24 hours. Then add the problem Yoyo. The others will know the best hiding places.

Don't forget to quarantine the new fish! Loaches are very prone to Ich.

Do the fishless cycle on the new tank- by sharing some cycled media from the established tank the cycle will go really fast.

Thanks for the further advice guys - got new tank set up - 180 litres with nice sand bottom and caves / hidey holes with more to come. Plopped Mr. Yoyo in - really could wait for any new ones as so concerned about the state of our clowns - fins really nibbled / bullying getting worse, really thought they would start dying! Yoyo appears okay gonna let him settle and test the water and let the tank settle then get 2 more yoyos and then if tank okay another couple in the coming months. The clowns look SO much happier - displaying normal social behaviour - just hope their fins recover okay!
Thanks Emily