Loaches Online Forum

New poster here.

I have a 20g tank that has been set up for two years, but only recently planted. When we planted the tank we intended to add a Kuhli, but the LFS said we'd never see it, and suggested a Yoyo instead. They only had one, so that's all we got.

Everything went just fine for about a week, and now the past few days he's turned on our two Skunk Cory's. Never seems to hurt them, but chases them mercilessly, and they don't have the sense to stay on the other side of the aquarium.

We added extra hiding places all over the tank, and try to make sure there are at least two or three food hot spots during feeding time, but he's still a bully (and not just at feeding).

I called another fish store for advice, and they said if we got several Yoyos, they'd leave the corys alone, but no one in town seems to have any more. And reading through the forums here, it sounds like we really shouldn't even have 1 in a 20g (although I read somewhere that 20g was ok, so I don't know...).

To complicate things further, we're in the midst of an ich battle (Quarantine, I know - sometimes you have to learn the hard way), so I can't add or remove any fish until it's over. We caught it early and everyone looks fine, but we have a few more days of treatment to get through.

So my questions:

1. Is there any hope for keeping the Yoyo? he's 1 1/2 inches right now, the Cory's are about the same length, but fatter of course. If so, how many friends should we get him?

2. If we need to get rid of him eventually (due to size), is there any short term solution to keep everyone friends until quarantine is over and I can find him a new home?

2 1/2. Could it be the ich treatment that's making him cranky? The aggression started a few days into treatment (temp 83F, Formalin, 25% water changes daily, no salt).

3. If he goes, is there another Loach you'd recommend? Are Dwarf's hard to find? Is it true we'll never see a Kulhi?

Total tank inhabitants:
5 White Skirt Tetras
4 Marbled Hatchetfish
3 Otocinclus
2 Skunk Corydora
1 Yoyo Loach

Thanks for any advice.

If you keep him, your first choice would be to get more Yoyos.... somewhere. Since your tank is only a 20G you should get two more only. 5 or more is ideal but your space is very limited.

Yea, he is likely cranky from the ich. I dont know any other way to stop him.

Sometimes yoyos will pick the eyes out of cories. I had 3 cories missing one eye after few days I put in the yoyos.

What brand of treatment are you using, zmo63? Many treatments have to be used at a half dose when loaches are present in the aquarium. If you tell us which product you're using, someone in the US should be able to advise further. Also, ensure that you increase aeration whilst you are treating and keeping the tank at a high temp.

Yo-yo's are quite often mis-sold as single specimens, usually because of their 'aggressiveness'. What these stores seem unable to comprehend is that any aggression will be heightened when keeping a single specimen. If you manage to sort out the Ich, you'll need to upgrade to a larger tank and find your Yo-yo some more of his own kind. Any aggression will then be spread amongst the group, rather than other fish bearing the brunt. Here's our profile on this species FYI: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-almorhae

Personally I wouldn't advise keeping Corydoras with Yo-yo loaches either, so you'll need to find another home for those if you plan on keeping the loach.

Kuhli loaches probably would have been a better choice in this situation, and although they will not be out and about all the time, happy, settled Kuhlis in an environment tailored to their needs will make their presence known and often congregate in small 'knotted up' groups around plant stems and under Indian almond leaves etc.

Emma

Vancmann, thanks for your suggestions. It sounds like with 20g, no matter what we do, it's going to be less than ideal - that's ok, I'm a realist! I just want to keep happy fish! It didn't occur to me until I was writing this post that it could be the ich treatment - I think it's definitely exacerbating things.

Fishlover88, you're scaring me! We can't be having any blind fish!

Emma, we're using this brand, suggested by the LFS: http://www.aquariumguys.com/formalin316oz.html. Full dose every day because I was scared not to and hadn't read the Loach forum when we started. We've got three more days of treatment to go... let me know what you'd suggest. The otos seem a little agitated (more active, at least) too, but nothing major. No changes in any of the others.

Sounds like the ideal solution would be to find the yo-yo a new home, so once the ich is gone, that's what we'll do. Larger aquarium is on the agenda, but not any time soon, and I'd rather keep a happy tank now than make due until then.

Thanks everyone! Wish you guys could give me a magical solution, but I appreciate the honesty more.

Hey from another first time poster,
This sounds familiar. I originally got three yo-yos for my 75 gal planted tank because I was being overrun with pond snails. The LFS people told me
that they were completely peaceful and only got ~3" long. They took only about 3 months to go from 1-1.5" long to 3". At this point I started finding beaten up, half-eaten or just missing cardinal, rummynose and glolight tetras. And it seemed to be happening at night... Hmmmmm....
Okay, time to do the research I should have done before buying them. I found this forum (you guys rock), and after lurking and searching the archives, it all became clear. The little buggers had expensive tastes!javascript:emoticon(':?')
Long story short, since they were my favorite fish I got them their own tank (55g). Just started it last week, (I took the filter from the other tank), so soon I will be adding MORE LOACHES! Probably about 4 more...

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