Loaches Online Forum

Hey all! I'm new here, but I've been keeping loaches for a while now, and I have a little story to share.


Yesterday, I took a trip to my LFS, with my motive being to buy black ruby barbs and breed them. When I entered the shop, I was a bit appalled at the price, (5.99 US) and decided to do some more looking around. My eyes met with a 35 gallon long tank with various goodeids, killies, and rasboras. Scuttling around the bottom were some of the nicest yoyo loaches I'd ever seen.

My mind made up, I searched for the best loach I could find. Out of the shadows (quite literally) rose a gravid female, and I knew exactly then which one I would pick.

The owner caught her for me, and told me he was wondering how long she'd last before someone bought her. He bagged her up, pumped in oxygen, and I was set, as I could not afford another loach. I asked him to hold a couple for me, and he agreed.

On the car ride home, I realized that I had made a rash decision. The tank I was intending to put her in was fulll of convict fry and their mother. I decided that I would drain and remodel the fluorescent pink gravel and cichlid-style tank for her.

I got home and went to work. I placed the convict fry in a separate tank, and the mother and a sneaky bristlenose plecostomus went in to my 55 gallon. I saved a gallon of the old water for the new tank. The gravel was vaccumed out, and the ornaments removed. I covered the bottom with 2 inches of play sand, and filled and drained the tank with water twice. The tank was then filled with dechlorinated water at 78 degrees, and the ornaments replaced with rocks.

With the tank set up, I placed the bag and the loach into the water. 15 minutes later, I opened the bag and released the fish and water, knowing that the store tank's water parameters now matched mine. The fish floated to the bottom and then, to my surprise, took off, swimming along the bottom of the tank. I turned off the light and went to bed.

I awoke at midnight, and, not being able to sleep, headed downstairs. I turned on a small hand held lanturn, and saw the most majestic sight a fishkeeper could see. The fish was loachy-dancing at extreme speeds with such elegance along the side parallel to the light! I watched as her silver tail and whiskers serenade her reflection in the glass, and realized what I was to do.

This morning, I fed her some blood worms, which she gobbled down. I noticed she had settled in to the rock cave, and only would come out when I approached with my camera. As I type, she is loachy-dancing along the tank side nearest the computer, and I am honored to be in her presence.

So, with my objective clear, I would like to ask ya'll if you think it can be done. I've read quite probably every single loach-breeding article on the net, and the owner of the fish store, who has bred clown loaches a few times, thinks I can do it.

Any tips or words of advice from the loach-keeping masters out there?

Tanks stats:
29 gallons.
Sand substrate.
Nitrates/Nitrites 0.
pH 7.0
Slightly hard water.
Single strip fluorescent lighting.
160? watt heater.
Penguin 170 bio-wheel filter. *previously used filter media*

Pictures:


The tank.


This pic just screams personality.


Such beauty!


AND gravidity!

welcome to LOL


if it does happen, 1) you will be very lucky, and 2) take lots and lots of photos!!!! please dont get too hopefull , as it isnt very common

that is a beautifull yoyo you have.she is certainly photogenic. that first photo is wonderfull. you will be even more pleased when you go and collect her friends, as they are so social and will interact together im glad to see you moved the convict - a wise move

good luck

And now, as it's getting later, she's doing the dancing again.
I'm getting a movie on youtube of it, and I just cannot believe how active she is!
And I am certainly going to try to imitate the seasons, I even bought a hose shower head that mimics rainfall!

awesome. you should get her some friends once you find some. that is a nice specimen. good find!

And with today brings more promises!
I just picked up two boys *thought they were boy-girl at the shop* and I'm about to let them out of the bag.
I hope I'll see some uber rare but still hopeful spawning behavior tonight.

(to all those out there who think or know I won't spawn, I like getting my hopes up )

With the boyiez out of the bag, her colors have darkened into a beautiful magenta! All three of them are swimming around and utterly destroying my landscaping.

There appears to be a bond between her and one of the males.
And, she chases either of them when they go within an inch of her cave, but everywhere else they loachydance.

magenta?! pictures, quickly! I want to see a magenta yoyo!

Nice find..
Where is this fish store and what's its name? I'd like to know how the owner of the fish store bred clown loaches. If you could get that information, that would be fantastic.

Well, part of the name is what you just posted. XP
Fantastic Fins is the name of the store, and I'll recommend them as #1 for the L plecos.

Today, I noticed the female being really aggressive. She's chasing both males, and I think this may be part of spawning.
Last night I changed some water and replaced it with cooler water, so...

I think they're spawning!
I have a video, and I'll get it on youtube ASAP.

And here is the video!
It doesn't look like a fight to me, even though the other male broke it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsVBOIUL6us

Hi YoYoYo,

That video looks to show a typical Botiine fight scene to me.

Were you planning on adding anymore decor to your Yo-Yo tank? It's a little too bare at present, and they are likely to be arguing over what little territory there is to claim as their own.

Emma

It does look like a fight.

This is very typical for new loaches, they fight to establish the dominance. IME these fights will become much less common after a while, but they will be triggered again if you get more yoyo's or a yoyo passes away.

In my 125g they fought over what they think is the best hiding space....actually, they still bicker about it.