Loaches Online Forum

I got some yoyos today and theyre great to watch but they systematically chewed tiny loach mouthed size holes in the single youngest leaf of every live sword plant in the tank (melon, amazonx2, rose, radican). It looks like someone used a tiny hole punch 20-30 times on each sword plant.

Can I expect this behavior to continue or is it a signal that theyre just really hungry or simplying trying things? Will feeding them other fresh vegetables (IE blanched cucumber) stop it? Or are they simply incompatible with sword plants?

I think they like the taste of your sword plants.

The only plants I have found that Yoyo's dont touch is Java fern, Anubias nana and Onion plants, I have tried Indian fern and they seemed to leave that alone as well.

Hi,
My yo-yo's did the same thing, and in addition, they would dig up plants
that had recently been planted (ie didn't have much of a root system yet).
Not the best behaviour for a planted tank! My solution was to set up another tank just for them.

Batch

Mine don't bother my Cryptocorine.

Batch wrote: My yo-yo's did the same thing, and in addition, they would dig up plants
that had recently been planted (ie didn't have much of a root system yet).

Hear, hear.

The destroyed all the recently planted plants in their tank over the last two days here. I _think_ the Clowns might have helped, but Yoyo's were certainly the main culprits.

You guys could try feeding them with food that contains high levels of vegetable matter, e.g. Hikari Algae Wafers or the like. Maybe it will lessen the plant destruction a little.

My clown & zebra loaches allways nibble at my vallisneria gigantea but they do only little damage to them.

-Connor

In the yo-yo tank, I have only potted plants with largish rocks on top, floating plants and Java fern attached to wood. (My idea of fish only)

One of the things I feed them is Algae wafers, which they love, it didn't stop them from digging up the plants however... Anyway, hope you find a solution that pleases both man and beast (small yo-yo type beasts that is).


Batch

They don't eat plants here. Probably because they are not too young (3"-4"), when they were babies, they ate everything.

I really doubt that giving them more food will change their behavior, when in the fast growth mode, they eat everything they can find...

The problem is uprooting, and this is not something that can ever be solved with diet. Maybe an electric fence around plants?

Or a deeper substrate and plants that root a lot deeper and longer - like swords and crypts (once estableshed anyhow).

As far as poking holes, yes my little hole-punchers do that, mostly on the broad leafed plants like swords. But its only a few here and there no big deal really.

Hi, My YoYos do this too, I have tiny little holes on pretty much all of my plants. I use the Hikari Algae Wafers in my aquarium and cucumber etc and it makes no difference they continue to eat the plants.

My solution is to replace the plants more often, if they want plants to eat, plants they shall have, whatever makes them happy right? Besides they are really cute swimming in the current attached to a swaying plant by their mouths.

java and anubias fern are the only thing that lasts in my tank.