Color changing yoyo loaches???

[FROGGY67]

I have 3 yoyo loaches, when I first got them two paired up and the other one mostly hid in a cave or was off on his own, one day he came out of the cave and I thought he looked faded, he slowly swam across the tank and just sat there swaying side to side, I thought he was dying! Then he just went right back to normal and his colors darkened again within minutes.

Today I fed them and some of the zebra danios were trying to eat the loaches pellet food, the loaches just pushed the away though, I left for a minute and when I came back one of the loaches was completely white!!
within 10 minutes he was back to his normal color again, you can actually watch them darken.

Does anyone know why the fade like this? I thought maybe it was a defense mechanism but I've read other posts and people think it is a mating ritual or that it means the fish is sick. I don't think they are sick but I am curious if anyone really knows why they fade like this.

[Emma Turner]

Your Yo-yo's are 'greying out.' This is a fairly common occurence with many Botiine species, and usually happens when the fish are sorting out a pecking order, or when they are having territorial disputes. Here is a link to an article which covers greying out: http://www.loaches.com/markings.html Although it is on a page about Clown Loaches, the bit about greying out applies to other loaches such as your Yo-yos too.

Emma

[Wendie]

I have three Yo Yo's and they do the same thing. The two grey out all the time and constantly chase each other. They appear to be females. The slightly smaller one always has sharp colors and rarely fights.

[FROGGY67]

so far my smaller one is the one who has faded and also turned completely white. The larger one tends to stay darkly colored. I don't know which is female and which are male. How can I tell?

[Emma Turner]

If it seems to happen rather regularly, you should consider adding some more Yo-yos to your group. Five would be a better number as it will help to spread any aggression.

Emma

[FROGGY67]

oh, they're not very aggressive at all. Only once did I see this when they were eating but for the most part they are very peaceful fish, the danios have learned to stay away from them now that the loaches are getting bigger!