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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Do the yo-yo loaches colours fade all the time?
I was just wandering if it's normal for the yo-yo loaches colours to fade then go back to normal and fade again and so on.....? | 
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| a fish's color should only fade when stressed, frightened, sick, or at rest | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by CAS512  I was just wandering if it's normal for the yo-yo loaches colours to fade then go back to normal and fade again and so on.....? | That's fairly normal for loaches, and is called "greying out". It usually happens when the fish are establishing a pecking order, or when they are having territorial disputes. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by mathas That's fairly normal for loaches, and is called "greying out". It usually happens when the fish are establishing a pecking order, or when they are having territorial disputes. |
oh ok, but it's safe isnt it? it's not going to kill them or anything??
I currently have 2 of them and only 1 is fading and going back to dark and fading again. the other one is very happy. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| is one bigger than the other? the bigger one may be pestring the smaller one (dominance thing) | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| well no not really, if the other one was bigger it would be by probably 1mm. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by CAS512 oh ok, but it's safe isnt it? it's not going to kill them or anything??
I currently have 2 of them and only 1 is fading and going back to dark and fading again. the other one is very happy. | The act/behavior/whatever of "greying out" isn't harmful to the fish in and of itself, but some of the things that cause it, such as dominance tests and territory disputes, can be, particularly if you only have two loaches with a clearly dominant fish that always wins the scuffles.
If you don't have several hiding spots for the less dominant fish to escape to, consider adding some. If you have enough room, you should also consider adding a few more of the same species so the aggression is spread around. From loaches.com's article An Introduction To Keeping Botia: Quote:
Botiine loaches are shoaling species and must always be kept in groups. In my opinion, five is the absolute minimum. Kept as solitary specimens they can become either aggressive or reclusive, the latter causing them to pine away, sometimes refusing to feed, leading to a painful and premature death. These fish develop social bonds with each other and find comfort in the form of a shoal of others of their own kind. They will usually form a pecking order, with a fish known as the ‘Alpha loach’ quite obviously in charge – this is usually (but not always) the largest loach in the aquarium and is often a female. Follow this ‘numbers’ rule and you will get the chance to see them behaving naturally and at their fullest potential
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| kool thanks for the tip.
I have a 30 gallon tank with the following in it: 2 yo-yo loaches, 2 scissor tails, 1 cardinal tetra and 1 albino bristlenose.
can i fit more loaches in there? | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by CAS512 kool thanks for the tip.
I have a 30 gallon tank with the following in it: 2 yo-yo loaches, 2 scissor tails, 1 cardinal tetra and 1 albino bristlenose.
can i fit more loaches in there? | I would probably add one more, if it were my tank. Any fish that does best in groups (and loaches are of this type) will do better with three than with two.
I'd also make sure there are sufficient hiding places, such as plants (live or artificial), rocks, flower pots, etc... somewhere that a fish can go hide when the others are being too rowdy. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| ok i'll go get one this weekend.
we got a boot with holes in it yesterday, it's so cool. i will get more hiding places for them though. they tend to go under my sponge filters too.
is there a chance that i could get clown loaches? | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by CAS512 is there a chance that i could get clown loaches? | I wouldn't recommend it, unless you have a much larger tank coming very soon. Clown loaches can reach up to 16" in length, and also do best in groups.
Loaches.com also has a good article on clown loaches, where they recommend a 4' tank for juveniles and 6' tank for adults. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| ok no worries. i'll let my partner know, he really wanted clown loaches.
can i fit any other fish in my tank that will swim around the top of the tank? | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by CAS512 ok no worries. i'll let my partner know, he really wanted clown loaches.
can i fit any other fish in my tank that will swim around the top of the tank? | I would think you could get away with adding a few more cardinal tetras, which would add more color and movement, and give your lone current tetra some peers to swim with.
You might be slightly overstocking the tank by doing that, but nothing that frequent water tests/changes can't handle. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| ok. i'll see what i can do. thanks for your help!  much appreciated. | |
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