Yoyo loach lying on side

Hey!

Getting a bit worried here. Last 2 days I've seen my yoyo loach lying on his side in a cave. He comes out and acts 100% normal whenever another fish comes and disturbs him or it's feeding time, but between feedings he just sits there. Sometimes tipping over to his side. Not all the time, he can be out for a few hours acting normally, then goes back to that. Normally as in; chasing other loaches, eating, looking for food, etc etc.

Noticed slight flashing about a week ago, but that stopped after about 1 hour. No spots or signs of ich. No other stress symptoms in the tank.

He has his normal colors; dark and clear patterns. A bit of a chunky boy, but not more bloated than usual. Eats and is active, between his "dead" sessions.

Did a 30-35% WC 2 days ago, so don't think it's due to shock. It's a 125-130 gallon tank, good filtration. Ammonia at 0.

Noticed him chasing away the other large loach when it approaches the cave.

All other fish seem fine.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

Also please note, he is not having trouble staying upright when he is moving around normally. So doubt it's a swim bladder issue.

 

I think this is normal behavior as I to have seen this with my yoyo’s ,clowns and other loaches ,even laying on their sides in groups

 

The "tipping" behavior is normal for Botia Loaches. No worries.

 

He's never done it before though, and had him for like 2 years. It just looks so darn odd, rolling over and lying like that. Whenever I've had gourami's or guppies do that, they've been dead within the week.

 

My Red Tail Loaches didn't "Tip" until they reached adulthood & bulked up.
As long as your YoYo is eating & vigorously defending his territory, he's likely fine.

 

Thanks a lot!

I'll calm down and just enjoy the funny behaviour then

Hmm, now I just saw him rubbing his sides against the gravel. About 5 times on each side.

Would ich not have shown by now? No signs on him nor the other fish.

 

Hmm, now also doing wierd "yawning" motion on mouth. Only flashing while inside that cave, from what I can tell. Threw in an algae wafer, then he left the cave and went berserker on it (as usual).

 

Flashing isn't always an indicator of illness. It sometimes is exhibited to show territorial dominance.

 

Flashing isn't always an indicator of illness. It sometimes is exhibited to show territorial dominance.

Could that be why he does that?
He's been chasing the other fish a bit to now. No flashing outside of his cave, atleast not the last few days. Think it could be ich if the other fish aren't excessively flashing, and he's only doing it in his cave?
Also he's normally chasing the other fish and stuff after eating.

 

And then, 1 minute later, regular movement.

 

Looks healthy to me.

 

He is now flashing at all locations in tank, and chasing the other loach. Should I suspect ich even if no symptoms?
Last addition to tank was 15th of march. Wouldn't ich have shown on other fish as well?

No visible signs on his body.

 

Not a good idea to blindly medicate.
Bumping the heat up to 86 - 87 degrees & keeping it there for 10 days should eliminate any possibility of Ick.

 

Not a good idea to blindly medicate.
Bumping the heat up to 86 - 87 degrees & keeping it there for 10 days should eliminate any possibility of Ick.

Yeah, but bringing it that high seems like damaging to the other fish. Especially since only he is doing it, wouldn't ick have spread by now?

Also he isn't constantly flashing, he does it for a few min then stops for a while.

 

I think the YoYo has a very dominant personality & the flashing is his way of flexing.
Healthy fish can slough off Ick despite a weaker tankmate being infested.
Ick often begins unseen in the gills. If the Loach displays gasping or labored breathing then there might be a problem.

 

I think the YoYo has a very dominant personality & the flashing is his way of flexing.
Healthy fish can slough off Ick despite a weaker tankmate being infested.
Ick often begins unseen in the gills. If the Loach displays gasping or labored breathing then there might be a problem.

The gasping is not constant. Just observed him for 3 min now while he was looking for food, not a single flash. If it was ick, wouldn't it be more constant than that? Never had ick before.

Can not him opening his mouth wide and putting out his "mouth claws" also be a sign of dominance? It has been with my Oscar sometimes doing that.

The gasping is more of a.... yawn?
Similar to a tiger showing it's fangs.

And yes, he seems to be quite dominant. Largest of the 3 loaches in the tank, and 90% of the time it's him chasing the 2nd largest.

 

At about 39-42 seconds in he does the yawn:

 

No Worries. Might add a few more YoYos to the group.

 

No Worries. Might add a few more YoYos to the group.

Got 3 more in a smaller tank, they need to grow before moving over (else they'll be expensive food for the oscar )

He looks fine then? Been so worried about him.

 

Flashing isn't always an indicator of illness. It sometimes is exhibited to show territorial dominance.

Hi, I dont mean to side track the thread at all, so apologies to OP. Just wanted to ask if this applied to all territorial species?
I have some honey gourami in QT occasionally flashing during spawning behaviour. But no symptoms of illness, after seeing your comment I wondered if that's what it could be?

Also eligri , my yoyos too flop around and sleep on their sides. Like you're describing, they'll sometimes wedge themselves into leaves and sleep completely on their back too! I cant explain the flashing, but the swaying, falling and rolling is definitely typical loachy behaviour. Scary sometimes, they are so goofy

 

The other day my gold zebra (very similar to yoyo) was lying on its side for a few hours on a plant leave. At first i thought he was er well not well but it turns out he does this daily and otherwise is perfectly normal. Kind of cute in a way sort of taking a nap in the upper branches of the leaves (it is a aponogeton ulvaceus with 20 inches tall leaves)

 

My male Red Tail Loaches as well as most of the dominant male African Cichlids in my show tank "Flex" or "Flash" as a display of territorial domination.
I wouldn't be surprised if similar behavior applied to males of other species.

 

My male Red Tail Loaches as well as most of the dominant male African Cichlids in my show tank "Flex" or "Flash" as a display of territorial domination.
I wouldn't be surprised if similar behavior applied to males of other species.

Very helpful to know thank you!