Loaches Online Forum

My wife and I are looking for an interesting fish to add to our current setup:
-55g 4'
-2 Rena XP4's
-21 4-5" African Dwarf Cichlids
-2 BN

A guy we deal with at LFS suggested the yoyo. We love the looks of these guys, but my research has shown that they prefer groups of 3 or more. We're not sure we'd want to add that many - our tank would probably be too overcrowded. Wanted to hear people's experice with having just one yoyo. Are thy unhappy without other loaches about?

Many thanks!

Yoyos are social fish and need groups to be happy. On the website (www.loaches.com) it says they should be kept in a group.

I'm not sure about dwarf african cichlids but if they are hardwater fish, then putting in yoyos isn't a good idea since they are softwater fish.

I'd suggest an alternative but I'm new to the hobby myself. Someone will come along and post better advice than mine but I'm pretty sure about the clowns in a group.

right now my dad has one yo-yo in a 38 gallon tank with 5 otocinclus catfish, and about 30 cardinal tetras.

The yo-yo seems to be doing great, is very happy, and extremely active.
There used to be two yo-yos, but the tank had a huge episode of ich, and only this one survived.

They say they are happier in groups though, so i don;t know what to tell you.
I have actually been trying very hard to convince my dad to get at least 2 more yo-yos, but he is kind of stubborn.
The one yo-yo seems to be doing great alone though.

One yoyo tends to bother other fish. Two yoyos will torment each other. Three (more is preferable) are boisterous but great fun. What kind of cichlids are you keeping?

adamrf1126 wrote:They say they are happier in groups though, so i don;t know what to tell you.
I have actually been trying very hard to convince my dad to get at least 2 more yo-yos, but he is kind of stubborn.
The one yo-yo seems to be doing great alone though.

We would prefer though that they be kept at a minimum of 3. Loaches are quite sociable. Perhaps, teling your dad that the more the merrier and more entertaining to watch the small group may persuade him.

my loach is alone and seams fine he is always out. he is very soital with the other fish.

palaeodave wrote:One yoyo tends to bother other fish. Two yoyos will torment each other. Three (more is preferable) are boisterous but great fun. What kind of cichlids are you keeping?

Cichlids I have are acei, yellows, and mainganos

I had a single yoyo loach, as suggested by my LFS, and it was a nightmare - he was great fun to watch, but antagonized the other fish mercilessly, and it was pretty obvious he wasn't happy. That's what brought me to this community in the first place, and because I didn't have the space to get more than one, I had to make the tough decision to give him up.

I'm glad you're doing the research beforehand - much better plan!

Hi gizmo,

Dave sums it up perfectly here:

palaeodave wrote:One yoyo tends to bother other fish. Two yoyos will torment each other. Three (more is preferable) are boisterous but great fun.

These are social fish which build a natural hierarchy within a group. Despite what the store have said, keeping one alone is simply cruel, and in Yoyos does often lead to aggression problems as the fish mature. A group of at least 3 is needed, but 5 will be better. Have a read here of their general requirements: http://www.loaches.com/articles/an-intr ... ping-botia They will not be suitable for keeping with your Malawi cichlids though, another article which may be of interest is here: http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loa ... i-cichlids. So you need to decide whether you want to keep one or the other.

Hope this helps,
Emma

palaeodave wrote:One yoyo tends to bother other fish. Two yoyos will torment each other. Three (more is preferable) are boisterous but great fun.

About a year ago I decided to check this, by moving my Yoyo's into new tank one by one with intervals long enough for the behavior to stabilize.

Two was the worst. On the count of three I got two loaches tormenting each other and the third (slightly smaller and ignored) hiding from them in the corner...not much better than two. Four was indeed stable.
[Other people did find three to work and I saw it working myself too ... but this is ime pretty risky.]

Hey,
One yo-yo will be aggressive and/or hide most of the time. A group will be out all the time to perform their dance routines for you.

Two was the worst. On the count of three I got two loaches tormenting each other and the third (slightly smaller and ignored) hiding from them in the corner...not much better than two.

I had a similair experience with my Yo-yos. By twos and threes I increased it to nine.

Batch

Currently 6 here in total. NO MORE.

Hey, it would be interesting to see photos of your pack.

After listening to Emma and a few of the others I would say no fewer then 5, I have three currently ( still holding out hope the one will suddenly surface). My group is the opposite of what someone posted I have two very nearly 3 inches and one at 3.5 and he is king! I am currently in a financial bind getting married and all so I cannot afford to increase just yet but when I can I will be getting two more. From what I have seen when I did have four they were much more active.

Batch wrote:Hey,
One yo-yo will be aggressive and/or hide most of the time. A group will be out all the time to perform their dance routines for you.

Two was the worst. On the count of three I got two loaches tormenting each other and the third (slightly smaller and ignored) hiding from them in the corner...not much better than two.

I had a similair experience with my Yo-yos. By twos and threes I increased it to nine.

Batch

I'm with Mike, I want to see 9 yoyos doing their thing! I've got five.

9 in a tank would be thus, and the ordered is only from it taking place in such a small area!!!