Melanie - 2012-05-21 I have a variety of yoyo's for nearly 5 years now and I just love their markings. Each one has it's own unique patterns. I've never had a problem with any of them as far as getting along w/my other fishes. Yet I to have wondered abt. their breeding. Maybe someone out there ccn help me. Tonight while cleaning my tank I came across several globs of what looks like mucus. I sat here a good 45 minutes wondering who did this. Anyway I have 2 yoyos that look very much pregnent I mean fat for like over 6 months. Well that mystery substance is coming from 1 of them. It's getting late and got to get some z's! Can anyone please tell me anything. Thank you!
Babs - 2012-04-28 I've just given away two pakistani loaches after keeping them for eight years. They have bullied and hounded every fish in my tank to the death. Beautiful fish to look at, fascinating to watch but down and out bullies. Would never give them a place in a tank again.
Sarah - 2012-03-22 i love these fish. I have 3 and I have kept them all with cichlids for over 2 years. Never had any fatalites even when one of my loaches was only 1 inch and it was living with one of my cichlids who was about 6 inches at the time and who is now 8 inches.
andrew - 2010-12-16 Yo-yo loaches can easily reach 6" if provided a large enough aquarium. When adult they can easily defend themselves from aggressive cichlids like Kenyi and venustus
Margaret - 2010-04-16 Very excited. Have just cleaned my tank and while vacuuming the gravel and cleaning around the live plant I syphoned up a lot of large orange eggs (2mm). My Yoyos are about 4yrs old and I only have 2 in a community tank, approx 85 litres. Has to be the loaches as I have no other pair of egg breeders in tank, or any other fish big enough for these eggs. Female has been very lethagic the last couple of weeks. Don't expect anything to come of it now that they've been disturbed. I remember when I first got them and researched about Pakistani Loaches. It said nothing was known about breeding as they were not done commercially. All I can tell you is the tank is cleaned every week - so eggs haven't been there long, and where the loaches usually chase each other they are happy to be quiet and lay together at the moment. If anything else happens will post again.
Jo - 2010-01-14 While I was cleaning my tank last week I decided one of my large ornaments needed a good cleaning. Now I know sometimes the fish I have hide here at cleaning time, so I checked nothing was inside, then removed it. As I placed it down my lovely yoyo loach plopped out. Whoops, I tried to grab him quickly to put him back in my tank and the little begger sliced 2 little gashes in my hand which bled, slightly. I can only think that it's his little what looks like whiskers he has around his mouth, so lets say I didn't try picking him up again. So I grabbed my net and put him back in that way, which is probably what I should have done in the 1st place, lol. He is absolutely fine now, back 2 his cheeky self thank god. But I won't be doing that again any time soon. xxx
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Mat Malta - 2010-03-06 They're a great fish, but I don't agree that they are not active during the day. I have 6 in a 250litre, they are 1 year old, and they are really tiring to watch. They do not pause for 1 second! At night they will rest on a leaf and sleep sideways which is quite funy. Also I am very curious about their reproduction, I couldn't find anything on the net. I have seen them mating several times at night, swimming side byside curling up into each other, but I never found any eggs.
Mike - 2009-09-07 I have two YoYo Loaches who have lived happily in a Cichlid tank for a couple of months. Yesterday, I saw their behaviour change from amusing to bizarre! They chased each other for about twenty minutes, circling and almost digging a hole in the gravel - at high speed. What really surprised me was that one of the loaches almost completely lost its colour, becoming nearly totally white. As soon as it had begun, the "ritual" ended and they swam off happily to continue eating. The one who had lost its colour regained its normal look within a couple of hours.
JT - 2008-04-13 I have 5 yoyos in a 75. They are about 2 years old and range in size from 3 1/2 inches to almost 5 inches long. As active as these loaches are, I would not recommend keeping them in any tank shorter than 36 inches, and as large as they get, 48 inches would be much better. They are always playing, dancing about the tank, investigating the two gouramis they live with, tussling with each other and the 8 striped loaches they share the tank with.
Emily - 2008-04-06 I have four Yoyo loaches I've had for 6 years. My largest is at least 5 1/2" long and the dominant Yoyo of the tank. They change colors during feed time, when another loach enters their 'territory', or when quarreling over something. Usually this color change is a slightly iridescent/pearlescent bluish color on top of their normal coloration; however, I've seen one or two of mine almost loose their colors when they lose a fight. They turn a beautiful copper color to express dominance, and become so dark you can barely see the stripes when fighting. Just before they change colors, their cheeks turn a metallic silvery blue color and soon after they rapidly shift colors.
FYI- for the new loach owners, most loaches take naps! If you see your loaches start to sway and sort of rest on their sides a bit (and it hasn't been acting weird otherwise), its a good thing! It means it feels safe outside of its hiding place & is taking a nap :). Sometimes they take these in huge groups, huddled up next to each other. Also, they can get quite rough when fighting over food or their territories, but I've yet to see one of mine hurt another one. I love these fish, they each have their own unique personalities and will become the stars of your tank. I highly recommend getting more than one though. They seem happier that way :).
joe - 2008-03-17 I currently have 30 yoyo loaches in a 6'2'2' tank, along with a range of americans. They seem to be the only fish that can survive well with agressive fish such as dovei, jaguars, and flowerhorns.
The gorgeous Pakistani Loach is known to be a very playful fish, and a great scavenger as well!
I have a variety of yoyo's for nearly 5 years now and I just love their markings. Each one has it's own unique patterns. I've never had a problem with any of them as far as getting along w/my other fishes. Yet I to have wondered abt. their breeding. Maybe someone out there ccn help me. Tonight while cleaning my tank I came across several globs of what looks like mucus. I sat here a good 45 minutes wondering who did this. Anyway I have 2 yoyos that look very much pregnent I mean fat for like over 6 months. Well that mystery substance is coming from 1 of them. It's getting late and got to get some z's! Can anyone please tell me anything. Thank you!
I've just given away two pakistani loaches after keeping them for eight years. They have bullied and hounded every fish in my tank to the death. Beautiful fish to look at, fascinating to watch but down and out bullies. Would never give them a place in a tank again.
i love these fish. I have 3 and I have kept them all with cichlids for over 2 years. Never had any fatalites even when one of my loaches was only 1 inch and it was living with one of my cichlids who was about 6 inches at the time and who is now 8 inches.
Yo-yo loaches can easily reach 6" if provided a large enough aquarium. When adult they can easily defend themselves from aggressive cichlids like Kenyi and venustus
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c260/struss/fish/P1010342.jpg
Very excited. Have just cleaned my tank and while vacuuming the gravel and cleaning around the live plant I syphoned up a lot of large orange eggs (2mm). My Yoyos are about 4yrs old and I only have 2 in a community tank, approx 85 litres. Has to be the loaches as I have no other pair of egg breeders in tank, or any other fish big enough for these eggs. Female has been very lethagic the last couple of weeks. Don't expect anything to come of it now that they've been disturbed. I remember when I first got them and researched about Pakistani Loaches. It said nothing was known about breeding as they were not done commercially. All I can tell you is the tank is cleaned every week - so eggs haven't been there long, and where the loaches usually chase each other they are happy to be quiet and lay together at the moment. If anything else happens will post again.
While I was cleaning my tank last week I decided one of my large ornaments needed a good cleaning. Now I know sometimes the fish I have hide here at cleaning time, so I checked nothing was inside, then removed it. As I placed it down my lovely yoyo loach plopped out. Whoops, I tried to grab him quickly to put him back in my tank and the little begger sliced 2 little gashes in my hand which bled, slightly. I can only think that it's his little what looks like whiskers he has around his mouth, so lets say I didn't try picking him up again. So I grabbed my net and put him back in that way, which is probably what I should have done in the 1st place, lol. He is absolutely fine now, back 2 his cheeky self thank god. But I won't be doing that again any time soon. xxx
They're a great fish, but I don't agree that they are not active during the day. I have 6 in a 250litre, they are 1 year old, and they are really tiring to watch. They do not pause for 1 second! At night they will rest on a leaf and sleep sideways which is quite funy. Also I am very curious about their reproduction, I couldn't find anything on the net. I have seen them mating several times at night, swimming side byside curling up into each other, but I never found any eggs.
I have two YoYo Loaches who have lived happily in a Cichlid tank for a couple of months. Yesterday, I saw their behaviour change from amusing to bizarre! They chased each other for about twenty minutes, circling and almost digging a hole in the gravel - at high speed. What really surprised me was that one of the loaches almost completely lost its colour, becoming nearly totally white. As soon as it had begun, the "ritual" ended and they swam off happily to continue eating. The one who had lost its colour regained its normal look within a couple of hours.
I have 5 yoyos in a 75. They are about 2 years old and range in size from 3 1/2 inches to almost 5 inches long. As active as these loaches are, I would not recommend keeping them in any tank shorter than 36 inches, and as large as they get, 48 inches would be much better. They are always playing, dancing about the tank, investigating the two gouramis they live with, tussling with each other and the 8 striped loaches they share the tank with.
I have four Yoyo loaches I've had for 6 years. My largest is at least 5 1/2" long and the dominant Yoyo of the tank. They change colors during feed time, when another loach enters their 'territory', or when quarreling over something. Usually this color change is a slightly iridescent/pearlescent bluish color on top of their normal coloration; however, I've seen one or two of mine almost loose their colors when they lose a fight. They turn a beautiful copper color to express dominance, and become so dark you can barely see the stripes when fighting. Just before they change colors, their cheeks turn a metallic silvery blue color and soon after they rapidly shift colors.
FYI- for the new loach owners, most loaches take naps! If you see your loaches start to sway and sort of rest on their sides a bit (and it hasn't been acting weird otherwise), its a good thing! It means it feels safe outside of its hiding place & is taking a nap :). Sometimes they take these in huge groups, huddled up next to each other. Also, they can get quite rough when fighting over food or their territories, but I've yet to see one of mine hurt another one. I love these fish, they each have their own unique personalities and will become the stars of your tank. I highly recommend getting more than one though. They seem happier that way :).
I currently have 30 yoyo loaches in a 6'2'2' tank, along with a range of americans. They seem to be the only fish that can survive well with agressive fish such as dovei, jaguars, and flowerhorns.