Yo-Yo Loaches

[KINGMED]

Went to the petstore today for fathers day so that my girls could enjoy the fish and animals, went to 4 of them today---my wife of course stayed in the car cause she's not an animal lover like my kids and myself. Well one of the petstores has fish for 1/2 price on Sundays and they had a tank full of yo-yo's so I bought 4 of them for 10.00, they are presently now in my 55 gallon along with a white angelfish, male guppy and female betta. This is my tank that was covered with green algae until I did a major overhaul today, sucked out all the top layer of pool filtersand after scrubbing the sides of the tank and OH MY GOODNESS it's wonderful looking. Is 4 yo-yo's large enough group for the 55 gallon? I also bought 3 black skirt tetras tiny little ones for 65 cents each to go with my 2 large ones in my 29 gallon which also has a black and white angelfish that's pretty large, upside down catfish that is black with white spots all over it syndonitis ? that I bought for 6.99 a few months back, it has grown a little since then and a spotted raphael that hides in the drift wood and the only thing you see is his tail waiving back in forth to let you know he is still alive and well.

[smaug]

good buys!The yoyos will be fine in your 55.I started with that many in my 58 but 2 died over the years,they are livin large,and very entertaining to boot.

[KINGMED]

Are they easier to take care of than clown loaches, never had any luck with them. These yo-yo's are already swimming around and playing together, could I safely put 1 or 2 more in the tank or is 4 the max that I should put in there?

[smaug]

They can reach 6" so i would stick with the 4.I have no experiance with clown loach.

[Dave66]

Yo Yos have a bit of the 'joy de vivre', so they may pick at the slow with flowing fins (aka angelfish), and the tiny tetras; your Raphael make get those. Just keep an eye on them. They'll be some picking as they try to find a spot in your tank all four can jam in together.

It'll take them at least two years to reach six inches. You could add two more for a proper group of six, since they will slow down in growth once they pass three inches, then it'll take quite some time for them to reach six. Like all Botia-types, Yo Yos are long lived. You should get more than 10 years out of them.

I'm confused why you had trouble with clown loaches. Properly kept, they are just as hardy as the rest of the Botia-type loaches, although they are the largest of them all.

Black with white spots is Synodontis angelicus. They top out at eight inches.

Dave

[KINGMED]

My upside down catfish is in my 29 gallon and my yo-yo's are in my 55 gallon along with a female betta, male guppy and an angelfish. I have noticed that they will kind of chase or swim behind the guppy alot--they are nice to watch and seem to enjoy the large environment compared to where they were. My upside down catfish will eventually go into a 55 gallon tank when I bring it down on the 1st floor, at present time he/she is only about 1.5 to 2 inches and is very active, I love this little guy.

[KINGMED]

Was wondering if I put a large bubble wand into my 55 gallon tank would this help the loaches to be more at home?