yoyos squabbling

[sp00f]

hi - I have a 10g right now that used to have mollies and tetras and one yoyo I got to control snails. He was in there on his own for about two months and was starting to get very aggressive towards the other fish so I moved out the mollies and got 3 more yoyos. The original guy is a bit larger and better fed than the new ones, who are a tad thin from living in the pet store, and he considers it his tank. They're all around 2 inches long.

Basically, the original guy has been hassling and chasing the other loaches more aggressively than I'm used to. I've seen them bang up against the glass or get slammed into the substrate trying to get away from him, although I've seen no injuries or serious reactions (like shock or anything) yet (it's been a few days). Is this normal adjustment as they get their social structure worked out, and when should I get concerned about him getting too violent? The weird thing is they'll happily cram into the little cave together to sleep, but it's like little kids on a road trip, eventually somebody gets too close to somebody's side, or touches someone annoyingly, and they all erupt into a squabble for about five minutes and then go back to sleep. Is this just normal loachiness? Or has living alone turned my original guy into a sociopath or something?

At least they're all ignoring the tetras now.

[smaug]

The good news is you have the right nunber of yoyos for a good group. The bads news is you are about 20 gal short of the 30 gals of tank they would need.yoyos are very inquisitive fish and get bored easy. That boredom turns into aggression without proper territory.this problem will not subside with a 10 gal tank.you gotta go bigger.

[Crispy]

agreed. get something larger for them. In the meantime, rearranging the tank might help for the shortterm. They will naturally squabble a bit until the heirarchy of loaches is determined.

[Pleco380]

I also agree. I made the same mistake with only getting 1 yoyo loach over a year ago. Just recently I got 2 more. In QT, the new guys were fine in the small tank. When i added them to the larger tank (80g) they had tons of space to get away and hide. Now they swim peacefully. But then again, they only got into the big tank last night. LOL. So far they are getting along great and the big loach is very gentle. He's about an inch and a bit larger than the new ones.

[smaug]

Yoyo enjoy company and are very social.Big groups of them will wad up in structure in the wild and in tanks.

[sp00f]

They seem to be figuring things out, they each have their own little cave or hidey spot, even though I expected them to wad up more. Right now one is squeezed between the leaves of a silk plant, one is in a rock cave, and the other two are fighting over the middle rock cave, which I guess is the bestest of all the rock caves, since they fight over who's going in it constantly. All four of them jammed in there right after I added them to the tank but now it's whoever gets dibs first and can defend it. Or two of them just cram in like they're doing now. I also just dug one out of the filter box where he was jamming the impeller with his face (he is fine). I had assumed there was NO WAY one of them could swim up the output stream and UNDER the biowheel but I stand corrected. I'm half expecting to find them all in my shoes tomorrow morning.

[sp00f]

spoke too soon - the poor guy who decided to swim directly into the impeller has a cut on his nose and a damaged gill cover. He seems a little stunned and short of breath but is swimming fine. I'm keeping the tank as quiet as I can and letting him be, I'll see how he is in the morning. If the other three start hassling him tonight I may isolate him so he can recover. :scry:

[smaug]

I gotta ask. Will you be looking for a bigger tank?

[sp00f]

yeah, they'll definitely be upgrading, if not with me then with someone who can manage them. I might be moving in a few months but I'll make sure they get taken care of.