Got two little Yo-Yo's, but I need more, don't I?

[genEus]

For my 20 gallon... I got a couple big rocks, plants and a huge piece of driftwood, so they have plenty of places to hide, and as soon as one of them hides, the other one hides also. And then they're just sitting there, hiding. Grr

Do I need to get another couple so that they always have someone to play with? Are those the rules of the game?

 

[ewurm]

You will need more if you want to see the strength in numbers effect. They are much more social in larger groups. They do get fairly large, so you'll need to upgrade within a year. I included info on my blog about this subject if you want to check it out.

 

[genEus]

Well I got two zebra loaches today. They are quite a bit plumper than the yo-yo guys and definitely not as shy.

It was hilarious to see the yo-yo guys turn almost totally pale when I first released the zebras into the tank. The little yo-yo's were so scared, hehe

But now all four of them are roaming around quite actively. But, it's funny how the zebra loaches did not hide for even a second and went straight away to foraging and running all around the tank, while the yo-yo guys only came out to play after a day of pretty much hiding. I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that the zebra loaches are bigger or maybe that they see that they're not alone... Interesting.

 

[Lupin]

Young fish tend to be a little intimidated by the presence of larger counterparts. It's instinct. Have to admit my own yoyos weren't afraid of the gibby when they were only 1.5 inch at that time I bought them but I bought 10 yoyos at that time.lol

 

[Muske]

I've got five of them and they are out all the time.

Moral.... Strength in numbers.

 

[genEus]

Well what I'm seeing for now is that the two yo-yo's are much more shy than the zebra guys. I see the two zebra loaches out and about pretty much all the time and the yo-yo loaches hiding pretty much... all the time... And, it helps them that I have big rocks and a huge piece of wood in my tank so they have plenty of places to hide. It irritates me though that I never see them but oh well, what can I do... So I don't really know, what can I do? Get a couple more zebra loaches maybe?

Off topic - I got some algae wafers and the loaches just sniff around them, don't really care. My dwarf gourami eats them up though!

 

[ewurm]

Well what I'm seeing for now is that the two yo-yo's are much more shy than the zebra guys. I see the two zebra loaches out and about pretty much all the time and the yo-yo loaches hiding pretty much... all the time... And, it helps them that I have big rocks and a huge piece of wood in my tank so they have plenty of places to hide. It irritates me though that I never see them but oh well, what can I do... So I don't really know, what can I do? Get a couple more zebra loaches maybe?

Off topic - I got some algae wafers and the loaches just sniff around them, don't really care. My dwarf gourami eats them up though!

Forget the algae wafers, get some Hikari Carnivore. Also, you'll need a few more Yo-Yos at least to get an active shoal going. Check out my blog.

 

[genEus]

Forget the algae wafers, get some Hikari Carnivore. Also, you'll need a few more Yo-Yos at least to get an active shoal going. Check out my blog.

Can I get a few more zebras instead? (I think I've gotten a liking for the zebras much more than the yo-yos)

How many can I keep, total??? I am only going to have loaches and gouramis. I was thinking about 2 or 3 more dwarf gouramis and the rest little loaches - zebra or spotted, if I can find them.

I have a 20 gallon long tank, which is about 30" x 12" x 12" ... So far I have 4 little loaches, each about 1.5" in length, and one dwarf gourami, about 2" long.

 

[ewurm]

The yo-yos will get big, the striatas would be a better fit for the tank.

 

[genEus]

Returned my two yo-yo loaches yesterday to the store. Had to tear up my entire tank to get to the little rascals. Almost crushed them by a rock. Yikes! Got 4 more zebra loaches instead. So now have a total of 6 zebra loaches and 2 dwarf gouramis. The zebras are out and about and look happy enough (except one, for some reason, just keeps straying away from the pack). But, I'm happy now and I'm glad the LFS didn't mind taking back the two yo-yo guys.