I Got Myself Yoyo Loaches, Right?

[Colin_T]

it's the botias, don't worry they always do it.
Mine would do it at feeding time. They sit there and start making these stupid clicking noises so I would chuck in a heap of food and the clicking would get louder. Once they had finished feeding they shut up

 

[tibby25731]

At the risk of sounding really stupid... which ones are botias? I only really know common names!
Also, I have heard similar from my main tank once or twice, who do you think that might be? I am fascinated!

 

[lil.guppy]

They are Botia lohachata (dwarf Pakistani loach or yoyo loach).
they are meant to only get to 4inches and most do. However, I got some a while ago and they hit 6 inches in my tank and 10-12inches in a friend's tank. We're not sure why
But they usually stay small and are a peaceful schooling fish.

I was going to say......I have never seen a yo yo look like that. At first I was thinking of some kind of hybrid or something. Mine were REALLY long and a dull brown. They did not have markings like that. They look good though

 

[tibby25731]

Ah i googled, it's the giant danio right? Might know it is those mad little gits

 

[kewskills]

Ah i googled, it's the giant danio right? Might know it is those mad little gits

cool i find out something new everyday

 

[tibby25731]

they woke me up last night! can't beleive a fish can be so noisy... the sooner they are out of the quarantine in my bedroom, the better! only then I need to get another 2 to join them.........christ maybe my mum was right when she said kids would be easier then fish!

 

[mikev]

all the books say 4inches. I think there is either a subspecies that grows bigger, or there is something in the tap water.

Books tend to copy each other and/or from Fishbase. If the original has errors, so would the copies.

Subspecies are always possible, but the more likely explanation is that the growth rate drops tremendously after about 4". My older yoyo's got to 4" in a spur, but for the last year, they are growing really slowly...it may take a year to cross 5" but they will make it there eventually.

 

[Colin_T]

At the risk of sounding really stupid... which ones are botias? I only really know common names!
Also, I have heard similar from my main tank once or twice, who do you think that might be? I am fascinated!

botias are loaches like clown loaches and the yoyo loaches. However, I think the yoyo loach has been given a new genus name recently.

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all the books say 4inches. I think there is either a subspecies that grows bigger, or there is something in the tap water.

Books tend to copy each other and/or from Fishbase. If the original has errors, so would the copies.
Subspecies are always possible, but the more likely explanation is that the growth rate drops tremendously after about 4". My older yoyo's got to 4" in a spur, but for the last year, they are growing really slowly...it may take a year to cross 5" but they will make it there eventually.

Most of the books I have are old and were written years ago.
As for the growth rate dropping after 1 yr. Mine hit 5-6inches in the first 6 months but didn't get any bigger. My friends hit 10inches in a year. My tank was a 4x2x2ft. Friend’s tank was 6ftx14inx18in high. We had the same batch of loaches.
I have seen others and they have been several yrs old and were only 4inches.

 

[Lateral Line]

???

I have never seen a yo yo look like that

Most YoYo's look like that, there are some variations in the markings, but what you describe doesn't sound like B. almorhae at all. The common name "YoYo" comes from being able to see the word "YoYo" written on the side of the fish, (use some imagination!).

 

[mikev]

all the books say 4inches. I think there is either a subspecies that grows bigger, or there is something in the tap water.

Books tend to copy each other and/or from Fishbase. If the original has errors, so would the copies.
Subspecies are always possible, but the more likely explanation is that the growth rate drops tremendously after about 4". My older yoyo's got to 4" in a spur, but for the last year, they are growing really slowly...it may take a year to cross 5" but they will make it there eventually.

Most of the books I have are old and were written years ago.
As for the growth rate dropping after 1 yr. Mine hit 5-6inches in the first 6 months but didn't get any bigger. My friends hit 10inches in a year. My tank was a 4x2x2ft. Friend’s tank was 6ftx14inx18in high. We had the same batch of loaches.
I have seen others and they have been several yrs old and were only 4inches.

Which means that the conditions during the growth period matter a lot. I have serious doubts about the size of the tank being the main factor,...it just does not match my own observations.
My spur to 4" occurred in a 29g tank...the fish then went to a much better 125g, and the growth slowed down. I later added three more yoyo's, initially at 0.5" (this is before they spell YOYO, they were IIII's at the beginning). These new guys lived in the 125g now for about 9 months, and they are only at 2.5".--considerably slower then the initial group. Likewise, Kubs that I have in a 65g tank (3ft length -- not a good loach tank) grow much faster than those in the 125g (6ft)....

Out of curiosity: how large were your and your friend's shoals? I have a feeling about this being relevant...

You said 10" above: are you serious? there are periodic reports of 8", but not 10".

 

[Colin_T]

I got a school of 50 x 1.5inch botia lohachata and kept 30 and gave 20 to a friend.
His males got to 8inches and most of the females hit 10inches. There was one fish which hit 11inches. They were about 2inches high and about an inch wide. They filled up a 12inch net and thrashed about like loonies when you caught them. They had big spines on them too.

 

[mikev]

OMG... I wish I could see this.
If you have any photos from that time, I'd love to see them.

But the part of having large shoals for growth does seem to be true. My 65g has 13 Kubs and 13 Striatas now. Most of the Striata's were 1" back in August, right now it is 2"-3"... I got about an inch on most Kubs except for the largest... and these are slow-growing types.

Oh, here is a 0.5" yoyo (cannot spell yet):

I have somewhere a photo of the same fish taken about a week earlier...no dots between the Y'. And probably the same fish a couple of months later, at 2":

 

[Colin_T]

sorry no pics from that era. It was back in the early 90s. Didn't have a camera back then.
I want a time machine and a digital camera so I can go and get all the fish I killed yrs ago and bring them to present day. Not sure I would have room for everything I've had and kiled but it would be nice to get some of those fish back. Anyone got a spare time machine I can borrow. I only need it for a minute

 

[mikev]

If you manage to procure a time machine, I'll rent it for a trip or two from you.... There are some critters I really miss now....

 

[Lateral Line]

If I had access to a time machine, there are a few things I'd alter as well, but if I did, I'd never be here to go back and do them. The grandfather paradox is a killer huh?