Pakistani Behaviour

[beverley11]

HELLO EVERYONE...I AM NEW HERE AND WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE MORE EXPERIENCED OF YOU IF MY PAKISTANI LOACH'S (YO YO LOACH) BEHAVIOUR IS NORMAL. HE SEEMS HEALTHY ENOUGH BUT OFTEN LIES UPSIDE DOWN IN HIS ROCK CREVACE,OR ON HIS SIDE. I FIRST OBSERVED THIS WHEN I GOT UP ONE MORNING AND THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD. IS THIS JUST A QUIRKY THING THAT LOACHES DO?

 

[Lateral Line]

I found this on mod queue in the Fish Index.

To the OP, yes, Botias are well known for lying at odd angles and doing wacky things. They are gregarious fish and should be kept in groups of at least 3.

PS. I'm sure you'll get someone flame you for shouting, i.e. typing in all upper case letters.

 

[millym]

hi
yes this is common behaviour for loaches - we have 2 pakistani loaches & often find them loafing around on their sides & also often lying completely upside down. when we first got them we had a few scares thinking they were sick or worse.dead when we saw them like this, id stick my net in the tank to see what was wrong & one very annoyed looking loach would scoot off.
ours also quite often esp at lights out will spend ages swimming loop the loops in a corner of the tank in the bubble wall - daft or just dancing were not sure.

 

[Barracuda518]

Mine do the same thing. They will squeeze between the rocks and the sand and lay flat to sleep. They also will lay on thier sides in a pile on the bottom by the air stone and sleep. They are indeed great fish, very active and so far friendly to everyone.

 

[The-Wolf]

PS. I'm sure you'll get someone flame you for shouting, i.e. typing in all upper case letters.

no confidense in us members then
or just being a realist.

Just to reitterate
yes this is perfectly normal behavoiur, mine often have me in stitches with their antics.

P.S.
It is considered that typing in capitols implys shouting and should only be done spareingly.

 

[beverley11]

[Sorry about the caps..and thankyou all for your replies. I do have 4 of the yo yo loaches but have only observed one doing the lounging,probably because the other 3 have more inconspicuous hidey holes to escape to.They really do make a great addition to the tank and so far have not troubled any of my other fish (i've had them now for about 3 months and i assume they are just about grown at 4 inches long)
Thanks again folks!!!

 

[The-Wolf]

i assume they are just about grown at 4 inches long)

Yoyos' will grow to 8"
Myself and LL have some at this size

 

[beverley11]

how long till they get to 8 inches? , mine seem to have grown quite fast in the first two months i've had them,but i havn't noticed much growth for the last 3 or 4 weeks,just assumed they had reached adulthood. Also can you sex the yo yo's in any way? i dont have a clue what mine are.

 

[The-Wolf]

like most botias they fast grow to approx half adult size then slow grow to adult size.
My two are approx 6 years old (that is based on the 2 years I've had them and the 4 years the previouse owner had them)

Edit
no you can't sex them just by external looks