Pakistani Loaches

[freerunner416]

Evenin,

I found two of these wee chaps kicking around in a Pets at home tank with black khuli loaches. I have never seen or heard of them before and having searched the species area but there is nothing mentioned about them. Has anybody heard of a "Pakistani Loach". I will try to get pics. I was letting them hide away (plus had to go on a nightshift!!) Sorry for not having pics!! The wee chaps are grey in colour and slightly banded. The bands are choclatey brown or black.

they look cool!!

Can't wait to get them and my 3 khuli loaches into my big tank when it comes!!!




****A month till tank arrives!! Decorating first

 

[mikev]

Pakistani Loach == Yoyo Loach == Botia Almorhae.

Read the profile here:
http/www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-almorhae

Notice that it would be best to get more, generally 5+ is recommended, but you should have at the very least 3.

Also notice that Yoyo+Kuhli combination does not always work, Yoyo's may stress the Kuhlis. However, with specifically Black Kuhlis, real problems are less likely.

hth

 

[madgap]

I got two from Pets at Home in Teesside years ago. After a while I disovered that fish that were fine before lights out were "eye-less" the next morning. I talked with a guy I trust most about this problem. He asked my stock I told him. He stopped me as soon as I said 'Pakistani Loach' He told me he wil never even stock them for this reason. Like I say, I trust this guy and promptly took action. No fish from that day lost eyes in my tank!

I will never get another again

 

[Luketendo]

I bought like 3 from my lfs and now I have one, i've never lost any eyes on my fish but he does chase them around a little.

 

[jazz298]

My yoyo botias have not been any troubles at all, they are the only bottom feeders in the tank other then my pleco, i love them, they are entertaining doing circles for hours in the back of the tank, and will be getting some more without hesitation

 

[mikev]

I got two from Pets at Home in Teesside years ago. After a while I disovered that fish that were fine before lights out were "eye-less" the next morning. I talked with a guy I trust most about this problem. He asked my stock I told him. He stopped me as soon as I said 'Pakistani Loach' He told me he wil never even stock them for this reason. Like I say, I trust this guy and promptly took action. No fish from that day lost eyes in my tank!

I will never get another again

Uggh, this is an overreaction. Loaches do harm other fish occasionally, but this is not common. It does happen, I had baby Striata's take out a Rasbora's eye recently, and Striata's are generally the most peaceful Botia's... Still, they are playful...

If I may ask: how old/large were the yoyo's and who (what species/size) got hurt?

 

[freerunner416]

Cheers for the info guys!!

I only have two as there was only two left to buy. They seem ok. I will hunt down a few more once i get home from my hols and get the bigger tank up and running.

I have two black and one banded khuli's and the black ones seem to get on fine with it. I will be getting a few more for the bigger tank. The banded one just hides ALL the time.

No eye losses in my tank but i will keep a close eye out!!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yoyo loaches have a strict heirachy/pecking order between them, although they are generally peaceful fish by nature, to keep the harmony between groups of yoyo loaches you really need to have 5 or more to help keep the loaches attentions on each other and to prevent them picking on any one loach too much in the group.

My yoyo loaches were 100% peaceful between each other when i first got them, but after about a month once they were a lot more settled into the tank, i started to see them having little (harmless enough) squabbles between each other as they kept their pecking orders in check between themselvers. Personally i have 7 yoyo loaches together in my main tank, this is a good number to have, the loaches are in top health and are doing great, but having seen them doing their pecking order thing i'd definately never advise someone to have any less than 5 yoyo loaches, the larger the group the more they thrive together (as long of course there is enough space for them).


My main advise with these loaches is to keep a strict eye on their diet- although they do best on 1-2 small/medium sized meals a day, they have a voracious apetite and will more than happily gorge themselves if you over-feed them. Its difficult to resist feeding them sometimes when you see their inquisitive hungry little faces, but just make sure you don't over-feed or under-feed them- they also thrive from a variety of foods in their diets, and will eat almost any type of fish food .

Because these are fish which originate from rivers which have very good water quality and are very well oxygenated, its also important to make sure the aquarium has strong filtration and very clean water. Yoyo loaches suffer in tanks where there is lots of organic debris like plant leaves, fish poop and dirty substrate, so its very important to make sure the tank is spotless at all times.

A sand substrate really is the best substrate for these fish, its also good to have caves in the tank constructed out of stacked rocks and driftwood, the yoyo loaches will make good use of decor like this .

 

[millym]

hi
great fish we have 2 but bear in mind they are as said rather boisterous at times and can bully other fish - we had a problem a while ago when our biggest yoyo started becoming very aggressive towards our female swordtail who was also a big fish (5inches or so) we had to separate them. i suppose it must have been a size/dominance issue but it caused probs. we dont have the swordie anymore and the loach has settled, it very occasionally will chase a tiger barb for a few secs but no damage & it doesnt last. we did at one point seriously have to think about rehoming our loaches.
imo i think they are better in a loach species tank. i would not put them with very gentle passive fish.
another point to bear in mind is they grow BIG our biggest is approx 6 inches long & about 1 inch at widest.the other is a little smaller they grow quite quickly at first & then it slows down.both ours were teeny little things when we got them. we have had ours for abour 4 yrs. there are loach lovers on this forum that have pakistani loaches that are 8 inches in size & if you do a search on this forum you'll find lots of other posts about these loaches with some great info.

as for food they LOVE bloodworm & other beasties like mosquito larvae(buy in frozen blister packs & defrost) but also love sinking wafers of all sorts,tubifex cubes,flake,lettuce anything really.
great characters though!!!