Loss of a fishy friend

[Hannah Parker]

Hey everyone. I didn’t really have anyone else to tell that would really understand, but I found one of my yoyo loaches dried up behind my tanks today. I had just checked this morning, so it definitely happened while I was at work today. I’ve had my two yoyo loaches for over 4 years now, they were in my very first fish tank. I didn’t know what they were or what tank size they really needed, as I was misinformed by my LFS. I actually bought my 4ft long 33 gallon aquarium just to accommodate the pair of them once I realized how big they were gonna get and how active. I was really proud of myself for taking the best care of them I could and keeping them alive so long and I’m honestly very heartbroken about this turn of events. I’m not sure how he squeezed out of the glass lids but I guess he found a way. Now I will have to get another pair to go with the remaining yoyo. Here is the last picture I got of my handsome guy. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

That is heartbreaking. I have dealt with similar things, recently found some of my hatchets and some killifish - I blame my krobia for the hatchets. I don't typically think of our bottom dwelling friends in this light of "jumping" but they can, they are so athletic we never think of this though. My corys sometimes bump their heads on the cover when they come up for air. 

[Brian Marshall]

Sad to hear that Hannah.

I have a super big Yoyo loach in my community tank. They are such an interesting fish, and as the biggest fish in the tank, he or she is the tank boss. I haven't had many fish jump out of any of the my tanks, but did lose 4 Borneo loaches climb out of the tiniest gaps in one tank. That hurt and I wasn't even close to them like I am to my Yoyo.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Aww, fishy Friend, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know exactly how that feels and it's a terrible feeling. 😞 What a beautiful fish he was. I hope the new YoYos bring you some comfort. 

[Kurt Brutting]

Sorry for your loss. Super sad, yo-yo loaches are amazing animals. 

[Lots Of Loaches]

So sorry for your loss! It hurts after so many years of caring and loving them. He was a very pretty guy! Loaches are so easy to get attached to as they seem to like to interact with their humans. This will happen to all of us if we stay in the hobby long enough and it will never make sense why they jump out of their tank. I hope your new Yoyos bring you lots of joy!

[Hannah Parker]

Thank you everybody for the nice comments, it really did help me feel better and not so silly for being so upset. I will miss him and it will be bittersweet, but I know my remaining yoyo will be happy to have some new friends in the future. 

[Hannah Parker]

While we are talking about the wonderful yoyo loach, I had a couple questions pertaining to the wellbeing of my remaining yoyo; as I said earlier, I was misinformed when I bought the pair of them, but after gradually researching I upgraded to a 4ft long 33gal tank for them and the rest of the community fish. This was the biggest I could upgrade at the time. I didn't want to return them to the LFS, because I knew they wouldn't care who they were sold to and could end up in a much worse environment. So I decided just to commit to them and keep them and give them the best home I could. Well now that I've lost one, I have some tough decisions to make about the one I have left. I was actually always planning to never get another yoyo loach because I knew I didn't have the "proper" tank size to accommodate the species, but I'm pretty sure he shouldn't be alone for the remainder of his life. Because of the size of the tank I'm concerned if it's responsible to buy another loach to be with him. I know 2 can live in the tank fine because my pair have for years, but I also know he would be happier with 2 or 3 more buddies. So I was hoping I could get some opinions on this situation; Should I just buy one more loach for this tank, or would it make a difference to someday upgrade to a 55gal and get 2-3 more loaches? I'm curious if a 55gal would make a huge difference, as it has the same footprint as  my current 33gal, just taller. I'm also curious if an upgrade to a 55gal, which is the max I could upgrade, would even be big enough for 3-4 yoyo loaches total (along with the community tank). Thanks in advance for any insight on this ❤️ 

[Lots Of Loaches]

@hannah662parker IMO you have a suitable tank size for more loaches. Since I’m not sure what filtration you are using or how many other fish you have I can’t recommend how many you can safely add. I have a 40 long (same footprint as your 33) with UG filter and 2 power heads as well as 2 Ehiem 2213s and a 6 inch bubble stone. At one point I had 21 loaches in the tank with some african cichlids and a red tail shark. My water stayed at 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and 10-15 Nitrate as long as I kept that set-up. I do weekly water changes of 50%.  I’m sure plenty of people will say my tank is overstocked and etc. but it worked for me and my fish thrived in it. Having loaches is a lot of fun and I won’t have a tank without a school of them swimming around entertaining me. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Hannah Parker]

On 5/18/2022 at 12:12 PM, Lots Of Loaches said:

@hannah662parker IMO you have a suitable tank size for more loaches. Since I’m not sure what filtration you are using or how many other fish you have I can’t recommend how many you can safely add. I have a 40 long (same footprint as your 33) with UG filter and 2 power heads as well as 2 Ehiem 2213s and a 6 inch bubble stone. At one point I had 21 loaches in the tank with some african cichlids and a red tail shark. My water stayed at 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and 10-15 Nitrate as long as I kept that set-up. I do weekly water changes of 50%.  I’m sure plenty of people will say my tank is overstocked and etc. but it worked for me and my fish thrived in it. Having loaches is a lot of fun and I won’t have a tank without a school of them swimming around entertaining me. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Thank you! This makes me feel a lot better. I had actually combined community tanks a while back in an effort to downsize, so this tank has a bit of a hodge-podge going on and is semi-heavily stocked. I'm hoping once some of it's inhabitants naturally die off I can maybe have 3-4 loaches in there then! I only keep 2 large sponge filters in each corner of the tank, as the centerpiece fish is a betta.