Yoyo loach

Botia almorhae

Also known as Botia lohachata, Reticulate loach, Y-loach, Yo yo loach

FreshwaterFish

Yoyo loach (Botia almorhae) — Orishas92 · Public domain

Care at a glance

Temperature: 66–81°F; 19–27°C
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 6.3 in; 16 cm
Minimum tank: 42 gal; 160 L

Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Shoaling
Swim level: Bottom
Diet: Omnivore
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Family: Botiidae
Origin: Northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh

Overview

The yoyo loach is a hardy, patterned loach that lives on the bottom of a community tank. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Did you know

The yoyo loach owes its name to the dark markings on young fish. They often line up to read like the letters Y-O-Y-O along the flank. The pattern is clearest in juveniles and dissolves into a maze of fine lines as the loach matures.

Caring for the yoyo loach

Keep yoyo loaches in a group of six or more, in a tank of at least 42 gal (160 L). Give them a soft sand substrate, with smooth rocks and driftwood built into plenty of caves and gaps. Shaded retreats let the group forage in the open with confidence.

Keep the water clean and stable, at 66 to 81°F (19 to 27°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Brisk, well oxygenated flow suits a fish from cool, flowing hill streams.

Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworms, snails and the occasional vegetable. They dig through sand and explore wood and rock for food, and they are reliable hunters of pest snails.

In a good-sized group they form an active shoal and become relaxed and outgoing. Kept in ones and twos, they can turn nippy. They are peaceful otherwise, so pair them with active, similarly robust community fish. Breeding has not been recorded in home aquariums.

Good to know

The yoyo loach, Botia almorhae, is a member of the family Botiidae. Its dark pattern sits on a silvery-gold body. Like other botiine loaches, it has a sharp spine below each eye that it can raise in defense. The spine catches easily in a net. Commercial fish are farmed, often with hormone induction, so few are collected from the wild.

In the wild

The yoyo loach comes from northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It lives in the clear hill streams and rivers of the Ganges drainage, over sand, gravel and stone. These waters shift with the seasons.

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Tank mates

The yoyo loach is a peaceful, shoaling species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator