YoYo Loaches Are My Saviors

For the longest time I had difficulty trying to decide what bottom feeders would work well with my African Cichlids. I initially tried a few Cory Cats, but soon found that all there fins were getting shredded by the very aggressive Cichlids. Then I had read that Clown Loaches could work with Cichlids, as they are a fairly peaceful fish, but in difficult circumstances they do and can hold there ground.

So I went out and got a small pack of Clown Loaches to add to my 55 gallon African tank. And, quite honestly, they worked out great. The Clown Loaches were not intimidated by the Cichlids, not one bit. And, they did a fantastic job of keeping the bottom of my tank clean. Then, however, like is often the case with Clown Loaches, a disastrous bout of ick hit. Now, generally speaking I keep a close eye on my fish, and if any disease is discovered I take the proper steps of isolating the sick fish and treating them with the proper medicine. However, in a Cichlid tank that's full of rocks, a fish can do one hell of a job of hiding if he or she wishes not to be seen. To make a long story short, I lost the entire pack of Clown Loaches. I treated the water, and the Cichlids were fine. But, still, I was heart broken to have lost the entire pack.

So, I asked myself, what was I going to do with having effective bottom feeders in my Cichlid tank, that were not going to get there butts kicked by the aggressive Africans, but at the same time were not a susceptible to ick like Clown Loaches? Answer, Boatia Loaches, other wise known as Yoyo Loaches. I actually found them at Wal-mart of all places, even though I am the kind of person that prefers a local fish shop, I gave these little guys a try. Well, they are awesome. They do a fantastic job of keeping the bottom of my tank clean, and they hold there ground against the more aggressive Mbunas. They are not as susceptible to ink like Clown Loaches, and in fact they're the fattest fish in the tank. These guys are very active, I got three of them and they are all over the place bringing alive the entire personality of the tank that very few other bottom feeders can present to any aquarium.

Little Boatia Yoyo Loaches get two thumbs up!