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i know that yo yos take a long time to get used to their surroundings, but just how long? i also know that the more yo yos you have, the less time, and considering i have 2 it may take a while, but its been over 3 months without eating the food i give them! so all i want to know is if there is a way that i can encourage them to eat and also how long its taken anyone whos owned these guys to acclimatizate them.

thanks

They are eating, don't worry about that.

How many hiding places do you have? The more places the loaches have to hide, the more bold they will become. Have you tried luring them out with live foods?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

i have two large slate-like rocks leaning against the back of my aquarium, which my yo yo's have been hiding behind ever since i got them, not to mention other rocks that are scattered across my aquarium floor, so im not too worried about a lack of hiding places. i havent tried livefoods, but i have tried frozen bloodworms, which i know most loaches are crazy about. i know that my yo yo's are eating, but all i have seen them eat is algae, which im guessing isnt the best staple diet.

Try putting some more plants and maybe some driftwood in. The idea is to make it so that you'll never be able to see them unless they come out on their own (if you know precisely where they are hiding right now, they need more hiding places). When given the opportunity to properly hide, you'll find that they will spend a lot more time in the open because they feel more confident.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I agree about the hiding places. I have 4 in my 55g and it is moderately planted. I also have a large piece of DW that they hide under. They are always hanging out in the plants. In the mornings they do synchronized swimming, but only when I'm away from the tank. They hide if I get too close.
If you add some plants they should come out to where you can see them (but still think you can't). They are nocturnal, so usually don't come around when the lights are on, or people are around.

I feed mine sinking shrimp pellets and algae wafers (actually for alot of the fish).

*Kristin*

ill try to make new hiding places with all of the spare rocks i have, and possibly make a large patch of java fern for them to hide behind. anyway, for those of you who have kept yo yo's- how long has it taken you to get them to eat? it doesnt matter what size school they were in, I just want an idea of how long it will take for my guys to start eating the food they are fed

It's been a long time since I've had to deal with shy yoyos. That's just not a very common desciption for a yoyo and my first ones are probably over 5years old now. After about 1-2weeks provided you have enough yoyos to keep each other company(3-4 at least) and some hiding places in your tank they should be bouncing around everywhere. I did get 3 new ones about 6months ago but I added them to a large heavily planted tank so they saw no reason to hide. Having a planted tank helps or lots of decorations for them to play around. Mine never run and hide from anything and are usually right at the front of the tank dashing about in circles and waiting for food. Yoyos are not shy fish once they settle in and they usually start eating right away or else within a day or 2.

there are only 2 yo yos, so i know thats the reason for their shyness. anyway, i got a couple new patches of java fern and i built 2 new hiding places, and already they are hanging out at the front of the tank for the first time.

They'll probably still be active if you give them enough hiding places but they really would prefer 1 or 2 friends. Then you'd see just how hyper a yoyo loach can be. A group of them can dominate even my 90g.