1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Busy and noisy (clicks); eats snails.
452 species in our list are a good match.
Busy and noisy (clicks); eats snails.
Sinking foods, snails.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Mature females are usually fuller-bodied than males.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Rarely bred in captivity ·
Not bred in home aquariums: there are no reports of breeding in private tanks. Some loaches are mass-produced with hormones, but this is not documented for this species.
Keep a group of 6+.
Farms use hormones. Home spawns are very rare.
Hormone induction; seasonal cues.
Eggs hatch in 1-2 days on farms.
Infusoria first, then brine shrimp.
The name 'yo-yo' comes from the juveniles' body pattern, which can look like the letters Y-O-Y-O. Like other botiids it can make audible clicking sounds and preys on snails.
British zoologist John Edward Gray described Botia almorhae in 1831. Its dark markings often form patterns that look like the letters 'Y-O-Y-O', which gave it its common name. The very similar Botia lohachata is also sold under the same name.
First described by John E. Gray in 1831. Named for Named after Almora, a town in northern India.
15 facts checked with sources
Valid name. Yoyo loaches are often confused with Botia birdi (the true Pakistani species) and B. lohachata; Seriously Fish cites Grant (2007): B. birdi differs only in colour pattern, distribution and vertebra count, so shop fish may be either.
FishBase: Botia almorhae summary · Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy has no family; value is new. Older books place botiid loaches in Cobitidae.
FishBase: Botia almorhae summaryLegacy 12 cm. Seriously Fish 16 cm SL; FishBase 15.5 cm SL (both standard length).
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhae · FishBase: Botia almorhae summaryLegacy 24-28. Seriously Fish: it almost certainly experiences cooler temperatures at times in nature.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy 6.5-7.5 lies inside; sourced range starts at 6.0.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy has no hardness; value is new.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhae120 x 45 x 45 cm = 243,000 cm³ = 243 L. Legacy 150 L is too small for a group of 16 cm loaches.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeBoisterous rather than aggressive: fine with active fish of similar size, not with small or long-finned fish.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeDemersal = lives on/near the bottom.
FishBase: Botia almorhae summaryLegacy 1 (easy). Seriously Fish rates it moderate; it also needs a big tank and a group.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy has no range field; value is new. The legacy aka "pakistani loach" and producer "Pakistan/India (wild)" are misleading. FishBase also lists Myanmar.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhae · FishBase: Botia almorhae summaryLegacy says males have a red-tinted snout; Seriously Fish does not support that as a sex marker (it mentions a reddish snout only in captured B. birdi).
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy "Rare." overstates it; and the legacy breeding block (farm hormone spawns, eggs hatch in 1-2 days) is not supported for B. almorhae.
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhaeLegacy story agrees. Seriously Fish warns snail-eating loaches "should never be considered the answer to an infestation."
Seriously Fish: Botia almorhae