Yoyo loach

The yoyo loach is a freshwater bottom-dweller in the family Botiidae, native to slow and fast stretches of rivers in northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Its pale silvery body is marked with dark bands and reticulated blotches that in juveniles can resemble the letters Y and O, giving rise to its common name. It is a social, active fish that should be kept in groups, where it establishes a lively pecking order and is far less stressed than when housed alone. It needs a spacious tank with a soft substrate, smooth rocks, driftwood, and caves for shelter, along with good water quality and current. It is an eager eater of sinking foods, frozen and live invertebrates, and is a useful controller of nuisance snails. It can be boisterous toward tankmates, so companions should be robust but not aggressive. It suits intermediate keepers.