Yoyo loach sex change, comp. 12/07/2007
I have a bit of a bizarre question. I bought a yoyo loach to take care of a snail problem and it worked really well. "She" was enough to keep the snail population manageable without killing all of them. Unfortunately, "she" was very aggressive toward the other fish in the tank, killing three and removing the dorsal fin from a Cory cat.
<Sadly all to common with Loaches; whether boys of girls, most species are somewhere on a scale of 'mean'. They are really best kept in groups you see, where they can waste their energy fighting with each other. On their own, this instinct ends up poorly for their non-loach tankmates.>
So I went out and bought "her" 2 smaller yoyo companions. Throughout all of this, "she" had sand colored barbells and a thick middle that led me to believe that "she" was a female. Plus, at one point she got so fat I thought she would burst and I assumed she was full of eggs. Well, now that she has friends, she has gotten very slender and her barbells have gone cherry red. Is it possible that she became a he?
<Unlikely she's changed sex. This is actually very rare in freshwater fish, despite the myths about things like swordtails changing sex (never yet seen under lab conditions). More likely she was immature and how no reason to show her full range of colours before. In any case, Yo-yo Loaches (Botia almorhae) are basically impossible to sex by eye.>
I've found nothing on the web that suggests that loaches are hermaphroditic but I'm finding evidence in front of my own eyes.
<Unless you've dissected your fish, there's no way to know she was a girl before and a boy now. Many fish start off with "female" colours of some sort, and only acquire male colours when they are sexually mature. Immature males have the female colours when young because it prevents them from being attacked by mature males; since immature males are no threat to the mature males and won't steal nesting sites or potential breeding partners, this ruse is advantageous to the species.>
Thanks, Emily
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: yoyo loach sex change, and comp.  – 12/8/07
Thanks very much. It is doing much better now with a couple of friends and the rest of the fish in the tank are pleased too.
<Very good. Often Loaches will settle down if they have pals to play/fight with. If nothing else, the other fish get some time on their own. If you have the space, keep 6 of the same species: they'll be much more settled, and less shy as well. Cheers, Neale.>

Fish Questions?? Dojo repro.   2/26/07
Hey I was wondering what a dojo's eggs look like?
<Mmm, small (about 1 mm. in diameter), round, light brown...>
Mine are male and female I think.
And they have been swimming and curling around each  other.
I think my female has had babies but I am not  sure.
We found a whitish gold pod in our tank.
It is short and round.
Thanks,
Serenity Strong
<Mmm, this pod is "not it"... Please read here:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7PCTA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=misgurnus+reproduction&spell=1
Bob Fenner>