Maybe not YoYo Loaches?

[A201]

My Modestas act exactly as you described. Especially at feeding time.

I originally had a group of eight Berdmoreis. The dominant male harrassed his siblings to death.

I've kept my Berdmorei for at least five years. He was less than an inch when I brought him home, and is only a little over four inches now. He's either a slow grower or a runt.

 

[Midwater]

I keep loaches, have got about a dozen different types, and have wild caught some of them. I have never found any aggression towards other fish.

But they are all highly social fish, and are naturally found in colonies, sometimes of hundreds, often of thousands. They are only really happy and show their natural habits when kept together in large groups, and with conditions that meat their own.

Mixing different species, even if from similar environments or similar size does not count. They will coexist and swim in the same area with their own type, totally oblivious of any other types of loach.

Maybe aggression only comes out if there are too few of them, or if there is no cave or hiding place for the colony to claim.

 

[A201]

I totally agree in most cases. All my Loaches, especially the Modestas, play fight & chase each other on a regular basis. Never an injury.

As noted, my Berdmorei Tiger, did kill off all his siblings. The Berdmorei group were barely an inch long at the time. Plenty of hardscape and room in a 120 gal. long. He gets along great with tankmates now.

Years ago I kept a group of Helodes Tigers in a 65 Gal. Cichlid tank. They were killers. Not torwards each other, but to any other tankmate that wasn't moving. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

I think the Syncrossus Tigers might not be suited for most community tanks.

Loaches are my favorite bottom feeders.

 

[tiger15]

This is my first time to have Berdmorei Tiger, and heard stories that it can kill siblings if kept too few. This is why I only grow out one Tiger for later introduction to my big cichlid tank. In feeding time, my Tiger would chase away YoYo. So even though the chase did not cause injury, repeated chasing can keep others from eating. Tiger, Modestas and Tiger are big loaches that can exceed 10+ inch. I have seen huge 14 inch clown, but mine did not exceed 8 inch in 8 year. I have never seen Modestas or Tiger over 6 inch. So they must be all slow grower. Tiger is probably the most aggressive loach, Modestas the second, and clown is the least. Interestingly, clown and modestas look alike in body shape so I expect them to behave alike, yet one is aggressive and anti-social, the other is peaceful and social. My clown continued to school and hang out at large size. The trouble I have with my big clown is that they are bulky and powerful, and can knock off rock pile in constant attempt to squeeze into caves.

 

[A201]

My Tiger claims a special rock & chases away any Loach that swims too close. The Tiger ignores all other species.

The Modestas aren't aggressive towards any tankmates, but at feeding time they are like a runaway train. They brutally battle each other for every morsel of food. Never an injury.
After feeding, the Modestas lay on the rocks. Sometimes they lay on top of each other.

 

[tiger15]

My pair Modestas never hanged out together. From time to time, they dashed out out from their hiding to battle each other making clicking sound, and then as quickly stayed away from each other. Mine have red tail, yours have yellow tail, so they could be different species or strain.

 

[A201]

My Modestas Tails were Red as juveniles, but faded as they aged.
Probably is a variation of the same species.

 

[Midwater]

My pair Modestas ... have red tail, yours have yellow tail, so they could be different species or strain.

Modesta can have either red or yellow tail. But they are the same species and they dwell together.

Lecontei have yellow tails, are a bit slimmer and have a slightly violet sheen. They can get confused with Modesta, but are not the same species, and they totally ignore each other in the same tank.

Where I have collected Modesta, they have yellow tails. A few canals/river systems away they have red tails.

 

[tiger15]

Many loaches lose color intensity when they get big. The 14" Clown loach I saw had pale barring. My 8" Clown still retain contrasting color, but the red is not as intense as juvies. So it is not uncommon for large Modestas to fade out some color. The Modestas in the youtube engaged in fierce battle resembling mine that fought from time to time.

 

[A201]

My Modestas fight like that, but on rare occasions. They twist vertically together, and do it for quite a while. No real injuries other than a few scrapes.