Angelicus Botia having some issues

[joesdiner457]

i posted this a few weeks ago in an old thread with not much response. ill try again.

my eldest loach has been acting very strange lately. she has been fond of laying at the bottom of the tank and then going into a quick roll similar to when an alligator bites his enemy and goes into the death roll. she can roll all over the entire tank. she has been very close with the larger of the 2 other kubotai in the tank, is there any chance she is pregnant? doesnt look too fat and i know there is very little info on breeding these guys. anybody seen similar behavior? ive certainly never head of it or seen it. she has been doing it for about 2-3 weeks now and hasnt died yet lol.

[Ashleigh]

Sounds like your loach is distressed in some way to me. Rolling is not what I would class as normal behaviour-maybe the odd flick of the side on the substrate/decor, or lazing about on their side now and again but not full on rolling.

Whats the breathing like? Fins clamped? Body shape normal-no lumps/bumps? Any external wounds? Colour normal-any pale 'patches'?

How long have you had her and did you treat her before adding to your tank?

If possible could you post a bit more info about your tank-how long its been setup, water changing regime, water parameters-ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and also the kh and gh of the tank water as well as the tap water?

Did she just all of a sudden start acting like this or has it been since you have had her?

Gravid Botia are pretty obvious-the belly becomes enlarged. See below link of another members gravid b.almorhae.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=17235


You might want to post this up in the treatment section-you may get more responses, unless a mod moves it when they see it


Ashleigh

[joesdiner457]

i have had the tank set up since late september. i change about 25-30% ever 2 weeks or so. I still have most of the fish i got when I first set up the tank so there have never been any illness or death problems.

You mentioned the odd flick of the body against the substrate. that sounds like exactly what she is doing. not a full out roll. but it is pretty much how she travels now. not random flicks but many flicks one after another.

This loach i got in november and she started flicking about 2-3 weeks ago. and yes she was treated in my q-tank

[shari2]

have you tested your water lately? how are the nitrates?

what size are the fish? and what kind of pleco? how often do you feed and how much?

high nitrates are very irritating to loaches. I'd try doing more frequent water changes first. keep the tank very clean and see if her/his behavior improves.

[joesdiner457]

well, nitrates are up. im an idiot for not checking that first. ill do a water change today. is it odd that the nitrates arent effecting the other 2 loaches? also any secrets for nitrate control other than water changes and regular maintenance i dont know about? (i know this isnt really the thread to be asking that)

[Ashleigh]

Nope just water changes, or a larger tank can help. Nitrates can only be removed by us-if you increased the volume of your tank it will dilute your nitrates, taking them longer to build up. Do you have gravel? Make sure you vac it very well-uneaten foods that get stuck between gravel can cause a build up.

Also what species of pleco do you have-if its a common that will be the source of your high nitrates-they poo like crazy.


Ashleigh

[joesdiner457]

my pleco is a common pleco. he does poo alot lol. hes growing really fast, probably 6-7 inches now. i'm planning on upgrading to a larger tank this summer for him.

ive done a couple more water changes and the behavior hasnt really changed, but it appears to be milder. ill do more frequent water changes for a couple weeks and hope that we get back to normal.

thanks everyone