Loaches Online Forum

My golden dojo has had a bad kink in its body for about 3 months. Don't have a clue as to why. He has been eating good and just doing the normal activities until today. I noticed it spending more time near the surface and not swimming very good. Any help out there? Is the any hope for this guy?

A kink in the body often means a damaged spine, but there can be other causes, and some are pretty complex.

It may be genetic. A fish grows to a certain size and the problem shows up. Sometimes it is there from birth, other times it develops as the fish grows.

Might be linked to poor feeding, a deficiency of some sort. Perhaps before you got the fish, or perhaps more recently. You can try increasing the variety in the diet, but I think once the problem happens it will not go away.

Injury. If this is a highly active fish he or she may have gotten injured dashing about the tank. The fish may heal, but may heal in this crooked shape, or might straighten out.

Disease. Mycobacteriosis is one disease that is known to show up as bent spines either sideways (seen while looking down from the top of the fish) or up and down, seen from the side.

Thank you for your response. He is in a 125 gallon tank. The fish seems to be doing fine now. Still kinked though. Hope he survives.