Loaches Online Forum

Got pics of my "sick" loach.

Edit: The Spots are brown, and not swollen up or anything.

I looks like natural pigment to me.

Looks like pigment to me, more than anything. the eyes seem clear, the barbels (though kinda fuzzy...) seem ok, and the gills aren't overly red. I'd bet that the dark patches aren't anything to worry about. (just my opinion)

Are you sure this is a 'weather loach?' How big is it? What does the tail look like? Are there any other markings, or is it this white color all over? No difference in the color from the top half of the fish and the bottom?

A couple of pics of the whole fish would really help...

Yep! Natural pigment. I forget...did you ever say that they were this color form of Dojo? These dark spots are very common on the leucistic color version.

Martin.

here's a link to the Leucistic Lepidocephalichthys guntea

does your fish look like this? or more shaped like a Weather loach?

Note the rounded tail on the weather loach and the square tip on the L. guntea and shorter barbels.

Pinkish orange all over. Kind of thick, I think around 5-6 inches, and looks like my other dojo loaches except bigger tail fin, smaller top fin, and only a pair of fins on the bottom.

Like so.....?



Martin.

Yes, but thicker and bigger fins.

Your fish is absolutely fine. Thought I'd add to the pile of reassurance

I think those pictured are young ones. They thicken up with age.

Pure albino version....



Martin.

Thanks for the help. I feel a lot better knowing my fish is fine. He is living with another dojo loach his size, with two other small ones. One of them looks wierd, like, it's brown, but it has no spots or anything on it, and it's the third oldest in the tank.

But, I'm sure it's all colouring. Once again, thanks for the help.

While your here, what other fish could I mix with four dojo loaches and a pearlscale goldfish in a 125 gallon tank?

Zaffimitsu wrote:Thanks for the help. I feel a lot better knowing my fish is fine. He is living with another dojo loach his size, with two other small ones. One of them looks wierd, like, it's brown, but it has no spots or anything on it, and it's the third oldest in the tank.

But, I'm sure it's all colouring. Once again, thanks for the help.

While your here, what other fish could I mix with four dojo loaches and a pearlscale goldfish in a 125 gallon tank?

Well, a lot more pearscale goldfish. Goldfish need company even more than Loaches IMO. Goldfish love eachother. You should only house him with other fancies ideally such as Fantail, Ranchu, Pearlscale, Lionhead, and the like. Basically the 'stubby bodied' goldfishes. As per other fish, anything mellow and liking similar conditions is fine, as you know Goldfish are not aggressive

Again, I know for a fact, having been friends with someone who is a goldfish maniac and pays $2000 for one goldfish, that fancy goldfish should be kept between 75(atleast) and 79F which is about 23.5 to just under 26 celsius.

They will survive ok in lower temperatures but they do ideally at near tropical temperatures. Someone deleted a post I made to this effect previously but I assure you it is true. The quality of this man's goldfish was stunning, they were all the size of a coconut, and absolutely breathtaking. They lived with a large colony of Otto cats with lots of Java fern (which goldfish will not eat if you were looking for plants btw) in a 125 gallon tank at about 25-26 celsius.

Also goldfish love vegetables in their diet like veggie flakes and pellets, and they'll eat small amounts of noori (seaweed) also

Not to dispute or create an argument but...
My daughter had 3 standard comet goldfish for years. When they got past 5" they ate EVERYTHING green in the tank. Including java fern and java moss. Was funny watching them guzzle the moss cause it's kinda sticky. In and out over and over...but they ate it.

Comets may be more boisterous and lively than the fancies however, and could have different eating habits to some degree. I've never kept them myself so I can't say. But those comets really...anything green was food.

white clouds, she said fanatically.
all temperate tanks should have white clouds.


and yes, a lot of goldfish fanciers keep theirs in heated tanks. it's true!

Yup, I'm with Shari, Goldfish _will_ eat plants and anything else they can find . Whatever type of goldfish they are. Ours like to pull the Java fern out and nibble the roots and eat the smaller leaves. They have stripped plants that we have had before now. They especially like the flowers on I think its the Cabomba.

They sort of chew/mouth the ends of the Java fern.

We have had Cabomba, Java fern, Java Moss, Wisteria, Hygrophilia and Ludwigia. Most of these they have stripped down to the stem at one time or another. The fern is surviving, but sometimes it can look a bit chewed.

dlenn