Loaches Online Forum

Usually just after they eat my fish flash off things, the gravel, wood, whatever. I always figured it was just a little food stuck in their gills...

Tonight the loaches are acting rather oddly, flashing now and then, and I've seen twice a loach swim up to the top to take a gulp of air...

They don't seem in distress, just ever so slightly uncomfortable. I wonder if this might be parasitic as well...

I tested for ammonia and got 0 but I have no nitrite kit. I bottled some water from that exact moment which I'll test with the kit I get tommorow...

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts..

My B. Rostrata does the same thing, usually after making a complete pig of himself at feeding time. The Dario and Kubotai dont do it just the Rostrata and it is allways after feeding.

One of my young Brochis does the same thing also after feeding and this fish is in with another 9 Brochis in a different tank to the Botias and none of the other Brochis do it.

I treat the tank with Waterlife Sterazin when the Brochis started doing it and it hasnt altered so I think I can rule out a Parasite, it could just be food or something irritating the gills after feeding.

Maybe you just need to supply them with decent napkins...

They'd get soggy and fall apart...

And we cant use water proof streakers...

The Yo Yo's in my tank do it sort of. Except I never see them eat any of the food. They don't scrath on anything so much as they sort of take a sand bath like a chinchilla or somthing.

High Nitrates were the first thing to pop into my mind, but A. the yoyo's are the only ones that do it, and B. the nitrates don't test high at all very low.