Loaches Online Forum

I have two 8" (20cm) Dojo Loaches. I got them when they were babies less than a year and a half ago. A few weeks ago I noticed that one looked very bloated. Upon further investigation I believed it had dropsy and treated it accordingly with Maracyn Two. That did not do anything for the bloating. The loach seems fine otherwise. It is active, although it may be eating less (it is hard to tell). Is sick or just fat? The other loach looks and acts normal. Please help.

Here is a picture of it.


And here is a picture of them together

What do you feed them? It could be constipated.

I have been feeding them Aqueon Goldfish Granules, but I just switched to Aqueon Bottom Feeder Tablets last week.

I don't know about Aqueon goldfish pellets specifically, but all of the goldfish pellets I used to feed my goldfish (by other manufacturers) used to swell after being in water for some time. If the Aqueon ones are the same, that may have caused the problem.

Most fish will also benefit from at least one day per week without any food, so their digestive tracts have time to clear out.