Loaches Online Forum

Type of fish that are affected ojo Loaches/Weather Loaches
How long has the tank been set up for? 2 years
* Size of tank (dimensions and volume): 150 gallons, 6 ft by 1.5 ft
* How is the tank being filtered? 2 canister filters
* Water temperature. 78 degrees, but temp had gotten low before replacing heater, 68 degrees, old heater was dying, new heater for 2 weeks.
* Your maintenance regime: water change every 2 weeks about 20%, filters changed alternate filters every month.
* Has anything new been added to the tank recently? New heater
* What other fish are in the tank? Cloan loaches, moon fish, platies, angels, golden algae eater
* As detailed a description as possible of the symptoms the fish are exhibiting (remember a photograph can speak a thousand words). cant seem to upload my pictures. Hole on both sides of fish, had red spots prior which disappeared, then holes appeared – huge holes!!![/b]
* How long ago the affected fish were added to the tank, and how long the fish have been displaying symptoms. Red spots a week ago, holes noticed 2 days ago
I will post water parameters, but wanted to get this on line ASAP


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Holes in the fish sound like any of several possible problems.
1) If fish are fighting, especially Loaches, they can harm each other. Many species have a spine near their eye that relaxes most of the time and you probably cannot see it. But when the Loaches want to, they erect this spine and use it to attack.
2) Injuries from other things, perhaps something sharp in the tank.
3) Disease such as Aeremonas.

What to do:
1) Separate the sick fish from the others. Put them in a hospital tank with the optimum conditions for the species. Dojo Loaches are cold water fish, so I would set the temperature toward the high end of their tolerance range, but not higher. Warm water will need extra attention to maintaining high oxygen levels. Use a filter that creates some really good water movement at the surface, and does a good job of circulating the water.
2) Assess the need for medication. If the holes are from fighting, and the water is kept exceptionally clean, then that might be all that is needed to help them heal. If the holes are a symptom of an infection then you should medicate the fish with the right medication for the disease. Gotta ID the disease, of coarse.

Hospital tank:
Bare bottom, just a few rocks or plant trimmings so the fish can feel secure, but not really hide.
Best possible water circulation and filtration.
Ultra violet sterilizer, unless you are using a medicine that could be deactivated by this. (Almost all medicines).
Daily vacuuming.
Minimal food, just enough to carry medicines (medicated food is a good way to treat certain diseases), and remove what they do not eat.
Temperature, water hardness and so on optimum for the fish.

Other notes:
Do some research about the optimum water conditions for the fish you are keeping.
With just common names I am not sure, but I think some of your fish are no where near compatible.
Cloan loaches- Very warm, soft water. High water movement.
Moon fish- Monodactylus spp. Brackish water to full marine conditions. While they can survive in fresh water, it is not optimum for them. They can also get quite aggressive.
Platies- Cool, hard water, but adaptable to softer water
Angels- Very warm, soft water. Low water movement.
Golden algae eater- Tolerant of a wide range of conditions, but will stop eating algae, and get very aggressive. Sucks the slime coat off slow moving, flat sided fish like Angels.

I'm pretty sure the actual stomach lays just behind the head in a dojo loach, right? I may be wrong here. This could have something to do with the actual stomach if not from biting from other fish. Quarantine this guy as soon as possible as stated above and keep us posted.

If the holes are on the sides of the fish along the lateral line it could be your new heater. Some types of catfish are very sensitive to electromagnetic energy and can get what looks like lateral line disease because of electric devices in the tank. Dojos don't get the name "weather loach" for nothing... they are so sensitive to barometric pressure differences that I wouldn't be surprised if they also could be affected along their lateral line by a malfunctioning heater.

If the heater is the only new thing in the tank and the water is clean (ammonia especially) then switch out the heater. The holes might not heal right away but your loach should act happier.

Good luck!