Can someone explain this behavior of a weather loach?

[trinity]

Hi,

So, a little over two weeks ago I brought home a new weather loach. I already had one weather loach, a long nose loach, four mollys, seven platys, six skirted tetras, and a rubber nose pleco.

From the first day, this loach would flail about, hang sideways in the plants, and generally lay on the bottom on his side or even upside down. We continually check on this guy to make sure he's still breathing. We have changed the substrate to sand (from gravel) due to his behavior (and learning it was a better choice anyway). Since then he continues to lay on his side, and even eats in this position. Sometimes he's even upside down. He moves and changes position in the tank, but remains mostly on his side and does not swim, just kinda wiggles. He does not appear to be scraped or otherwise injured. He did come from PetSmart and was brought to our house only about two hours after arriving there. Other fish we have gotten from there (with the exception of an angelicus loach and one platy) have been fine and done well in our tank.

The other two loaches and the rest of the tank occupants show no signs of disease or distress. Its a 50 gallon tank (we plan on getting a 75 to 125 gallon tank in the next year or two.) The water is 72 degrees, but does raise to about 75 during the day sometimes. The filters running on the tank are two Emperor 280s and a Rena Filstar XP3. The tank has a bubble wall that spans most of the back of the tank and one airstone. The water level is just to the top of the black piece, if not just slightly lower. The FilStar spray bar water flow is turned slightly down, because otherwise it blasts the fish and the sand, but there is still quite a bit of water movement through the tank. The rest of the fish seem to love it. I did two large 50% water changes and since then have done water changes every two or three days of 10 to 25% thinking perhaps something might have be in the water that I wasn't aware of. Before this loach was added, it was 25% weekly.

The water has always tested around 7.2 ph, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and (currently) doesn't have any salt or medication. Although I did add some Stress Coat. At the beginning of the behavior, I tested once a day, but now its more like every three. I do not know the hardness of the water, but there is a water softener in the FilStar (it gets recharged.) The water we use is slightly hard before this. They are fed a combination of frozen blood worms or frozen brine shrimp (melted before going into the tank), flakes, algae wafers, or shrimp pelets. Not all at once of course, it depends on what I feel like feeding that day and they do have a fast day once or twice a week. The sand is vacuumed weekly and more often if it needs it.

Any ideas of why he would constantly lay on his side? We thought he was dying, but he's still with us and he still eats. Can loaches be paralyized? Is there anything I can do? What could cause this? Do you think he will eventually recover?

[loachmom]

Hi trinity,

It sounds like you give your fish very good care, and I'm sorry to hear about your sick weather loach. I do not own any weather loaches, but it sounds like yours may have been very stressed or injured from his travels to the lfs. I, too, have bought fish that had just arrived at the store, but I have not had good luck with them. I now plan to wait a couple of weeks after new arrivals come in before I buy, even if it means they might sell out before I get any.
I also noticed that the temp you keep your weather loaches at is a little high. They like a temp. of 50 to 68 degrees. This seems to be a common problem. My lfs sells weather loaches for tropical tanks, but they are really for cold water tanks.
Hope your loach is swimming better by now. If it isn't, it won't be because you have neglected it.

[sophie]

it sounds to me like neurological issues, especially as you don;t mention any breathing difficulties which means you will just have to wait and see, I think. Any decisions about the fish's quality of life are your to make.

the temperature should be fine. weathers are capable of withstanding fair extremes of temperature, water quality and oxygen levels and I don't think 72 is much too high.

I know a couple of lfs round her (admittedly in the UK) that won't stock weather loaches any more, especially in the winter, because they come in in such poor condition. It's not your fault, and I'm sure you're doing the best you can.

what is your long-nose loach? most loaches prefer company, but someone with better info than me should be more equipped to deal with this one , as well as your other fish.

best of luck,

[loachmom]

the temperature should be fine. weathers are capable of withstanding fair extremes of temperature, water quality and oxygen levels and I don't think 72 is much too high.

Yep, I was giving advice on something I know nothing about.
Hope your loach is doing better. Sophie's right---It's not your fault!

[shari2]

My guesses?
1. he's bored and lazy

or...

2. there's something neurological or disease/parasite related that's causing the lethargic, twitchy behavior.

3. it's a swim bladder type issue.

Unfortunately, I really have no idea what it could be.

[trinity]

The loach is still doing okay. He was eating an algae wafer last night and another fish got too close and he chased them off, so he can move when he wants. Today he's travelled about halfway down the tank and is hanging out under the bubble wall. Still lying on his side however. I'm hoping it eventually manages to recover from whatevers going on. I like your "bored and lazy" idea, perhaps he can't be bothered to bury himself so he just pretends!

And my "long nose loach," I was never able to find out what it actually was until today. Since getting him, I never saw another one at any lfs or catalog or online site. The lfs had some long name for them that started with an A. I had written it down, but never found anything online. I've done at least a few searches over the past three or four years I've had this guy trying to find out what he actually was. I was about to post pics and ask for help in identification when I stumbled completely inadvertantly onto what I wanted to know tonight. Turns out he's not a loach at all! He's a needle nose/twig/whiptail catfish! (Farlowella acus) Its amazing what you find out when you get the right common name (and then the scientific one)! I would love to find him a friend and turns out they are listed on the Drs. Fosters Smith website. As soon as we get the bigger tank, I think I will. For the last few years, he and the weather loach have been companions, they're always together somewhere in the tank. Now its the three of them that tend to be together.

[loachmom]

Glad to hear that your loach is doing OK. Perhaps with the excellent care you are giving, he/she will make a full recovery. I hope so.