Loaches Online Forum

My weather loach is acting kind of funny lately. It used to be highly active, but now spends most of its time (sleeping?) on its back or side, and occasionally even swims sideways or upside down. This has been going on for nearly two months. Other than the odd change in behavior the loach is eating well, its color (gold dojo) has remained the same, and it shows no sign of disease or illness. EDIT: Also, the pH of my water is generally between 7.3 to 7.6.
Is my loach sick or is it just acting weird? It's never done this before.

How long have you owned this loach? How big is the tank? What decorations do you have? Do you have other Dojos? What is the temp in the tank? What other fish live in the tank? How big is the loach?

May help us to determine if the loach is okay. Loaches ar eknown for swimming oddly, but it sound like he could also have swim bladder problems or osmosis problems.

What are the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate readings for your tank? If you don't have a kit, ask your local LFS. Make sure they give you the numbers. Don't just let them tell you it is okay.

Loaches are noted for doing odd things, and scaring their owners into thinking something is wrong. However, sometimes something really is wrong.

A change in behavior is often the first thing you see when there is a problem.

For lack of other information, it might be a good idea to increase your water changes, do them twice as often, or larger water changes if the incoming water can be closely matched to the tank water. Part of the answer to a very long list of problems is water changes.

The pH is not a problem. At the high end of OK.