Loaches Online Forum

They're legal in Idaho. That's where I live, and I have no problem getting them, at all. Good thing, because they're such cute little fishies. Have you tried Washington? I think you can get them there, too.

-- Dojosmama

Just before hubby and I left for a 10-day vacation, I got a vacation feeding block of the gel type rather than the white plaster kind. I broke it into two pieces and dropped it into my tank. One of my little dojos immediately pushed it into his cave, then tucked it into the far corner, as if to say,...

A lot of people on various aquarium forums have reported heater failures, even with new ones. Seems quality control isn't what it used to be. There was a major recall awhile back of the Marineland Stealth heaters -- but all they wanted to do was replace the old ones with new ones -- not a great deal...

How deep is the pond? Weather Loaches (Dojos) are notorious for jumping out of any uncovered aquahome, if it's shallow enough, and even if it's deep. Because of how they're designed, they come to the surface to gulp air, and they also get excited and frenzied when the barometric pressure changes, si...

UPDATE: Little Dojo appears to be fine. He went through a finicky spell, along with most of my other fish. I fasted the whole tank for three days in a row, and now everyone is eating voraciously. Good news!

-- Dojosmama

What species of loach is it? If it's a weather loach (dojo), they can get frenetic like that when the barometric pressure drops. Watch him and see if he can stop on his own. If not, then it's probably some kind of nerve or brain damage. I had one that suddenly turned onto his back and scooted uncont...

Gee, thanks for all your help, folks! Not a single reply! Guess I won't be posting any of my cute dojo pics here ...

-- Dojosmama

The one that had the upside-down scooting behavior awhile ago, then seemed to fully recover from it ... He isn't eating in my presence. He doesn't appear to be wasting away, but isn't getting fatter, either. May be natural, as males have slimmer bodies than females. I am thinking maybe parasites? I ...

You indicated that when you do water changes, you use bottled spring water. By this, do you mean distilled water? Are you sure they're getting all the trace elements and electrolytes they need? It's generally not a good idea to use distilled water when doing changes, because it's lacking certain ele...

Can someone here give me clear, step-by-step instructions on how to upload photos, without getting too technical so I can understand it?

I have a PC with Windows XP, and my pics are stored on my computer.

Thanks.

-- Dojosmama

Glad they're out safely.

Better watch it -- they're going to get spoiled! Or, are they, already?

-- Dojosmama

You stated she is laying on the surface. Did you mean the surface of the substrate, or is she floating at the surface of the tank? If she is just laying on the substrate, chances are she will probably be okay. Dojos like to rest a lot. If she is floating at the water's surface, then she might be in ...

Trying to move them in any way except placing the cave into the new tank temporarily will stress them out. We must be patient with our pets. They obviously find this cave beneficial to them, or they wouldn't stay there. Perhaps you could reconsider not including it in their new environment? Or will ...

If a goldfish is large enough -- if its mouth is large enough -- tiny fish like white cloud minnows, zebra danios and glo-fish danios are vulnerable to being eaten. I think you definitely need to rehome them to a safer tank as soon as possible. Glad the dojo is still getting better. Melafix is a saf...

For dojo substrate, you can either use sand or very small, rounded, smooth gravel with no sharp edges. Don't use crushed coral or any rough gravels, nor large gravel (which is harder to keep clean, anyway). I have small, smooth and rounded aggregate gravel in my tank with three dojos. They like to b...