Loaches Online Forum

Apologizing in advance if I didnt choose the correct thread for this!

I have had my weather loach (Eliza :p) for roughly.. 4 years now?
I bought her from a local pet store.
My fish tank is one of the big globe ones, with an expensive filtering system etc, two synthetic plants and a big pottery boat for her to hide in.
I have heard they aren't particularly aggressive, but last year my three minnows went suddenly missing, and I replaced them with two barbs. I came downstairs last night, one of my barbs is missing and the other now has a nasty bloody cut on it.

I am really unsure what to do.. as I don't want to get rid of Eliza.. but I dont want her murdering more fish
It does upset me when they die.

Any help is *greatly* appreciated.

While it is true that they are generally peaceful, this does not mean that there won't be one that simply cannot be kept with other fish. Sounds like you have one of those rare ones that are not social.

As a rough guide:
Fish that are not specifically predatory can fit food (even other fish) in their mouth if the smaller fish is up to 1/4 the size of the predator.
Fish that are predatory can fit food (that is, fish) in their mouth that are easily 1/2 the size of the predator.

What this means, is that even a fairly peaceful fish that is 4" long can eat a fish that is 1" long.

In your experience you have seen how large a fish this Loach can eat, so do not add smaller fish.

Most Loaches are social, should be kept with several of their own species. They can be just a bit argumentative, so the tank needs to be large enough for them to get out of each others way when needed. Several caves, or similar hiding places can be helpful.

Two points sprang to my mind.

Is it getting enough food? I believe these are greedy fish.

And is it getting enough stimulation? I believe these fish are relatively intelligent.

I would just like to mention, we still have both the barbs.
When i posted earlier, it must have been inside the boat. It is not dead. (The other is still wounded)

And they get fed once a day, and she's always straight to the top to eat the food before anyone else.

Barbs can be aggressive toward one another. It's quite possible the wounded Barb received its wound from the other Barb and not from your loach.

Yes, they sometimes will eat fish and invertebrates small enough to fit into their mouths. For this reason, I'm hesitant to keep Amano shrimp in the same tank with the dojos. Thus far, they've left alone my White Clouds and Danios. My Rosy Barbs and the one surviving Rosy Minnow are both too large for them to eat.

When I got my latest school of White Clouds, I made sure they were larger ones that the dojos would be less likely to eat.

The loach, in any event, isn't "evil". She's only doing what's natural for her.

I suggest feeding twice a day if there's a chance your loach isn't getting enough food. Another solution is to feed a very rich food, such as the New Life Spectrum foods or O-Nips, which most dojos love. Not as a steady diet, however, as they need a balanced variety of foods to stay healthy and receive fullest nutrition.

Again, it's much more likely your barb was injured by the other barb. Dojos rarely attack fish to wound them outright.

I also suggest that you get your single loach two or more dojo companions, as they prefer to be in groups of at least three. If she is being aggressive, it may be because she's the only dojo in the tank, and is restless. Having others of her own kind might settle her down.