Picky or sick chain loach? Help!

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SuperYogurt
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:40 pm
Location: Montreal, QC

Picky or sick chain loach? Help!

Post by SuperYogurt »

I've had my chain loaches for more than a month now, I've just finished treating them for ich about two weeks ago. All of them are in good condition and are feeding very well, except for one.

That single loach does not feed on the shrimp pellets nor algae pellets. I've tried peas as well, but it does not seem interested. I do see it foraging for food occasionally, and it seems to be subsisting on whatever (live?) foods it can find growing in the tank.

So I'm wondering if my loach is sick, or is it just outrageously picky. It's been more than a month that I have not seen it eat, but it is not so skinny as to be alarming. It is visibly thinner than the others, but not skinny enough to see any bone protrusions.

Thanks for any help!
Diana
Posts: 4675
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Post by Diana »

Some fish (usually wild caught) have not learned that flakes and pellets are food. Try some of the frozen foods such as bloodworms, brine shrimp and other things. These are as close as you can get to live foods that might appear more like food.
Real live foods might include mosquito larvae, earthworms (very small ones for these fish) and shrimp such as ghost or glass shrimp. Ask at your local fish store about other live fish foods.
Near me I can buy Tubifex, Brine Shrimp and Califonia Blackworms.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!
SuperYogurt
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:40 pm
Location: Montreal, QC

Post by SuperYogurt »

Thanks Diana! I'll try that out and see how it goes.
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