Floating Dojo Loach

[Rex740]

Hello, today I cam home from school to find my dojo loach swimming at the surface of the tank, which he sometimes does during a storm. He was on the bottom of the tank yesturday but today I noticed he is actually floating at the surface. His body is floating at the top, almost surfacing. But he can swim around like normal, just on top of the tank. If he stops moving he will just float. When he tries to go back down he comes back up. Any idea what's going on?

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
What do you feed the fish.

It sounds like swim bladder.
Does the loach look bloated.

 

[Rex740]

48 gallons.
18 fish not including the dojo. These include mollies, killies, skirt tetras, swamp darters, and cherry barbs. They have all been tank mates for a long time.
Usually flakes but also shrimp pellets. Sometimes algae tablets and freeze-dried bloodworms.
The loach does not look bloated.

I will check the parameters in a bit.

 

[Rex740]

I found him on the bottom now... Honestly pretty weird. He was literally floating before, sometimes rolling and floating on his side. Maybe he gulpled some air and messed around with it since loaches sometimes gulp air and expel it through their bottom. Interesting...

 

[WILDER]

To many dried foods. Freeze dried foods can lead to constipation and swim bladder.

Feed some shelled peas.
Buy frozen foods in daphnia and brime shrimp.

Do you over feed the bloodworms.

 

[Rex740]

No, I've only tried bloodworms once so far and not many get to the bottom. He is fine now. Fed him some shrimp pellets and now he is fully weighted down again.

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
Research the loach diet needs.