Missing Loach

[Barry P]

I bought 2 small loaches at the weekend. Before i left the house on saturday i went to check on them and found one on the kitchen counter, it had jumped clean out of a small hole at the back of the cover, i picked him up and placed him back in the tank, he was ok...when i came home from the pub both loaches where missing, they had found a small gap in the plastic rock i have and had swam into the middle of it, i got one out but the other still hasnt come out..is it possible he is dead, or should i just wait ..if he is dead will i have to throw the ornament out..?

 

[Bloo]

I'd wait and make very sure what the situation is - before doing anything !
Are you talking about Kuhli loaches ? My loaches also wriggle into small nooks and crannies and if they don't want to come out, they wont come out. Especially if you shake and wiggle the rock !
If it is indeed dead, just remove the rock and flush out body under strong shower jet or with a hose pipe.

 

[Barry P]

God id never shake it in case i hurt them, i gave it a bit of a wiggle under the water and one came out, the other refuses, how long should i wait before coming to terms with the fact that he is probably dead.?

 

[Bloo]

Can you touch him by any chance ? If you can, lightly touch and see if he reacts in any way. That's not a sure indication that he's alive, but most fish would try to wriggle on feeling something touch it.

Failing that, I'd just keep a very close watch. Put some food right outside the rock (like a nice sinking wafer), leave the tank light off and observe.

That's all you can do really, until you know for sure that it's dead.

Good luck.

 

[cane76]

once i had a clown loach who was constantly hiding in a log i only saw him once a week or two weeks.one time after 15days or so without seeing him i picked up his log and turned it upside down and he fell out in pieces he had totally rotted.my tank water went pink and there was bits of him everywhere.

 

[Bloo]

ewwwwww !

 

[kat and james]

once i had a clown loach who was constantly hiding in a log i only saw him once a week or two weeks.one time after 15days or so without seeing him i picked up his log and turned it upside down and he fell out in pieces he had totally rotted.my tank water went pink and there was bits of him everywhere.

ok well that was graphic

but anyways.. do you have appropriate hiding places for the loaches, they are quite shy fish, and won't have settled into your tank yet, so they may be looking for a hiding place, and if your tank doesn't have many places for them to hide, then that could be why they squeezed into this hole. you could try building them a more suitable hiding place, to try to coax him out!

i doubt that he is stuck, in my experience, if they can get in there, then they can get out!! so just give him time to settle down a little!

also would they have been trying to hide from a bully perhaps.. who are their tank mates??

kat

 

[Terrorbyte]

If you have been monitoring your water chemistry regularly (specifically ammonia), you can usually tell if something dies (in your aquarium) because ammonia levels will certainly rise. Of course, if your loach decided to become a land dweller, the whole water chemistry thing goes out the window.

 

[Barry P]

There are plenty of hiding places but they chose the one place i couldnt monitor them from, they may have been hiding from a bully (betta) but having observed the tank for 4 hours solid (as is the norm for me when i get new fish) i didnt notice any bullying. I know if he is dead it will cause problems in the tank but then there is a slight chance he is still alive. I cant touch him or see him. Should i crack open the rock?? Its only a plastic thing anyway.?

 

[Bloo]

don't crack open the rock. Leave it be until you know what the exact situation is - dead or alive.

 

[cane76]

if its only a few days you havent seen him for i wouldnt worry yet.if hes new to the tank he is probably just shy
sorry about my earlier post not helpful