weatherloach... playing dead?!

[lynzmk]

The weirdest thing has happened today! I bought a weatherloach for my coldwater tank. Normally with new fish i release them from the bag (after floating to regulate temp) into a bucket, for ease of capture with a net.
Today i was cocky ) , he was in a big bag, so i opened it and went to get him with my net... it was a struggle cos he was very wriggly, and when i finally got him and put him in the tank, he kind of floated to the bottom.... oh my god i've killed the poor lil sod! i thought. Thought i'd perhaps bashed his head with the net by mistake. Felt really terrible, there he was lying on an angle on the gravel... went to fish him out and he slithered away and had a mad one round the tank! Since then hes been lay in the same position apart form just now whe i saw him move a few inches!

Is this normal behaviour - i've never owned a weatherloach before and im still freaked out from thinking im a murderer! Well... i'd like to plead manslaughter... fishslaughter even...!

Also ... providing he is still alive(!) ... do i need to provide special food for him or will he eat the flakes that fall to the floor of the tank.

Thanks!
L x

 

[kaz petts]

Don't know if this is normal behaviour but one of my weather loaches likes to lay on one of the plants and I have to admit there has been a couple of times when I have thought it was dead but it has just been resting.
At what times are you looking at it and watching it. I ask only because my loaches are rather inactive during the light of day but as it becomes late night about 10-11pm one of them swims around the tank like it has had a rocket shoved up its backside!!!
Does it start swimming around when you feed the fish?
You have to remember that weather loaches are scavanging fish and tend to spend much time rooting uneaten food out of the gravel at the bottom of the tank so don't really swim around much anyway.
I sometimes feed my fish (as a treat pleco tabs) all the fish love these and they go into a massive feeding frenzy when these are dropped in, including the weather loaches. They also like blood worm (frozen, live or jellified), along with the usual fish flakes.
When I first got my weather loaches I noticed it took them a couple of days to adjust to the new surroundings and fish.
I think your loach is ok, just keep an eye on it for the time being.
Good luck
Kaz Petts

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hi Lynz

I have got 2 weather loaches, great aren't they?! They are pretty weird guys and will sit very still for a long time and then suddenly go mad! I wouldn't worry too much about him for now, I am sure he is just adjusting.

Does he have wood to hide under or something? I have just changed my tank to sand and they dig themselves allt he way in with just theor faces poping out As you can probably tell, weather loaces are my favourite fish!!

Do you have room for another? They do better with company of their own kind.

As for feeding, my biggest one has always eaten flakes from the top but the smaller doesn't. I feed them catfish pellets and plec tablets. I have cories in the tank so it's for them all. You'll find that your goldfish try to scoff the plec tablets, at least mine did! you should try to put one at each end of the tank.

Here's my biggest:

How big is your tank? Have you considered peppered cories?

HTH

 

[kaz petts]

Hey cheese specialist.
How big is your biggest loach (roughly, I don't expect you to get him out and measure him!! LOL )
I must admit I got my loaches at the same time (I also have 2) and yes I find that they spend much time together.
I second what cheese specialist says Lynz about putting a second loach in there if you have room and please don't worry about your loach you have at the moment I am pretty sure he is just getting used to the new environment.
Take cheese specialists advice on this subject. (I did and I do not regret it at all. I love my loaches they are comical.)
All the best
Kaz

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hey cheese specialist.
How big is your biggest loach (roughly, I don't expect you to get him out and measure him!! LOL )

He is about 6" and very chunky! I have not had the other one for very long and he is ickle at about 3 1/2" but quite thin at the moment.

 

[kaz petts]

eerm, how big do these guys grow to
Mine are about 2" each at the moment, and quite thin.

 

[lynzmk]

oh phew!
hehe thought i'd b up in fishy court then! 'sorry m'lud i didnt mean to kill the loach' !

Ok: 1st off, i only bought him today kazz, so i havent been able to observe him much apart from what i've described. thanks for the advice and reassurance! We have plec pellets for our cories and plec in the tropical tank so i'll give the WL a few as a treat as you do.

cheese... i have peppered corydoras in my tropical tank ... are they ok in a coldwater set up?! I don't have a heater in it so can't keep the temperature regular.
It's an 18 by 10 by 12 inch tank and has 2 small goldfish in as well as my new loach ... i'd like to add another if there's space but i'll see how they get on for a few days - dont want to overcrowd. Although we do plan to set up a bigger one when money allows.
As for shelter - theres a pot pipe in there and a plant, and i made a makeshift cave from some rocks, although i may rearrange it to offer more shelter to the loach, as it is u can see into it and he might not like that.
I'm quite proud of my little tank ... got black substrate and a bubble wall up the back of the tank that the local pet shop guy let me have Looks ace and the goldies just LOVE playing in it already!

Thanks fo the advice - cheese, i know where to ocme for more loach advice now!
L x

 

[ryan]

Most common are the Common, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor) and Spotted, Cobitis taenia (Linnaeus) Dojos or Weatherfishes. They are often called "living barometers" of their increased activity at the approach of changing weather. These fishes are pressure-sensitive, swimming about more if it?s about to rain for instance.

The Common Dojo/Weatherfish is drab to light brown naturally, though there are "Golden" Dojos (xanthistic varieties, not albinos) that are human-produced. This species attains a maximum length of about twelve inches. The Spotted Dojo or Weatherfish only reaches a natural length of six inches. Both are excellent scavengers. They do best when kept with their own species as the others have said.

Hope this helps (just a little info for you)

I wouldn't be to worried, he is most likely settling in to his new surronding and adjusting. Try feeding them before lights out, he may become braver and have swim around at night. Mine sit still until the evening when he bgeins to glide around the tank for hours in expectation of the daily feed.

 

[ryan]

That is only 10 gallons according to my calculations if you are talking in inches. That isn't enough for two goldfish let alone two Wheather Loaches. An adult Goldfish is a messy fish requiring plenty of swimming room. I would advise 25 gallons minimum and preferable more for the four fish to live happily. How big are the fish at the moment? I would strongly advise you to upgrade the tank in the near future.

 

[lynzmk]

@ ryan

the goldfish are about 1 and a half inch inc tails.

We're getting the new tank in june.

L x

 

[ryan]

Ok providing it is coming for sure in June you should be fine. I would consider another Wheather Loach, maybe even a Golden one? Out of interest how big is the new tank?

 

[lynzmk]

well i have my eye on one that is 25 inches in length cant remember the other dimensions. There are one or 2 im interested in but we need to wait til june to have enough money to get the one i want rather than settle for 2nd best.
The water is well aerated and has a fluval filter, i dont envisage any problems between now and june from my past experience with goldfish.



L x

 

[kaz petts]

Glad to hear that you are getting a new tank.
I made the same mistake, had too many fish in too small a tank.
Ryan is right (he has helped me quite a lot over the last few weeks) a 10g tank is way too small for what you have at the moment.
I would say to get a 4' tank if room allows.
All the best
Kaz
P.S do yourself and your fish a favour when you get the new tank. You may already know this but please make sure you cycle it properly before adding the fish.
Sorry for adding this if you already know this part but i feel it is better to be safe than sorry.

 

[lynzmk]

by the way cheese thats a great pic of ur loach!!!

@ kazz - yep i know about cycling hehe i get all impatient luckily will b able to start it off with some substrate from the 18in tank.

L x

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Yes, peppered cories do very well in cold water, and are actually better suited to it!! I had my 8 in coldwater at about 72F (without heater) until recently. They don't do well in tempatures above 77F.

I wouldn't advise getting any until you get a bigger tank though, and only if space allows.

Thanks for the comments on Kentaro, he is very photogenic and will stay still for quite a while. When he gets into weird positions I take pics of him and it's like he knows as he waits just long enough before moving!