Dojo Loaches

[GouramiFanatic]

I have a trio of Dojos for about a couple of months now. They have to be one of the coolest fish you can get. Today I did a PWC and one of them actually came up and started to 'feel out' my arm with it's barbels. It was the cutest thing. I'm having so much fun with them and I have a few questions for fellow Dojo Loach owners.

1) Do any of your Dojos do what looks like a yawn from time to time? One of mine is seen doing this pretty frequently, although mostly at feeding time (my new avatar is a photo of this 'yawn'). I've only seen this one doing it. What does it mean?

2) For the people who have more than 1 or 2, can you tell your Dojos apart? I can tell all of mine apart. One of them has a dark black spot it has on it's right side. Another one has a very spotted look, almost like a leopard print, and the third has a lined/streaked pattern. It's funny because when I brought them home I had no idea how I'd be able to tell them apart, but now it's so easy!

3) I thought that they'd be able to bury themselves in the gravel that I have in the tank because the gravel is so small and light, but it seems to be to much for them. Is there something else I can do to give them a place to hide and feel secure? They don't seem to be unhappy or scared or anything, but I feel bad that they can't bury themselves since I've read that they like to.

I'll post some pictures shortly so you can see them.

**** Edit ****

Here are the pictures I mentioned. The first photo is of the lined one (the one in front) and the one with the spot on it's right side.
http://www.marinediscoveries.com/2loaches.jpg

The other photo is the one with the leopard markings.
http://www.marinediscoveries.com/leoloach.jpg

 

[Guest]

i have two dojo's and they are the coolest fish in the tank. i can tell mine apart very easy and i have seen them yawn. they also expell air(lol) then shoot to the top and get a gulp of air. i think they do this for boyancy? it's too bad yours cant bury themselves, mine love to burrow under the sand and lie there with their heads poked out. one of mine will feel out my arm when it's in the tank, but the other is shy. also called weather loaches, i never see them get any different if it rains, they are always active and sometimes like to lay face to face. here is a pic, but it's not a very good one.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I have 1 dojo myself, and he's great. Loves to bury himself in the pool filter sand in the tank. Some things they like are PVC pipe partially buried in the gravel. They also have decor that looks like old sewer pipes. Mine likes that too. Also, when small, they may not be able to bury themselves as easily in gravel, but when they start getting bigger, they will be able to. Sometimes when mine is buried, all you can see is the mouth and barbels, lol.

 

[coldmachineUK]

It's normal for them to yawn! lol. I believe it has to do with what catfishface said: they use a part of their digestive system to take in and expel air for boyancy. I'll leave it to your imagination how that works

It may well be you have one of one variant and one of another: cobitis taenia (spotted weather loach) and misgurnus fossilis (European weather loach). I think that might explain the difference in markings

They can survive out of water for quite a while, since I believe they move from one body of water to another in the wild when climatic conditions change (hence the name). A friend once found one on the floor wriggling away and it had been there for some time (had leapt out of the tank, knocking the hood off believe it or not: they are feisty jumpers!) but it was put back and was absolutely fine. They cover themselves with a slime coat (mucus-like) which protects them out of the water.
They also weirdly seem to like being handled! Which is thankfully better than if botias loved to be handled (what with their eye-spines lol)!

Your gravel substrate does seem a little bit on the large size for them to burrow: sand works well (as always for loaches, though actually I prefer using very fine gravel as I've found it easier to maintain). Typical hidey holes for loaches should work though: tubes, long slate caves, bogwood etc.

 

[kitbasher]

I have a large dojo as well, and it is my favorite fish in my wife's tank. When the baromic pressure changes he/she shoots up and down the side of the tank. I only have one, but I would image they are pretty social, since he plays with the clown loach we have. I have a gravel substrate so he does not get to bury himself, but there is a huge piece of malaysian driftwood and a rock cave that he hides under. When I throw in sinking pellets, such as shrimp and algea, the dojo really tears up the substrate getting the food. Its not uncommon for him to tear the fake plants out of the substrate when going for a pellet. I am planning on getting another one for my tank, but I want a golden dojo and have never seen one locally.

 

[Guest]

i have been trying to 'train' my dojo and i think it's working. i hold a shelled pea and wave it in the water. yesterday one shot up and snatched it from my fingers, sort of scared me, lol. im glad it doesnt have teeth, or i would be missing a little chunk.