Sick Dojo Loach

[Meesh]

Just looked at my 20 gallon tank. One of my three Dojo Loaches has fuzz around his body and is floating, but swims away when I try to catch him. (I thought he was dead)
Suggeztions?View attachment 1

 

[Delapool]

Bacterial and / or fungal but not sure what the trigger was.

Fungus Guard Tabs - 8 pack | That Fish Place

 

[Meesh]

Yeah. He didn't make it. LFS gave me a fungus treatment for the tank. A second Dojo has a brown spot but is behaving normally. I think possibly my substrate is too tough for them. They've been digging and maybe damaged their skin and provided the opportunity? Idk.

 

[Delapool]

Could be - some injury or scratch. I think there was one locally that was put down to sharp rocks. High nitrates / organic load in tank may not help fyi.

 

[Meesh]

Nitrates fine, hover around 20-25 ppm

 

[Delapool]

Sounds good [emoji106]

 

[splattered]

Dude it's absolutely that substrate. You need fine sand for any "scaleless" fish or fish with barbels and loaches have both. I have >1" eco-complete under 1" of pool filter sand for my 4 yoyo's and they love it. Loaches love to pile up together in tight places and bury themselves in the substrate, it's just they're nature. I've heard stories of kuhlis breeding in under gravel filters totally unbeknownst to the keeper. They get in everything

 

[idol1]

Dojos are wild here on Kauai. They are only found in the mucky leaf litter in the streams ,fine sandy bottoms and the mud that the taro grows in. Ours grow realy long and fat.

 

[Meesh]

I switched out the substrate. That Dojo is still not right (been a few weeks) but still hanging in there. The other one is hale and hearty and I got two more, babies. I want at least three and I still don't know what's going to happen with that ailing one. He lays around a lot looking quite dead, but he's in a different spot (looking dead) when I check in on the tank. 7 harlequin rasbora, a betta and a small bristlenose pleco are doing very well.