Clown Loach Is Acting "funny"

[lemond68]

I have a 55 gallon tank with three clown loaches, one african cichlid, and a pleco. One of the loaches seems to hang on its own and its gills seem to flap very fast compared to its tank mates.

is this a sign of impending doom?

what can I do to diagnose or even address this issue?

thanks

 

[Lateral Line]

Difficult to know where to start. Are they newly added or have they been in the tank a long time? Has the one that behaves differently always been so or is this a new thing? Are your water parameters okay? Is your tank getting enough Oxygen, (Loaches are high O2 demanding fish)? Is the cichlid "picking" on it? Is it eating normally? Have you added/removed anything lately? How big are they? Is there salt in the water?

 

[lemond68]

The fish were in the tank for about four years and then the tank was moved last week. The fish were kept in 20%-30% of the initial water. Initially thee loaches hung together but since last night one of the clown loaches has been "beathing fast".

The cichlid has been picking on them all, and we reconfigured the tank this am so that the cichlid and the loaches don't fight for the same spot.

There is no salt in the water. The temp is 85 F (29.4 C), the pH is 7.2 (nitrite, nitrate and NH3/NH4+ are all in the 0 ppm levels).

The other loaches are not acting like this one. I tried to feed it some dry shrimp pellets and did not seem to be too interested. No new additions since the transfer last week.

Thanks

I believe my heater is malfunctioning since it is set at 76 F (24.4 C) and it never goes lower.

 

[Lateral Line]

As water heats up, it's ability to hold Oxygen goes down. 29 is very high for loaches, and I would not be at all suprised if they are having a tough time "breathing". I'd get that heater sorted out.