Ok I know Dojo loaches are reportedly very hardy and easy fish, but I'm starting to feel like mine just don't like me. 
I bought 1 about 2.5 weeks ago and he adjusted to my tank quite well and is extremely healthy & comfortable (he actually ate out of my hand the other night).
So I decided I'd add another one to keep him company. So the new one came in about 1 week after the first. This one immediately starting acting differently. It would just lay on top of my plants near the top of the tank and seemed to have clamped it's fins to it's sides. It's barbels around the mouth also seemed very limp and just kinda floated around. I immediately removed this fish from my tank and placed it in quarantine (I know I should have done this initially but I had such great success with the first one). I treated the quarantine tank with salt and PimaFix. However the poor little loach died 2 days later. It's entire back half was covered in a cottony fungus.
So my lfs refunded my purchase with another loach, which I brought home today. Initially I had it's bag floating in my main tank just until I got the quarantine tank ready for it, but it managed to escape out of the bag and into the tank (long story). So I decided to let it go and see how it did. It initially seemed to be doing well. It started eating shrimp pellats right away, and my other loach seemed happy to have a playmate. Then after a couple of hours of being in the tank, it began swimming around like crazy and very erratically. Then a short while later I noticed it hanging out on top of my filter return flow valve (I guess that is what it is called) near the top of the water. I tried to move it and it seemed reluctant to move but did only to go to the top of the other side and rest on the top of the plants. I find this very odd, because I did have my lights on (it's a fairly well lit tank with almost 3 watts/gallon for my plants) and my other loach has always preferred the bottom of the tank. I've also noticed it too has clamped it's fins and not nearly as active as it first was.
So what is going on with my loaches? Should I assume this one is stressed out, and is also subject to the fungus and therefore should begin treating it in my quarantine tank? None of the other fish in the tank are having problems, I have the other dojo and 4 otos in there. Also my tank levels (Ammonia, pH, nitrites, etc.) are all fine. The tank is in general very healthy and is well cycled. Help please.
I bought 1 about 2.5 weeks ago and he adjusted to my tank quite well and is extremely healthy & comfortable (he actually ate out of my hand the other night). So I decided I'd add another one to keep him company. So the new one came in about 1 week after the first. This one immediately starting acting differently. It would just lay on top of my plants near the top of the tank and seemed to have clamped it's fins to it's sides. It's barbels around the mouth also seemed very limp and just kinda floated around. I immediately removed this fish from my tank and placed it in quarantine (I know I should have done this initially but I had such great success with the first one). I treated the quarantine tank with salt and PimaFix. However the poor little loach died 2 days later. It's entire back half was covered in a cottony fungus.
So my lfs refunded my purchase with another loach, which I brought home today. Initially I had it's bag floating in my main tank just until I got the quarantine tank ready for it, but it managed to escape out of the bag and into the tank (long story). So I decided to let it go and see how it did. It initially seemed to be doing well. It started eating shrimp pellats right away, and my other loach seemed happy to have a playmate. Then after a couple of hours of being in the tank, it began swimming around like crazy and very erratically. Then a short while later I noticed it hanging out on top of my filter return flow valve (I guess that is what it is called) near the top of the water. I tried to move it and it seemed reluctant to move but did only to go to the top of the other side and rest on the top of the plants. I find this very odd, because I did have my lights on (it's a fairly well lit tank with almost 3 watts/gallon for my plants) and my other loach has always preferred the bottom of the tank. I've also noticed it too has clamped it's fins and not nearly as active as it first was.
So what is going on with my loaches? Should I assume this one is stressed out, and is also subject to the fungus and therefore should begin treating it in my quarantine tank? None of the other fish in the tank are having problems, I have the other dojo and 4 otos in there. Also my tank levels (Ammonia, pH, nitrites, etc.) are all fine. The tank is in general very healthy and is well cycled. Help please.
/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm
