Hillstream loaches

[George&Ade]

Hi.
A while ago i bought 2 loaches from my local pet store basically to keep the green algae down a little.
For a while they have been doing a really good job in keeping the tank clean.Up until about 3 weeks ago that is.
Just before i had that outbreak of whitespot,they just cling to the bottom of the filter.
Theres no sign of them eating any algae,and they dont come out at all.
All of this seems to have happened before i raised the temp.and added any meds.
I check on them every day to make sure they are still alive and "well",but was wondering if this behaviour is normal

 

[ryan]

In their natural habitat Hillstream Loaches graze the rocks for micro organisms (aufwuchs). Because of their low value food diet, healthy fish tend to always be very active, and feed a lot of the time. When buying them one of the first things you should look for is how active the fishes are, because they are almost constant feeders. If they're not moving around, it is a good sign that something is wrong. Finding out what the cause of this inactivity is can often be tricky, they do have high oxygen requirements so thats what you should look at first. If this is not the case it is most likely due to ill health, are their stomachs sucken? Has the outbreak of whitespot been successfully treated, or are you still treating?

If they aren't feeding you might want to try tempting them to feed, they seem to particularly like frozen Bloodworm and Brine Shrimp. Green vegetables lightly blanched are also a favourite. If they start feeding and become more active you can decrease these feedings and see if they return to the algae eating.

 

[George&Ade]

Thanks ryan.

Unfortunatly i cant actually see the condition they are in due to the filter almost touching the bottom of the tank.

When i bought them,they seemed to be very active,and continued so for a few weeks when they were in the tank.

Seems like ive beaten the "whitespot" (for now anyway)

Have returned the temp.to normal,and have been doing regular gravel cleans and water changes.

I will take your advice and see if i can tempt them with food,although i havent seen them out at all when ive fed the goldfish with brine shrimp