# My weather loach... is weird!!!



## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

But i do love him!! Anyway the Lieutenant, as he is known, has a new bizarre habit

He gets on top of the filter, which means all his body is out of the water, and then just dangles his head in the water, obv to breathe etc

He does it loads!!

I know they are covered in a mucus to enable them survive for a few hours out of water... but why oh why is he doing this?

I'm not worried, just interested to know! Is it common for them to deliberately go out of the water or is he just a weirdo!?


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

what size tank is he in, and what temperature is the water. they are cold water fish, the cooler the better, the water may be a bit warm for him maybe. also they are supposed to be in groups as they are highly social. some do pick up strange habits though, i had to remove my dojos from my fancy godlfish tank as they started to take food from inside the goldfishes mouths by squirming their heads into their gills :gasp: im a bit sad actually as they are being picked up to go to their new home in the morning, at least i know they are going to a good new home, 6ft cold water tank, ideal, they need at least a 4ft tank so i know they will have plenty of space to grow to their full size and enjoy life :2thumb:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

miss_mystra said:


> But i do love him!! Anyway the Lieutenant, as he is known, has a new bizarre habit
> 
> He gets on top of the filter, which means all his body is out of the water, and then just dangles his head in the water, obv to breathe etc
> 
> ...


 
I have 3 in my pond that are at least 4 years old, they are huge now and like to sit on the plant baskets with their bodies out of the water in the warm weather


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> what size tank is he in, and what temperature is the water. they are cold water fish, the cooler the better, the water may be a bit warm for him maybe. also they are supposed to be in groups as they are highly social. some do pick up strange habits though, i had to remove my dojos from my fancy godlfish tank as they started to take food from inside the goldfishes mouths by squirming their heads into their gills :gasp: im a bit sad actually as they are being picked up to go to their new home in the morning, at least i know they are going to a good new home, 6ft cold water tank, ideal, they need at least a 4ft tank so i know they will have plenty of space to grow to their full size and enjoy life :2thumb:


that make be an idea actually, he is in a coldwater tank, but my flat is ridiculously hot at the moment, even with the windows open, is there anything i can get to keep the water temp colder? 

As for the size of the tank, its just under 4ft, and i am saving up for another much larger tank. When i bought him he was just a couple inches long and i asked the man in the shop how much room they needed and if they got much bigger. What a load of carp he told me compared to what i have now found out. he's a cracking fish tho, i could watch him all day, i didn't know they liked to live in groups so will get him a friend or two once the bigger tank comes into play. i wish these so called fish experts who sell them in shops would tell you the right answers!!

the only time he bothers the goldfish he lives with is when he (the goldie) decides to swallow a pellet whole and sits there choking on it (it always breaks down in the water anyway so its never been a worry), the Lieutenant goes and suckers it out!!

Is there any secial food i can give the loach, he has algae wafers now and again but Pedro (the goldie) keeps pinching it because he's so greedy!!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

so you only have a single goldfish too then? both goldies and weather loaches are social fish so maybe once you have your bigger set-up add another goldie and maybe 2 more weather loaches :2thumb: as for the heat, you can add a frozen bottle of water, or clip a small fan near the top of the tank with the air bllowing over the surface.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> so you only have a single goldfish too then? both goldies and weather loaches are social fish so maybe once you have your bigger set-up add another goldie and maybe 2 more weather loaches :2thumb: as for the heat, you can add a frozen bottle of water, or clip a small fan near the top of the tank with the air bllowing over the surface.



Yeah there was another goldie but he died...thinking back maybe that could have been caused by the heat, as he had no signs of disease on him. the two of them are an odd couple but Pedro is a grumpy so and so at the best of times, but he needs another goldie friend in there! 

I just scooped out some water, i don't have a thermometer but its not that cold :s, will freeze a bottle of water today and see if i can find a little fan or something. Honestly i live in a sweatbox...it best be this warm in here when winter comes!!

Can't wait to get a new tank, i had a smaller one before i moved house and got a bigger one as i was moving a long way so set a whole new tank up before moving the fishies down from my mum's house, but its not big enough now i have found out more... still i get a bonus from work next month, fingers crossed! another new house for the fishies!


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