tan.b

minding my own business watching tv, i kept hearing a very odd noise coming from the tanks. by the time i turned round, it stopped. i had no idea which tank, let alone which fish and what was going on. i blamed the filter for making strange noises! anyway, yesterday, i caught the offender! i turned round at the right moment (when the fish werent looking ), and my loach has decided to take up a new sport....burying himself in the gravel. like, almost completely so only his tail is showing. he lays still for about 30 seconds pretending to be dead, then gets up and swims off like nothing's happened. my loach has had odd behaviour before, but this is a new one to add to his reportoire. (btw, he may be a she....who knows!). any ideas? is he rumaging for any fragments of algae wafer? of so, why as he gets fed most nights, and is quite fat so cant be hungry. there's often a cucumber in there too (and there was yesterday).
any ideas? is this just what sucking loaches do when they grow up? or is it just mine thats a bit loopy?

Sabi

I wouldnt know why they do it, but my weather loach did the same. He used burrow himslf in the gravel and stay there for hours on end, most of the day anyway. Maybe they do it just to feel safe or something.....

Jacko

I think they do when they feel stressed or bored. My kuhli loach used to bury himself so that only his head was above sand, only when I was doing a water change or messing around with my tank though. What species is this? Also be very careful of him hitting a gas chamber. This can kill fish suddenly.

armadillo

Hi Tan. I thought this was normal behaviour for some loaches. Buuuut, watch out for scratches on his body. Our kuhli loaches are doing the same in our fine gravel, and are coming up covered in scratches. As all fish in the tank are scaleless (dwarf puffers, funny catfish and kuhli loaches), we're not overly keen on the idea of adding salt to the tank water (to make sure wound doesn't get infected).

tan.b

thanks for the replies! it could be a weather thing. we've had atrocious (sp?!) weather for months now! he hasnt got any marks on him despite bouncing off the lid of the tank (but if i removed it.....it would be a worse outcome), and going in the gravel. no parasites or anything either. his skin is spotless. he's a pale colour so easy to see his skin and as he spends time between these loopy phases sulking i get a good look at him. i think he needs a padded cell and a straight jacket but apparently these are unavailable for fish :!! not much call for them apparently! i havent used salt either as he doesnt have scales (i dont think so anyway?!) as he seems unharmed seems little point. if it hurt surely he wouldnt do it?! he does bash the lid quite hard though. enough for me to hear it anyway over the tv at the other end of the room!
i cant think of anything thats stressing him. he;s the boss of the tank, so he's not bothered by any other fish. loopy fish!

Butterfly

It's natural for worm shaped loaches to borrow. I think they are scrounging for yummies
As long as the substrates well aerated there is no danger of dangerous air pockets and the kuhlis especially will make sure its aerated enough
Carol

tan.b

hey, didnt think of that!! he's aerating it for me!! he is useful after all!! (since he's not a great cleaner by plec standards!!). luckily the gravel in there is fine pea gravel so its not heavy (unlike my other tanks which have much bigger and coarser stones as substrate). the gravel is quite rounded too (no sharp edges), so i guess thats how hes avoided harm. maybe hes just greedy and an algae wafer most days (6 out of 7), shrimp pellets a few days a week and cucumber a few days a week, plus the algae is just not enough for his fat belly! he's one greedy boy (and prob slightly spoilt too!)

Butterfly

Mama he's just making sure he hasn't missed anything whilst cleaning house
Carol

tan.b