I have two golden dojos and they have been going nuts today. One of them will follow the other around fins flared with its mouth right behind the pectoral fin and at one point even coiled around the other. My first thought was aggression but between the coiling and the fact that the one being pursued doesnt freak out and run, it just keeps picking through the rocks (albeit much faster than normal) I'm not so sure. I'm totally unfamiliar with their breeding habits. Any ideas? Should I be worried?
Dojo Loach behavior question
- Thread starter Thalan
- Start date
Dojo loaches are very active, playful fishes. They will often loosely wrap themselves around each other or brush themselves against each other. They aren't aggressive, and while this could be courtship behavior, my understanding is that they rarely breed in captivity.
Changes in the weather can cause them to behave frenetically. That's why they're also called "weather loaches" or "weather fish". They can be quite acrobatic, shooting from one end of the tank to the opposite end and twisting and turning in a barrel-roll in mid-water. All of this is normal for them.
They also like to shoot up toward the surface, and will often jump out of tanks without lids. They will also take advantage of any holes in the lid, even very small ones, to get out of the tank. If they can fit through the hole, they can get out.
I wouldn't worry at all. It sounds like your dojos are active, energetic, and healthy.
If you really want to make them even happier, feed them Sera O-Nip tablets, but feed sparingly. These are very soft, and dojos will gorge themselves on them if you let them. They can be ordered through Foster & Smith.
My dojos also love algae pellets, and will try to hog them at feeding time.
Enjoy your dojos. They are just being playful.
-- bigmamafish
Changes in the weather can cause them to behave frenetically. That's why they're also called "weather loaches" or "weather fish". They can be quite acrobatic, shooting from one end of the tank to the opposite end and twisting and turning in a barrel-roll in mid-water. All of this is normal for them.
They also like to shoot up toward the surface, and will often jump out of tanks without lids. They will also take advantage of any holes in the lid, even very small ones, to get out of the tank. If they can fit through the hole, they can get out.
I wouldn't worry at all. It sounds like your dojos are active, energetic, and healthy.
If you really want to make them even happier, feed them Sera O-Nip tablets, but feed sparingly. These are very soft, and dojos will gorge themselves on them if you let them. They can be ordered through Foster & Smith.
My dojos also love algae pellets, and will try to hog them at feeding time.
Enjoy your dojos. They are just being playful.
-- bigmamafish
Usually if it is an atmospheric pressure change that they are reacting to they just race around the tank and seem very unsettled, what you are describing could well be courtship or spawning behaviour. Over the last 18 months or so there have been quite a few reports of spawnings or courtship behaviour in Weather loaches, why this is the case is unclear, maybe the fact that majority are commercially bred means they are more at home in aquariums than if wild caught.
If I remember correctly there are a couple of videos on Youtube, one shows courtship/spawning behaviour and one showed actual footage of eggs being released.
If I remember correctly there are a couple of videos on Youtube, one shows courtship/spawning behaviour and one showed actual footage of eggs being released.
Last time my two gold Dojos "made a pretzel" as my mom says, I wound up with eggs. I'm not saying for certain this is the case as I do not know the sex of your fish, age, etc, but I cannot rule it out. Is one Dojo really plump? I would watch closely but not worry. It could just be as the others suggested, friendly play.