my yo-yo loach is not feeling well

Question
My tank is 10 gal. it has been set up for about 4 mo. I have 4 fish, 2 yo-yo's loaches (about 1& a half in. each), 1 banjo  cat (about 2 in. ) and a betta my filter is a whisper it has a filter not a bio wheel. PH is 6.3 ammonia is 0 nitrites 0.2 nitrates 20. I take out 25% (2& a half gals.) of my water weekly and 40% (4 gals.) on the first of the month. I feed them 2 times a day a very small amount of flakes in the morning and a mixture of brine shrimp and blood worms @ night. I hand feed them with a syring to make sure everyone is eating and not much is being wasted. For about the last  2 weeks 1 of my yo-yo's stopped eatting he still comes to my hand and brushes around it he will even take the food but he then spits it back out all he does all day is lay on he favorite spot until it's time to eat then he gets up and pretends to eat. He is not acting like he used to or swimming around with his tankmate. I very worried about him. Is there anything I should do or try to get him back to himself

Answer
Hi Lisa;

Poor guy. It could be an internal parasite, gill flukes or an infection or tumor of some kind that is blocking his esophagus. I don't usually recommend treatment with medication unless we know what's wrong but internal problems can be difficult, if not impossible, to diagnose. You could try a medication for internal parasites but they can be very harsh and often don't work if the fish can't eat. Instead, I would first try CopperSafe for possible gill parasites and an antibiotic in case it's a bacterial infection. "Maracyn Two" works well and actually absorbs inside the fish where infection can live. It would be best to isolate him to a "hospital" tank so the other fish aren't treated. The meds can mess up the tank water too. It can take weeks to get rid of the foaminess and ugly yellowish/brown color the M2 makes. Yuck.

I wish I could help more but it's just hard to know for sure what he has...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins