Golden Dojo

Question
QUESTION: Today I came home to find my golden Dojo loach upside down and not breathing.A few seconds later his gills began to move while rermaining upside down.I went to move him and he began swimming around normal.What is going on with him?Is it a disease?

ANSWER: Does he have any other signs: salt like spots, clamped fins, not eating, NEVER being able to balance, or other odd signs? If not, I suspect the personality of the fish. Loaches of all kinds are known for thier odd behavior, they will do things as you describe. They tend to just have odd behavior. However, it is important to make sure they do not have a disease or parasite before saying it is just thier personality. Look for the signs I have mentioned and if the fish has any or most of them it will need to be treated. Feel free to get back to me with what you see to make sure if you should treat and if so what to get. I hope this helps. Let me know.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He turns on his side when he just sitting there.He spends a lot of time at the top of the water which is odd because he has never done that in all the time we've had him.

ANSWER: Well, considering he has not done this before it may be a disease or parasite. However, you should not treat him unless you narrow down the possibilities of what he might have. What other signs are there? Clamped fins, salt like spots, fuzzy spots, white patches, torn fins, not eating, bloated look, other odd behavior? The balance difference alone does not give you enough to say what to treat him for. He could have a bladder problem but he would not be eating and would look bloated and would just look sickly. If there is nothing else but the occasional turning on the side and occasional visit to the top of the water, it is very difficult to say what the problem is. You should always avoid treating a fish unless you know for sure it has something. Even when a fish should be treated, you need to know at least a broad idea of what the fish has. There are many different treatments out there and treating with the wrong treatment will do no good and in fact may even cause more stress to the fish, the reason I say you need to examine the fish again and try and find out what the fish may have, if anything. I hope this helps. Feel free to get back to me with anything else you notice or any questions.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He has fuzzy spots/white spots.His appetite has decreased very much.And i have not treated him with anything I know better.But i can not find any information.Help

Answer
If he has fuzzy white spots and NOT salt-like spots than he has a fungus. If it is fuzzy and they are larger spots he has a fungus. You need to get a treatment that says it covers all types of fungus and treat the fish following the directions exactly. Let me know if you need anything else. I hope this helps.