"Hi there, I've recently gotten a golden dojo loach from an extremely dirty tank and was previously housed with two goldfish. The current setup for her tank is now completely clean. It is a 5 gallon tank, with a cleaned filter as well as a fresh filter, a bubbler/airstone, two fake plants, and very soft, fine sand. She is the only fish right now. We would like to get her company, but only until she is healthier and not stressed out by an addition to her evironment. Her back end was floating up a lot, indicating swim bladder disease. She would wedge herself between the plants to keep from floating. Already, in 24 hours in this cleaned envIronman, her back end floating has reduced significantly. She definitely has an appetite. We give her sinking wafers, and she destroys them. I'm worried she may be constipated, though. With her eating her wafers very quickly and coming from a tank with severe detritis, I'm wondering if constipation could also be contributing to her back end floating. In the past, I have treated goldfish for constipation in our 'fish hospital' with cycles of clean water and small amounts of Epsom salt. Is this safe for loaches? Additionally, while she has a good appetite, she looks a bit thin, and her sides appear to have very slight lumps. Nothing huge, just very slightly. I'm worried she may have 'skinny disease,' which I do not know how to treat. She has also lost a lot of her original golden color from poor health, and I'd like to restore that in her. I have read from one source that it can be good to cleanse a bloated loach by fasting it for 3 to 4 days to stop food intake, then feed it a piece of a soft, shelled pea, to help clean out the system. However, I have only read this from one source, so I'm wondering if this is safe? She isn't incredibly active. She is to feed, and that's it. I know there haven't been any storms coming up, and she doesn't have any loaches to play with. We keep her on a regular day and night schedule, and the tank is around 72-74F. I've read that loaches can 'lounge.' She likes to wedge herself vertically in the plants or drape herself across the branches and just...lay like that. It's like she plays dead. There's been many times where we've thought she's dead, only to have her activated when we check. Is this normal behavior? Sorry it's so long, wanted to be thourough! Thanks for any help"
"Oliver"
