Dojo Loach Stats
Minimum Tank Size: 29 Gallons Minimum, 55 Gallons Recommended
Care Level: Easy
Water Conditions: 6.5-8 and Moderately Hard to Hard
Temperature: 50-72 F (10-23 C)
Maximum Size: 12 inches (30cm)
The weather loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), also known as the dojo loach, is a hardy and friendly beginner fish that was originally found throughout Asia. In the wild, it is primarily a bottom dwelling scavenger, and has barbells similar to catfish that it uses to sift through detritus to find food on the bottom of ponds and shallow streams.
The name weather loach originates from the fact that these fish can detect barometric pressure changes before a storm. When the barometric pressure falls, the fish will become extremely agitated and will dart around the aquarium in the hours before a storm. While this isn’t terribly impressive in the age of the Weather Network, they were prized for this ability in ancient times and may have been kept domestically for nearly as long as goldfish.
In the home aquarium, weather loaches are one of the few “friendly” fish available. Many of them will actively seek out contact, and will readily accept food from their owner’s hand. While they shouldn’t be handled on a regular basis, a weather loach that feels safe will sometimes even swim up into your outstretched hand (which isn’t necessarily a good thing if you’re squeamish around anything snake-like.)
Housing
Weather loaches tend to be a messy fish that constantly roots around in the substrate. Because of this, they should always be housed in a spacious aquarium, with strong filtration.
When choosing a filter, a high quality Hang-on-back filter is an excellent choice, and can be combined with a sponge filter for extra filtration. If you can afford the hefty price tag, a canister filter is the best choice, since some weather loaches enjoy jumping or crawling up into a hang-on-back filter. While these fish are usually fine, it can lead to a few hours of frantic searching for the missing loach.
And filters aren’t the only escape route for weather loaches. Throughout the hobby they are well known for being escape artists. Any aquarium housing them should have always be covered, any openings sealed with breathable material. If a weather loach does manage to jump out of the tank, they can still survive for several hours. Even one found on the floor that looks completely dried out, should be placed back in the aquarium to see if it recovers. There are numerous stories of dried out loaches being found on the floor, and miraculously springing back to life once they were placed back in the water.
The water in a weather loach tank should be kept cool and should never be heated unless the room falls below 50F (10 C). While weather loaches can be kept in tropical aquariums, it will greatly shorten their life spans. A well cared for loach will live for close to 10 years in a cold water aquarium, but will usually live under 4 years when kept in a tropical aquarium.
The ideal substrate for weather loaches is sand or other loose, easy to dig material. They love to dig in their substrate, and will often bury themselves up to their necks, presenting their owner the view of a group of small heads poking out of the sand. When threatened, weather loaches will disappear into the substrate, and newly purchased fish will often “disappear” for a few days, only to reappear draped across a decoration a few days later.
Weather loaches are social fish, and you should always keep in groups of at least three. If they are kept on their own, they will spend most of their time hiding, and will rarely be active during the day. When they are kept in a group, their behavior completely changes – they will constantly swim around the tank, and will often sit out in the open in a “pile” of weather loaches. The don’t seem to mind piling on top of each other, and this will lead to comical positions where all the loaches are stacked up into a big loach pyramid.
Feeding
In the wild weather loaches are omnivores, and much of their diet is made up of algae and plant material at the bottom of ponds and shallow streams. They will also opportunistically feed on insects, snails and small invertebrates.
In the home aquarium, this can be mimicked by feeding them a spirulina based pellet or flake, and a high quality flake food. One of the best prepared foods for them is Hikari Sinking Wafers. They should also be fed frozen foods as a treat, with their favorites being tubifex or blackworms, bloodworms and daphnia.
If you don’t have access to a spirulina based food, they can also be fed vegetables on a regular basis. The most readily accepted vegetables are blanched zucchini medallions, shelled peas and cucumber medallions. It doesn’t take long for a few adult weather loaches to devour a whole zucchini medallion, but you should still remove any uneaten vegetables after 24 hours. This helps to prevent it from rotting and fouling the aquarium water.
Breeding
Since weather loaches are cool water fishes, they require a trigger to start the breeding process. This can be accomplished through keeping the weather loaches in a room that has low temperatures in the winter and spring, and changing the amount of light that they receive in the spring. Lighting in their tank should be reduced in the winter, and slowly increased in the spring until they are getting a minimum of 12 hours of light in the aquarium.
When breeding is triggered in the weather loach, the male will begin to court the female which can last several hours. He will then wrap himself around the female until the eggs are released, and then fertilize them.
The eggs will generally hatch within a few days, and the fry are so small that they will have to fed infusoria or special commercial fry food for up to a week. After this, they can be fed baby brine shrimp and powdered spirulina pellets.
Hi Robert,
I purchased two weather loaches from the pet store today. The employee assured us that they would be fine in 76 degree water that we keep for our gouramies and catfish. Will this cause a problem for the loaches? Further, is covering the top of the tank a necessity? We have a 3/4 hood with a large hob filter. Should we find a way to cover the rest?
Thanks for your help!
Aside from shortening their lifespan, the temperature should be fine. They do prefer cool water, but they can also exist in tropical aquariums.
As for the aquarium, I would strongly recommend finding some way to cover it. Even using a mesh or something to prevent them from jumping out should be fine.
I had mine at 79 deg and the WL seemed fine
They do alright at higher temperatures, but it shortens their lifespan over time.
Mine are in with gourami and corydora they grown to 7-8inches no problem
COLD water!!!!!?
If you care for your friendly fish please don’t heat their water. Maybe put them in separate aquarium situation.
Yes you want to cover up as much as you can as far as that even getting a canister filter if you’re worried about them crawling into your hang on back. But they like to hide as much as they like to be social. So make sure they have a good hiding spot in the dark that they can go to when they want. I have one I bought as a juvenile and it’s now 10 inches long and an angel fish ain’t around me tank and I keep it around 77 and he seems to do just fine I know it’s a little warmer than what’s recommended but I don’t think it’s hurting him. If it was in the ’80s then possible. They like to eat sinkable pellets and freeze dried brine shrimp. They go nuts for that and will come to the top of the tank all the time when you walk up to it expecting to be fed. Mine likes the glass surf the fake stacked slate ornament I have. I’ve never seen him father any of the fish in my tank never once. If another fish pecks at him he will just swim off. The golden dojo loach has personally became one of my favorite fish in the hobby. To the point he is my showpiece fish in my 40 gallon breeder with my angel and gouramis
Hi Robert,
Will these loach’s live in harmony with fancy goldfish? (no other fish). The tank is 5′ long and 18″ wide I think its a 110 gallon tank, will have pool filter sand for substrate probably no heater. I will probably use a Fluval FX 6 with a sump for filtration. Decorations will be round rocks and a big piece of driftwood.
Thanks Jordan
In my experience, they are one of, if not the best, tankmates for goldfish. I have a large tank with some fancy goldfish, and close to half a dozen weather loaches living in harmony with each other. Weather loaches actually prefer cooler temperatures like goldfish, and tend to live longer when kept out of tropical tanks.
Hi Jordan
I just brought my dojo loach back to aquarium store because it ate the eyes out of 2 of my fancy goldfish. They had it in the same tank as the Fancy’s at the store
It was the size of my index finger when I got it 8 about 9 inches when I got rid of it. Was such a cool fish, hated to get rid of it. My tank is 65 gallons. Since your tank is bigger maybe this won’t happen. Just keep watch as a loach gets big.
Laurie
Wow, that sounds horrible. I’ve never heard of dojo loaches doing that before, but it’s good to know they’re capable of that.
I brought 2 gold fish at the same time as my loach and it killed both gold fish within a week all fish were the same length so I would suggest getting bigger gold fish not that I have put any more with him since.
That’s strange behavior. How did the loach kill them?
This is very strange behaviour for a dojo loach, they were most likey chinese alage eater fish as they’re known to be highly aggressive and look similar to the dogo loach
Well, The PetStore where We Reg Shop ALWAYS Keeps ALL Of His DOJO Loaches In with GOLDFISH ALL SIZES. These Loaches Make Excellent Tank cleaners & Mates. Im Keeping 2 Brown LRG DOGO Loaches Currently In Same Tank with Various Guppies, 15 Zebra Nanos, 15 Assort CoryDoras, & 2 Reg Pleckos & My 2 Loaches Get Along Just Fine With EVERYTHING in the Tank. I Feed Assort Fish Flake Food, Special Plecko & Catfish Puck/Wafers, & + Shrimp & Bloodworms !!! These Loaches R Very Good Eaters & Have NEVER chased , Bothered, Hurt or EVER Eaten Any Of My Smaller Fish EVER !!!
I bought a weather loach recently and put it with danios and platys. I have some established shrimps in the tank which he just chases away at the moment. Could he become a problem when he gets bigger?
It depends on the shrimp. The smaller species may be at risk, but I’ve never heard of them eating the larger species like ghost and amano shrimp. That’s purely anecdotal though, and I don’t have any real research to back this up.
My I purchased 4 ghost shrimp, and i had a 4.5″ long weather loach in 20 gal tank and it ate them the next day, they also eat guppies, they ram them to wound them and then eat them,
My 9 dojo’s love to eat ghost shrimps. They go crazy over them. I have a dojo only tank.
Mine ate my full grown crawfish
That’s unfortunate. Was the crayfish molting?
Do they need lighting?
Are you just planning on using natural lighting or just room lighting? As long as they aren’t kept in darkness, they should be alright.
How about in outdoor ponds? Will the relatively mild NW Winter be a problem?
They are temperate fish, and should survive as long as the water doesn’t completely ice over. But weather loaches are pretty boring in ponds. They hide at the bottom and you’ll rarely see them.
I keep mine with larger river stones, to prevent digging, in my cold water subtropical planted aquarium. It’s in a Walstad method tank, so there’s dirt below the stones. Would it be okay with just stones or do they really need to dig?
They should be fine with the larger stones, as long as there are no sharp edges on the river rocks. Just make sure to use stones worn smooth and they will do well.
Hi I just bought a loach but only one and I have a 30 gallon tank I only have rocks at the bottom is that ok and should I buy 2 more loaches cause I only bought 1
They usually do better in groups of at least three, so as long as you keep on top of the aquarium, you should be mostly alright with a 30 gallon tank. It’s right of the edge of being overstocked, so as they grow, you just need to keep an eye on the water quality. Also, as long as the stones don’t have sharp edges, they should be fine.
PLEASE DON’T KEEP A LOACH IN A 30 GALLON TANK let alone 3! I have 3 loaches in a 110 gallon and sometimes they go from side to side and I wish I could get em a 250 gallon. Remember they are wild caught so they need space… you will fall in love with them I promise so please please give them the space they deserve
i am looking for big weather loaches for sale, anyone getting rid?
i have 2 big loaches the biggest one is 9 inches long/ healthy the other onr a bit smaller ,
I have a 5 inch loach i dont want .
Hi Robert, when breeding where will Dojo’s lay their eggs? I have some eggs stuck to the side of my tank and I’m trying to figure out if they’re my Gold Dojo’s or if they’re my dwarf cories lol.
Dojo loaches are egg scatterers, so the eggs adhering to the glass would be the cory eggs.
Most of the time dojo loaches will scatter them over plants in small bursts. Hopefully they’ll spawn for you soon.
Just lost our weather loach today. Was between 12-14 years old. Algenon will be missed😥.
I’m sorry to hear that. My wife thinks they look like snakes and is afraid of them, but I think they’re great little fish. It’s tough losing an interactive fish like this, but you did a great job keeping it alive as long as you did. It must have had a good life.
Cheers Robert, spent its life in a tank with other g/fish in my wife’s hairdressing salon. Initially clients had that ‘ugh, what’s that?’ response. Over the later years he/she was their favourite, ‘where is he?’ Paid for his keep many times over distracting kids who didn’t want haircuts!
I got a calico gold fish and a weather dojo loach. All I had right then was a 5 gallon tank. They are still pretty small and both healthy but I looked up what sizes they both need and I wanted to know if i could just stay with one weather dojo and go up to a 20gallon and be okay.?
As long as you really stay on top of water maintenance, you should be fine. Weather loaches grow really big though, so be prepared for it to take over the tank. And it’s great you looked up their proper care as most people don’t
I”VE Been reading the different posts about the dojo loaches&I was wondering because I have a 29 so roughly 30 gallon Aquarium with hilstream habitat theme setup;the question is I have started keeping khuli loaches wich I have currently black&banded…I’ve heard that the dojo is the largest khuli species getting up to 16″ I think that’s to big also do they get along with the other species?
Dojo loaches really won’t be that happy in a hillstream habitat. They prefer slow moving or still water, and while they may get along (though dojo loaches may eat much smaller loaches), they really shouldn’t be kept together.
I have both dojo & Kuhli the pink and black banded in my 55 gal they get along just fine never had a problem with them.
I have a loach, not sure which species, that is around 7.5 inches in a 29 gallon tank. And boy is it unusual. Loaches are bottom feeders, but mine feeds a lot on the surface, and continually jumps out of the water. Also their very hardy, mine is now perfectly healthy after pulling through a case of ick that had it trying to breath air and spiraling in circles.
Loaches are an amazing fish and it definitely sounds like you have an unusual (and tough) one. And it definitely sounds like you’re doing something right.
Hi, I have a water loach and I’m wondering whether I could house it with a Axolotl ?
Generally speaking, fish and axolotls don’t mix very well. The fish will either nibble on the axolotls gills or the axolotls will eat the fish. However, you might find some success with weather loaches since likely wouldn’t nibble on the gills and they grow large enough to avoid being eaten. But you would need a mature weather loach – probably at least six inches long – if you have any chance of success. Still, it could be risky and if you see any aggression issues, you will need a back up of where you rehome the fish.
I have 3 weather loaches, they are nearly 2 years old. Named Castor, Pollux, and Rosie. Two evenings ago Castor was lying belly up at the top of the tank, apparently totally moribund – apart from gas bubbles regularly escaping from his vent. He (turns out he is likely to be a she) was impervious to being touched, and if I turned Castor the right way up, he/she just turned belly up again. I was a bit upset, but left and went to bed on the basis that Castor would recover – or not.
Next morning – early – I check the tank – Castor is still in the upper corner by the filter – oh no – fearing the worst I removed the lid expecting to extract the sad little body, and guess what – I got a shower bath and Castor was well back to normal.
Having closely observed the feeding habits of my pets – Castor is a greedy fish – the largest in the tank, and always the first there when pellets are provided. I have taken to feeding a small amount several times a day as I think Castor was just suffering from a bad bout of chronic indigestion. Meanwhile, having observed closely – I think Castor and Pollux are both female, and Rosie is a male. (Size and pectoral fin shape) They are the only occupants of the tank.
I’m glad your fish recovered and I love the names. If that ever happens, try feeding them lightly blanched and shelled peas. It can clear up swim bladder and constipation issues really quickly in non-carnivorous fish.
I have 4 weather loaches and love them to bits, they do scare u though, they like playing dead, u never stop worrying, very happy in my mixed tank, I have zebra danios, wcmm sucking loaches and amino shrimps, and all are very happy, my tank is 18 months old and is a Aqua Style 620T, do a ten lt water change every 7 days and never had any problem xx
I have a Beta and 5 neon tetras and they get along great. I added recently a Gold DoJo Loach so will he get along with my my other fish or will he eat them?
He should fine with the fish you have. Dojo loaches are pretty docile, though the betta may nip at his fin. So just keep an eye on the betta.
I have seen on eBay that they are for sale but they are listed as king dojo loaches are these any different or are they the same?
As far as I know, people refer to natural coloured dojo loaches as king dojo loaches. Though I’m not 100% of this, as I’ve only heard this name in recent years and haven’t been able to confirm my suspicions.
I have three quite large weather loaches in my tank with various size fish. They are lively and comical, but very gentle around the fish. They seem to keep the snail population at a good level. They like to lay within the clumps of plants, using them like hammocks – very interesting, characterful creatures 🙂
These are easily among my favorite fish. I’ve always kept a few of them since they are so much fun to watch, don’t require a heated tank, and take care of pest snails. Plus, my wife thinks they look like little dogs with their ‘cute’ whiskers.
One of my weather loaches seems to have got incredibly fat and large out of no where. First noticed couple weeks ago it’s approx double the size in width then my other baring in mind they were identical what could this be?
Does it just seem thicker than usual or is the stomach completely bloated?
Hi Robert, I landed on this forum as I was googling the question about my weather loach becoming fat. I’ve kind of hijacked this persons question. It is 2yr old and was bought along with two others. They are all large but this one has gotten fat. Its face and tail appear normal size but the rest of its body appears huge and round. It almost happened overnight. Any ideas?
It sounds like bloat. First, try feeding it some shelled peas, to see if that will clear up the problem. If it continues, you may need to buy it some antibiotic food. But be careful before using antibiotics, as they kill all the beneficial bacteria in a tank and can lead to a crash. Also, try a few small water changes over the next few days as that might help as well.
I ;love these fish = I have 4 of the golden kind. I’ve never seen any aggression other than gentle “get out of the way” pushes. Mine love the air bubblers and will play for hours taking polite turns at being shot up out of the water with the bubblers – so much for the theory they like peaceful water – mine don’t. I have one nearly 8″ long while the other 3 are 3-6 inches. Unfortuntunaately they are with other fish that require a heated tank so I fear they may not live long. If I had the strength and stamina I would buy a tank just for them but unfortunately I’m handicapped and have as much on my hands as I can handle – and that includes hiring a helper to clean the tanks. Right now you can’t find these fish anywhere online or in fish shops – no idea why other than popularity becacuse I would purchase a number for each of my tanks to keep the snail population down.
But it would be so fun to just have a full tankful of about 20 of these and see if I could get them to mate and provide my other tanks with Dojo’s to keep the nasty snails down.. Having a tankful I could provide the cooler waters these fish need. They are messy though – love to chew up pellets and spit them all out leaving a smelly mess.
They are quite the comedians – see them in action and you’ll be a devoted fan.
I recently bought a Weather loach, hes very young, and fancy goldfish to go in my upgrade tank eventually with my year old Weathers and another fancy .Tonight I noticed a small redish bump on the side of this little one’s cheek. Could he of caught it on something (its mainly sand and a few ornaments , cant seem to see where he could hurt himeslf tho.) and how can I treat it to stop it getting worse , theres no blood just look a bit raised and red. Hes moving around ok .Do I treat him with anything? thank you for helping am a bit worried
It sounds like it may just be irritation, as weather loaches are prone to rubbing their faces on objects in their tank. However, if it doesn’t get better, than it’s likely a bacterial infection. The easiest way to treat it then is to use an anti-bacterial fish food, though you need to be careful, as antibiotics can wipe out all the bacteria in filter and cause a tank crash (the bacteria filter the waste in the aquarium). Some people prefer to use hospital tanks for this reason, though many people don’t have a spare tank handy.
how do you telll if a loach is male or female
Hello, I was thinking about getting 3 dojo loaches for my common goldfish(stunted) in his 75 gallon aquarium. Since the goldfish is pretty small (5′-6′) and there is lots of hornwort in that tank I figured the 75 gallons would help dilute the bioload. On a schedule with 25% water changes every week would I be able to keep them all in the tank without ever upgrading? I have heard stories of dojo loaches attacking goldfish and I just wanted to know if this tank would be too cramped. Thank you for the article it really helped.
Thanks for the article it was really helpful. I just wanted to know if I could keep 3 dojo loaches in a 75 gallon tank with my 3 year old common goldfish(stunted). Since there is lots of hornwort to absorb nitrates and the goldfish is only 6-7 inches I thought the water volume would be enough to dilute the massive bioload. I have heard stories of dojo loaches attacking goldfish and just wanted to know if the tank would be too cramped for these two species. Would a schedule of 40%-50% water changes every week be okay without ever having to upgrading to a new tank?
I’ve kept dojo loaches with goldfish for years and never had a problem. And your aquarium size shouldn’t be a problem for these fish if you’re diligent in your water changes. But I honestly wouldn’t go above 25% water changes though, unless you start experiencing problems. If you change the water too much, it can be hard on the fish as the pH level fluctuate in the aquarium. Just make sure the dojo loaches you add aren’t too small, as there is a chance the goldfish may eat smaller loaches.
Sorry for the extra reply, my internet isn’t the best and I thought I had to retype it. Thanks!
I have one dojo loah and all I feed her is tropical flakes and peas ..she is very active and always on the go and I’ve had her for five years
I have a paradise fish. He’s about an 2 inches long. I wanted to buy two dojo loaches to keep with him as he’s a cold water fish. Can I keep them together or will I need to separate them? Hearing a lot of dojo’s eating other fishes
To be honest, I’ve never heard of dojo loaches eating other fish. They may feed on the slime coat of large and slow fish like goldfish, but as long as the fish can’t fit into a dojo loaches’ mouth, they should be safe. In my experience, they are almost always peaceful and make great tankmates for other peaceful fish.
I have 8 dojo loaches in my outdoor pond in Pa. Some are 4 years old all the way to 1 year old. My biggest is Monster who is 9 inches and Tornado who is just shy of 9 inches. They have been through several winters with my minnows, and several types of goldfish and koi. They all get along great and even get along with the wild frogs and toads that come visit. I have white stone on bottom of pond in a thin layer so they are easy to spot and during feed time for the fish they surface to steal fish food. They are so much fun to watch and they play with the ping pong balls the fish play with. They will roll with the ball and over it. The fish push the balls around the pond and every once in a while the dojos go for a free ride. We really enjoy them.
I got my loaches just two months ago and they have grown really really quickly, they were just shy of 2 inches and are now 6 inches. I got 6 and they are the funniest fish in the tank. But to add to other stories of are they good tank mates, mine are wonderful they get on with everyone even the the male Molly who insists on nudging up to them and pushing them round, they just ignore him or move. The first time I cleaned the tank with them in I got a few shocks as they like to go to the hand and feel around, their latest trick is to go in the gravel cleaner backwards, get sucked up the tube and then swim down just to do it all over again, very funny, but the cleaning takes longer to make sure I don’t hurt them! I love them I got them to help keep the tank clean for my pretty fancy goldfish but would now prefer these fairly dull coloured fish over my fancy goldfisj]h any day because they are so funny
I got my golden loach in August when I saw one for the first time. it was an impulse buy because I thought he was so cute. I neglected to look up his requirements, and so he is in my 10 gallon with my five female bettas. They get along great, except it seems he’s always after one female and wraps himself around her. Is he trying to mate?
That definitely sounds like mating behaviour. It might be time to get a bigger tank and find him a female friend.