Weather loach floating on top

Yesterday one of my weather loaches managed to escape through a vent at
the back of my tank lid.

Luckily my partner found him on the carpet about 10' away from the tank
- she thought that one of her cats had got to it but there didn't seem
to be any noticable damage to him apart from a small scratch which may
have happened when he got out.

She got him back into the tank but he's been on the top since. He
seems to be very bouyant. Every now and again he'll have a bit of a
swim, sometimes to the bottom, but his tail end starts floating and
pulling him back up. Also when he moves - it appears as if he's
breaking wind as bubbles sometimes come out of his backside.

When he's floating he's pretty lifeless but when he swims he seems
quite normal. I'm worried that he isn't feeding as he isn't on the
bottom.

I left the filter pump off overnight as he didn't seem to want to swim
against the current

Is there anything I can do for him or will the bouyancy disappear?

thanks
Frank

wrote:
When he's floating he's pretty lifeless but when he swims he seems
quite normal. I'm worried that he isn't feeding as he isn't on the
bottom.

Fish can go without eating for a few days, don't worry about it.

I left the filter pump off overnight as he didn't seem to want to swim
against the current

That's not a good idea, as it allows oxygen depletion in the water
overnight.

Is there anything I can do for him or will the bouyancy disappear?

Perhaps treat the tank with Melafix to help him rebuild his slime coat?

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I left the filter pump off overnight as he didn't seem to want to swim
against the current

You will cause yourself more problems by turning that off than you will
have if you leave it on.


Is there anything I can do for him or will the bouyancy disappear?

It depends entirely on what is causing it. If it is due to internal
damage, such s damage to the swim bladder, then it is up to the extent of
that damage and the strength of the fish to heal.

The bouncy may be due to something a lot less severe. Loaches are capable
of obtaining some oxygen through their swim bladder directly from the air.
While out of the water the loach may have ingested a large quantity of air
and it may need time to work its way out of his system.

Either way all you can really do is ensure your tank is clean and healthy
so as to give the fish the stress free time it needs to recover.