i got a loach about a month ago and put him in with my goldies with a ryukin when they got out of quarentine and about an hour later, i went in to check on them and guinness' fins were all torn up. now, i assumed it was the ryukin as linguini (the loach) wasnt pestering the fish at all so i put polly (the ryukin) on her own where she got very depressed but the problem went away. then yesterday, the temptation became too much for linguini and he attacked guinness again so out he came and in went polly. i felt terrible for putting her in solitary confinement for something she didnt do. anyway, linguini has no other loaches with him and i heard they shouldnt be on their own, i was wondering if he was attacking fish through loneliness or boredom from not being with his own kind. what are your thoughts?

That may be so, although I don't think they would rip up a goldies fins like that. My dojo's love to chase each other and the goldies but I never see harm come to anyone. What kind of loach do you have?

i had that same problem with my dojo loach. i had to give him away it got so bad.

I am really surprised to hear about that. Dojos are among the most peaceable of fishes, which is why they are so often recommended as tankmates.

If he has no companions then yes, he probably is lonely. Dojos really do need at least one buddy (I am pretty sure they are actually shoaling fish). I don't know if loneliness would account for such aggression, but if you watch them when they have a friend, they do behave differently. Mine did not come out much into the main body of the tank much until he had a friend; he used to hide away behind the filters most of the time. Now the two of them go everywhere together and always rest with one lying right alongside the other.

I really don't know Amy. You have me stumped there!

I believe they like to be kept in small groups of three or four. I started out with just two and that was fine. Then I got two more and now they're more active and playful. Never had a problem with them attacking my goldies though. That is odd to me I can't picture any of them being aggressive.

I started out with two dojos, and have never kept them singly. I have never seen any aggression from either of my two loaches. They seem to be ideal tankmates with goldfish.

Maybe you just got an aggressive one Are you brave enough to get a second and see if it calms the first one down?

I had one on it's own, and it would chase the goldies around. I got two more loaches, and he still chases the other fish, but I don't think as much as he did before, and he seems slightly less 'manic'. They all go and sleep together which is sweet. The two newer ones are a lot shyer though and hide quite a lot.
bw
cupoftea

My loach took an agressive turn a few weeks back. Hed grab on to my fish and not let go. He has since stopped that nonsense.

You didnt say for sure that it was a dojo. What kind of loach was it? Some of them–especially the larger ones–can get very very aggressive toward fish. Most of them are just territorial. If you can let us know what kind it is we can help you more!

hes a golden loach. i was going to get him a couple of buddies but i went to the shop a week later and shock horror, they were all gone! im still awaiting a delivery of them. i put him in with the single tails and i havent had a problem. i think he might deliberately pray on the slow ones. thanks for all the help

Golden loach...golden dojo? I'm not good with loach names...Could your goldfish have gotten pushed onto something sharp that it rubbed against and tore its fins up? Dojos are ultra peaceful, not a bad bone in them, but they are bombastic and pretty much blind. I had a dwarf gourami get "beaten up" by a dojo because the dojo slammed into it blindly and then the gourami tried to get revenge...the result was the dojo "sitting" on the gourami obliviously (grouami's fault for swrimming underneith) while the gourami scraped itself up on the gravel trying to get free.