Archivarium 2004

[Craig]

Scientific Name: Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus
Other names: Dojo Loach, Weatherloach

Family: Cobitadae
Origin: Asia, China, Korea, Japan
Adult size: 12"
Social: Peaceful
Lifespan: 10 years
Tank level: Bottom
Diet: Omnivore
Care: Easy
pH: 6.0-8.0
Hardness: Variable
Temperature: 40-77 F

I thoroughly enjoy keeping my gold dojo loach. It is a voracious eater and will do an excellent job in keeping your gravel clean from food. The diet of my dojo consists of flake food, tubiflex worms, algae wafers, food wafers, and maybe an occasional bloodworm that manages to find its' way past everyone else.

I have found it to be easy to keep and haven't ever had any health issues with it. They do need to be kept in at least pairs with other dojos because they like the company of other dojos. Mine is kept in a 75 gallon moderately planted community tank with many caves and crevices for it to hide in and explore. The pH is ~6.8 and the temperature is 76 F.

The gold dojo is an avid swimmer and they will race back and forth along the entire length of the tank for hours on end...occasionally stopping to search for food. It's for this reason I recommend at least a 30 gallon tank for your dojo. I also recommend a fine sand bottom for your dojo to burrow down into as this is one of their favorite pastimes. Coarse materials with sharp edges such as crushed coral should be avoided because of the increased potential for injury to your dojo during their digging.

Sexing your dojo can be done by observing the pectoral fins. They are larger on males than on females with the first three spines being more prominent. Breeding is difficult and requires a coldwater environment with a water temperature in the 50s-60s F range.

A dojo loach is an awesome addition to a tank and will provide you with many laughs as well as a clean floor. Once acclimated to your tank they become quite friendly and will most likely want to assist you with your tank maintenance by crawling over your hand.


My favorite


barking dojo


crouching dojo
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[nonamethefish]

See if you can get a clear picture using macro mode on your camera. also, a mention that the gold dojo is simply a color variant of the original would be helpful.

Out of curiosity, where did you get it?

[Marcos Avila]

Thanks a lot Craig, that's a great submission, I wish everyone was that organized and thorough

As noname said, the Gold Dojo is a color variant of the Common Dojo and, although in the beginning of the Gallery's existence I was separating such variants (Gold Gourami, Powder Blue Gourami, Albino Labeo, etc), later I decided to have all variants of the same species in the same page(s). So your entry will definitely go into the Dojo Loach section, where there's already the need for a new page and new photo due to the number of comments.

Right now I'm working my @$$ off to convert all the Gallery pages to the new format, and as soon as I get to the Loach group I'll add your entry.
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Are you a Fish-HAVER or a Fish-KEEPER?
Success with a fish/tank is measured in YEARS, not months or weeks...

[Craig]

I'm really sorry I have taken so long to get this done. I'll get the photos like nonamethefish suggested, and I'll do whatever rewriting I need to do. There are a couple of changes I'd like to make. I'll make a point of doing that this weekend.

I had been doing a lot of work on my water quality...and at the current time I have a lot of dead algae blackening some areas of my plants. Oh well...I'll try to cut that out of the pictures.

Maybe next time I do a submission I'll be a little bit more prepared and get it done sooner!
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[Craig]

Scientific Name: Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus
Other names: Dojo Loach, Weatherloach

Family: Cobitadae
Origin: Asia, China, Korea, Japan
Adult size: 12"
Social: Peaceful
Lifespan: 10 years
Tank level: Bottom
Diet: Omnivore
Care: Easy
pH: 6.0-8.0
Hardness: Variable
Temperature: 40-77 F

I thoroughly enjoy keeping my gold dojo loach. It is a voracious eater and will do an excellent job in keeping your gravel clean from food. The diet of my dojo consists of flake food, tubiflex worms, algae wafers, food wafers, and maybe an occasional bloodworm that manages to find its' way past everyone else.

The Gold Dojo Loach is a color variant of the olive green/brown spotted Dojo Loach more commonly found in your LFS. I have one of each variety in my tank and the two get along well...playing together on an almost continuous basis.

I have found it to be easy to keep and haven't ever had any health issues with it. They do need to be kept in at least pairs with other dojos because they like the company of other dojos. Mine is kept in a 75 gallon moderately planted community tank with many caves and crevices for it to hide in and explore. The pH is 7.2 and the temperature is 76 F.

The gold dojo is an avid swimmer and they will race back and forth along the entire length of the tank for hours on end...occasionally stopping to search for food. It's for this reason I recommend at least a 30 gallon tank for your dojo. I also recommend a fine sand bottom for your dojo to burrow down into as this is one of their favorite pastimes. Coarse materials with sharp edges such as crushed coral should be avoided because of the increased potential for injury to your dojo during their digging.

Sexing your dojo can be done by observing the pectoral fins. They are larger on males than on females with the first three spines being more prominent. Breeding is difficult and requires a coldwater environment with a water temperature in the 50s-60s F range.

If I'm correct in my sexing of my two dojos, the gold one is male and the brown one female. They will often sit side by side and "flinch" from head to tail; nudging each other. Whether this is some sort of mating ritual or territorial protection behavior between two males or two females I'm not sure.

A dojo loach is an awesome addition to a tank and will provide you with many laughs as well as a clean floor. Once acclimated to your tank they become quite friendly and will most likely want to assist you with your tank maintenance by crawling over your hand.
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[Craig]

[nonamethefish]

Keep on playing with your settings and also take advantage of when your loach is cooperative. The photos you took are fine but of course clearer is better. Practice and you will get better.

The text looks fine to me