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Hey there, so I bought a Dojo loach for my 29g tank today because I thought it was just so darn cute and he/she seemed like a good candidate after chatting with the semi-knowledgeable LFS owner, but upon getting home and doing a little more research, i discovered that he/she will be lonely! How long can new dojo be in the tank alone before depression becomes a health risk? i am basically asking how much time i have to budget another loach before my i compromise my initial investment.

Hi devon,
I kept dojos for awhile when I had bigger tanks. They are GREAT fish, but they arent tropical. They need cooler temps// unheated tank or their life span is shortened. they can live in a heated tank for a couple months( summer temps) but then need to have cooler temps.
They also need a soft smooth substrate, as they like to borrow. decor cant be rough as they get crazy , and they WILL JUMP, so cover all exit spots in the hood, they can squeeze into almost anything.
Tank mates need to be able to handle cooler unheated tank conditions- mid 60's to low 70's. And they get 6-10 inches so having a group of 2- or more needs to have a decent sized tank.
They are peaceful, but cant live with shrimp as they will eat em. Mine where fine with snails. Since they are active, crazily so at times, I wouldnt put them with timid fish.
danios, wcmm, gold barbs- are good tank mates, if you have a bigger tank- rosy barbs or goldfish are good.

Well, I live in los angeles and there is no way to keep the tank any cooler than high 70's in the warm months here... Lots of people keep goldfish and other cold water fish here so I do not anticipate too many problems, otherwise people wouldn't keep cold water fish here, right? right now the only tank mates are some guppies.