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Burmese stone loach

Balitora burmanica

Also known as Burmese lizard loach

FreshwaterFish

Burmese stone loach (Balitora burmanica)

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–79°F
20–26°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
3.9 in
10 cm
Minimum tank
25 gal
95 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Balitoridae
Origin
Irrawaddy, Salween and Tenasserim basins, Myanmar

Overview

The Burmese stone loach is a specialist river fish for a high-flow hillstream tank, not a general community aquarium. It is a fish for experienced keepers.

Did you know

A Burmese stone loach resting on a boulder spreads its paired fins wide and lifts its head, the exact pose of a basking lizard. That resemblance is where the lizard loach nicknames used across its family come from.

Caring for the Burmese stone loach

A tank of at least 25 gal (95 L) gives a small group of Burmese stone loaches room. Set it up as a hillstream tank, with strong pumps, high oxygen and smooth stones and cobbles. Bright light over mature surfaces grows the algae and biofilm these loaches graze.

Keep the water at 68 to 79°F (20 to 26°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Warm or still water is what the Burmese stone loach cannot tolerate. Alongside its grazing, feed fine sinking foods and frozen bloodworm and daphnia, and make sure enough reaches the floor.

Keep a small group together, since they are social and calmer in company. They spread out across the bottom and cling to the stones. They are peaceful, but only suit tank mates that share their need for cool, fast, oxygen-rich water, such as other hillstream loaches. Breeding in aquariums is essentially unrecorded.

Good to know

The Burmese stone loach, Balitora burmanica, belongs to the river-loach family Balitoridae and was described by Sunder Lal Hora in 1932. It is a long, low, flattened fish with a raised, lizard-like head. Its broad, winglike pectoral and pelvic fins are held out to the sides, a body shape built to resist current. It is not a home-bred species, and it is also sold as the Burmese lizard loach.

In the wild

The Burmese stone loach lives pressed flat against rock in fast, rocky rivers of the Irrawaddy, Salween and Tenasserim systems in Myanmar.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Burmese stone loach is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Burmese stone loach need?

A Burmese stone loach needs at least 25 gal (95 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Burmese stone loach need?

A Burmese stone loach is comfortable at 68–79°F (20–26°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a Burmese stone loach eat?

A Burmese stone loach grazes the algae and biofilm on mature stones. Add fine sinking foods and frozen bloodworm and daphnia, making sure enough reaches the bottom.

How big does a Burmese stone loach get?

An adult Burmese stone loach reaches about 3.9 in (10 cm).

Related species