Chinese elongated zebra loach

Homatula potanini

Also known as Potanin's loach, Chinese zebra stream loach

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–75°F (16–24°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 5.3 in (13.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 40 gal (150 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Upper Yangtze tributaries, China
Family: Nemacheilidae

Overview

A slender, peaceful coolwater loach that patrols the bottom and lower water column, working best in an unheated river-style tank. Keep a few together with subtropical, current-loving companions such as danios or coldwater minnows. It needs a long floor, real flow, and high oxygen; its size and activity call for space rather than a small nano setup. Feed sinking foods, frozen bloodworm, and small meaty items, and keep the water cool and fresh. A tank of around 150 liters or more, longer than it is tall, gives this active loach room to cruise.

In the wild

The Chinese elongated zebra loach comes from cool, flowing tributaries of the upper Yangtze in China, water most tropical tanks would keep too warm. Recreate that with a stony bed, rounded rocks, brisk current, and strong aeration. Keep it cool, from 16 to 24 degrees Celsius, with a pH of 6 to 7.5. Good oxygen and steady movement are more important than precise chemistry, so run generous filtration and avoid letting the tank heat up.

Good to know

Homatula potanini reaches about 13.5 centimeters, a long, eel-like stone loach marked with fine dark bars down its flanks. Described in 1925, it is the type species of the genus Homatula, a group of subtropical Chinese loaches built for current. Its aquarium breeding is not on record. The species name honors Grigory Potanin, a Russian naturalist and explorer of nineteenth-century Central Asia.

Did you know

It is named for Grigory Potanin, a Russian explorer who crossed Mongolia, Tibet, and western China in the late 1800s; the fish was, in effect, a scientific souvenir carried home from those expeditions.

Tank mates

Chinese elongated zebra loach is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.