TankBud

Creek loach

Schistura beavani

Also known as Beavan's stone loach, Ring loach

FreshwaterFish

Creek loach (Schistura beavani)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
64–77°F
18–25°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
3.9 in
10 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Nemacheilidae
Origin
Himalayan foothill drainages, India and Nepal

Overview

The creek loach is a sturdy, medium-sized stone loach for the floor of a cool hill-stream tank. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Did you know

The creek loach is named for Captain Robert Cecil Beavan, a British army officer and naturalist in India. He died in 1870 at just twenty-nine, and his collections outlived him in the fishes that still carry his name.

Caring for the creek loach

Keep a few creek loaches together in a tank of 29 gal (110 L) or more, set up as a river tank. Build a rocky, current-swept floor from a gravel bed, smooth boulders, cobbles and rounded rocks. Give each fish its own rockwork territory, since they claim and defend patches of the floor.

Keep the water cool and moving, at 64 to 77°F (18 to 25°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. The tank can run unheated. Strong, steady current and good oxygen keep the creek loach healthy. A well-filtered, coolish tank suits it far better than a warm, sluggish one.

Feed sinking meaty foods such as bloodworm, chopped prawn and sinking pellets. The creek loach is mostly peaceful and safe with community fish. Keep it with flow-loving fish overhead, such as danios and other subtropical species. Its breeding has not been recorded in the aquarium.

Good to know

Schistura beavani is one of the older names in its genus, described by Albert Gunther in 1868. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae, and its barring varies across a wide Himalayan range. Several similar-looking loaches have been split off from it over the years, so trade fish under this name are not always the same species.

In the wild

The creek loach lives in cool, clear foothill streams along the eastern Himalaya, in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The water there runs swift over stone and pebble.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The creek loach is a mostly 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 creek loach need?

A creek loach needs at least 29 gal (110 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a creek loach need?

A creek loach is comfortable at 64–77°F (18–25°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a creek loach eat?

A creek loach eats sinking meaty foods such as bloodworm, chopped prawn and sinking pellets.

How big does a creek loach get?

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

Related species