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Devdevi loach

Schistura devdevi

Also known as Himalayan dwarf stone loach

FreshwaterFish

Devdevi loach (Schistura devdevi)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
64–75°F
18–24°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
2 in
5 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Nemacheilidae
Origin
Eastern Himalayan foothills, India

Overview

The Devdevi loach is a modest, manageable stone loach for the bottom of a cool hill-stream tank. It suits a keeper with some experience.

Did you know

The Devdevi loach was described by Sunder Lal Hora, the great chronicler of India's hill-stream fishes. Hora built a famous idea from fishes like this one, the Satpura hypothesis. It argues that hill-stream animals spread across India along old mountain chains.

Caring for the Devdevi loach

Keep a handful of Devdevi loaches together in a tank of 20 gal (75 L) or more. Lay a stony floor of fine gravel and smooth stones, with rocky cover that breaks up sightlines. Each fish then holds a small territory without much trouble, and the group stays civil and active.

Keep the water cool, clean and moving, at 64 to 75°F (18 to 24°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Give it moderate to strong flow and good oxygen, and avoid warm, still conditions.

The Devdevi loach works the bottom for food. Offer small sinking items, frozen daphnia and micro pellets that reach the floor. It is mostly peaceful and suits a cool community of danios and small barbs. Its breeding has not been recorded in the aquarium.

Good to know

Schistura devdevi is a small stone loach with neat, regular barring, in the family Nemacheilidae. It was described in 1935 and named after Dev Dev Mukerji, a young Indian ichthyologist of the same period.

In the wild

The Devdevi loach lives in cool, swift streams of the eastern Himalayan foothills, below Darjeeling and Sikkim in northeast India. These are fresh, moving hill waters that run clear over a pebbly bed.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Devdevi 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 Devdevi loach need?

A Devdevi loach needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Devdevi loach need?

A Devdevi loach is comfortable at 64–75°F (18–24°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a Devdevi loach eat?

A Devdevi loach works the bottom for small sinking items, frozen daphnia and micro pellets. Offer foods that reach the floor.

How big does a Devdevi loach get?

An adult Devdevi loach reaches about 2 in (5 cm).

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