Flathead loach

Nemacheilus platiceps

Also known as Flat-headed stone loach, Checkerboard loach

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 2.9 in (7.3 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Mekong basin
Family: Nemacheilidae

Overview

A bottom loach that spends much of its day pressed low against stones with the current combing over it, darting out for sinking food. Give it flat rocks with gaps beneath and a firm, current-swept floor, and it will use every crevice. It is peaceable and sociable, so keep a few together with calm midwater tankmates that share warm, flowing water. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm, and other small meaty foods. A tank of around 90 liters or more, with good flow and plenty of low shelter, suits a small group.

In the wild

The flathead loach lives in the lower Mekong basin across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, in flowing stretches with gravel bottoms and, in places, quieter pools among submerged leaves and wood. Recreate that with a gravel and sand floor, flat stones to shelter under, and moderate to strong current. Keep it warm at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Clean, oxygen-rich water suits it best.

Good to know

Nemacheilus platiceps reaches about 7 centimeters and takes its name from the Latin for flat head, a reference to the low, broad skull that lets it wedge tight beneath stones in current. It was described by Maurice Kottelat in 1990 during a major revision of Indochinese stone loaches. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae, and its aquarium spawning has not been recorded.

Did you know

Its flattened head is more than a name: the low profile helps the loach hold its position in fast water and slip into narrow gaps under rocks where the current cannot dislodge it.