Fork-tailed loach
Vaillantella maassi
Also known as Forktail Loach
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 73–84°F
- 23–29°C
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Adult size
- 4.7 in
- 12 cm
- Minimum tank
- 46 gal
- 175 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Difficulty
- Difficult
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Very rare
- Family
- Vaillantellidae
- Origin
- Sumatra, Borneo
Overview
The fork-tailed loach is an unusual, demanding bottom dweller for a dim, soft-water tank. It is a fish for experienced keepers.
Did you know
The fork-tailed loach's genus, Vaillantella, stands apart from every other loach in its remarkably long dorsal fin. That fin runs most of the length of the back and can carry sixty to more than seventy rays. Together with the forked tail, it gives the fish a flowing, almost ribbon-like profile unlike any of its bottom-dwelling cousins.
Caring for the fork-tailed loach
Give a single fork-tailed loach plenty of floor space in a tank of at least 46 gal (175 L). Keep the lighting dim and furnish the tank richly with driftwood, roots and a bed of leaf litter. The leaves stain the water and lower its hardness.
Aim for soft water at 73 to 84°F (23 to 29°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, with a gentle, steady flow. This sensitive loach reacts badly to poor conditions, so keep the water spotless.
It keeps to the bottom, threading through the wood and leaf litter in search of small foods. Offer small live and frozen foods such as bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp, since it can be a fussy eater.
The fork-tailed loach does not school and is best kept singly. It can be touchy toward its own kind in anything but a very large, broken-up layout. It is otherwise mostly peaceful, so choose calm, soft-water community fish and avoid boisterous company that will outcompete it at feeding. Breeding has never been recorded in aquariums.
Good to know
Vaillantella maassi is the best known member of Vaillantellidae, a tiny family of just three species. Its deeply forked tail, with a greatly extended upper lobe, gives the fish its common name. The fish in the trade are wild caught, which adds to the challenge of keeping it.
In the wild
The fork-tailed loach ranges through Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula into southeastern Thailand. It lives at the shady margins of forest streams. Many of these streams rise in peat and run as soft, tea-colored blackwater.
Common questions
What size tank does a fork-tailed loach need?
A fork-tailed loach needs at least 46 gal (175 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a fork-tailed loach need?
A fork-tailed loach is comfortable at 73–84°F (23–29°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.
What does a fork-tailed loach eat?
A fork-tailed loach eats small live and frozen foods such as bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp. It can be a fussy eater.
How big does a fork-tailed loach get?
An adult fork-tailed loach reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).
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