TankBud

Gangetic loach

Botia rostrata

Also known as ladder loach, Sergeant Major Loach

FreshwaterFish

Gangetic loach (Botia rostrata)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
66–81°F
19–27°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
42 gal
160 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Shoaling
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Botiidae
Origin
Bangladesh, India

Overview

The Gangetic loach, also called the ladder loach, is a striped botiid that needs a group of at least six to feel settled and to spread out its lively, sometimes pushy behavior. It works the bottom of the tank, rooting through sand and rock for food and crunching pest snails. It is mostly peaceful but energetic, so keep it with robust midwater fish rather than delicate or very slow species. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworms, blackworms, and the occasional vegetable, making sure food reaches the substrate past faster feeders. A group needs a roomy tank of around 160 liters or larger.

In the wild

Botia rostrata lives in the Ganges and Brahmaputra drainages of India and Bangladesh, in clear, flowing hill streams and rivers running over sand, gravel, and boulders. These waters swing with the seasons but generally sit between 19 and 27 C, with a pH from about 6 to 7.5. A good tank uses a sand or fine-gravel bed, smooth stones and driftwood built into caves, and brisk, oxygen-rich flow. Clean, well-filtered water suits a fish adapted to cool, moving streams, and shaded retreats give the group somewhere to rest between bouts of foraging.

Good to know

Botia rostrata belongs to Botiidae and reaches around 12 cm, with a body crossed by paired dark bands that give a ladder-like look and inspire one of its common names. In common with other botiine loaches it has a sharp, erectile spine beneath each eye that it can lock outward when threatened, so it should be handled carefully. It is an egg-scattering, migratory spawner in the wild, and there is no established record of it breeding in the aquarium, so trade fish are wild caught.

Did you know

Much of what reaches shops as Botia rostrata is actually a very similar, closely related loach from the upper Brahmaputra that has never been formally described. True B. rostrata is rarely imported, so the ladder loach in a tank is often a look-alike sold under the same name.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Gangetic loach is a mostly peaceful, shoaling 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 Gangetic loach need?

A Gangetic loach needs at least 42 gal (160 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Gangetic loach need?

A Gangetic loach is comfortable at 66–81°F (19–27°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

How big does a Gangetic loach get?

An adult Gangetic loach reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

Does a Gangetic loach need a group?

Yes. A Gangetic loach is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

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