Green tiger loach

Care at a glance

Overview

The green tiger loach is a blue-green barred botiid with a feisty streak, so it is best kept in a group of five or more where its energy is directed at its own kind rather than at tankmates. It patrols the bottom, digging through sand and stone for food and taking snails readily. It is mostly peaceful but can be nippy and territorial, so give it space and pair it with sturdy, fast midwater fish. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and the odd vegetable. A group of these active loaches needs a long tank of around 150 liters or larger with plenty of hiding places.

In the wild

Syncrossus hymenophysa is found across Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula, living in warm, flowing rivers and streams over sand and rock. The water is tropical at 25 to 30 C and ranges from slightly acidic to neutral, about pH 6 to 7.5. Recreate its home with a soft sand floor, smooth stones and driftwood forming a maze of caves and gaps, and strong, oxygen-rich flow. Numerous shaded hideouts are important for this loach, since a fish that cannot claim a retreat tends to take out its restlessness on its neighbors.

Good to know

Syncrossus hymenophysa is a botiid loach that grows to about 21 cm, with a blue-green body crossed by a dozen or so dark vertical bars. Like all members of Botiidae it carries a bifid, erectile spine below each eye, used in defense and prone to snagging in nets, so handling calls for care. It is a scatter-spawning, migratory breeder in the wild, and there is no reliable record of it reproducing in home aquaria, meaning the fish offered for sale are collected from the wild.

Did you know

The green tiger loach shows its mood through color: the blue-green sheen that gives it its name fades to a washed-out grey when the fish is stressed or newly moved, then returns as it settles. Keepers use that shift as a quick read on how comfortable the group is.

Related species

• 

  Redfin tiger loach

  Syncrossus berdmorei

  9.4 in (24 cm)50 gal (190 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)

• 

  Banded tiger loach

  Syncrossus helodes

  11.8 in (30 cm)75 gal (285 L)75–86°F (24–30°C)

• 

  Chameleon loach

  Syncrossus beauforti

  9.8 in (25 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Redtail loach

  Yasuhikotakia modesta

  9.8 in (25 cm)75 gal (285 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Polka-Dot Loach

  Botia kubotai

  5.9 in (15 cm)42 gal (160 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Clown loach

  Chromobotia macracanthus

  11.8 in (30 cm)75 gal (285 L)75–86°F (24–30°C)