Guenther's zipper loach

Nemacheilus guentheri

Also known as Mesonoemacheilus guentheri, Guenther's stone loach, Side spot loach

FreshwaterFish

Guenther's zipper loach (Nemacheilus guentheri) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–79°F (20–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.7 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Western Ghats, peninsular India
Family: Nemacheilidae

Overview

One of the more outgoing Indian loaches, a small group works the floor through the day, perching on stones and hopping between them rather than hiding away. It is peaceful and sociable, so keep several together with calm South Asian community fish such as small barbs and danios. Give it a mixed floor of stone and sand with moderate current to nose through. Feed fine sinking foods, frozen daphnia, and small bloodworm. A tank of around 75 liters or more, well oxygenated, keeps an active group content on the bottom.

In the wild

Guenther's zipper loach comes from clear, flowing streams of the Western Ghats along the southwest coast of India, cool, oxygen-rich water over stone and sand. Recreate that with rounded rocks, a mixed gravel and sand bed, moderate flow, and good aeration. Keep it at 20 to 26 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Clean, moving water suits it, so lean toward brisk filtration rather than a still, heavily planted layout.

Good to know

This loach was described by Francis Day in 1867 and reaches about 6.7 centimeters, dark-bodied with pale marbling and a bold blotch at the base of the tail. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, a mountain range rich in fish found nowhere else. Its aquarium breeding is unrecorded. The species has shuffled between several genus names over the years, including Nemacheilus and Mesonoemacheilus, while the fish itself stayed the same.

Did you know

In little more than fifty years this loach has been shifted between at least three genus names, from Nemacheilus to Noemacheilus to Mesonoemacheilus, a reminder of how unsettled stone loach classification still is.

Tank mates

Guenther's zipper loach is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.