Guntea loach

Lepidocephalichthys guntea

Also known as Peppered loach, Guntea, Cobitis guntea

FreshwaterFish

Guntea loach (Lepidocephalichthys guntea) — Sir Francis Day · Public domain

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–82°F (18–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.8
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Widespread across Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, in still and flowing waters from streams to ponds and ditches.
Family: Cobitidae

Overview

Keep a group in a tank of 90 litres or more with soft sand, at 18 to 28 C and pH 6.0 to 7.8. It is an omnivore that sifts sand for worms, insect larvae and detritus, and takes sinking pellets and frozen foods readily. Peaceful with tankmates too big to swallow, it works well in community tanks, though it will dig, so anchor plants firmly.

In the wild

A hardy, adaptable loach that usually reaches 6 to 8 cm but can grow to 15 cm in good conditions. In the wild it copes with everything from clear streams to muddy, low-oxygen ponds, which makes it forgiving about water chemistry. It likes a soft sand bed to dig in and some rooted plants and cover. Almost any clean tap water suits it.

Good to know

It can breathe air through its gut to survive in stagnant, oxygen-poor water, gulping at the surface when needed. First described as Cobitis guntea in 1822, it is one of the most widespread and commonly caught loaches across the Indian subcontinent.

Did you know

Because it tolerates such a wide range of temperatures, from about 16 to 30 C in the wild, it is one of the easier loaches to keep in an unheated or variable room.