Mango loach

Care at a glance

Overview

A true nano stone loach, small and peaceful enough for a mature little tank. Keep a group with tiny tankmates such as microrasboras or small danios, and feed the finest foods: baby brine shrimp, crushed flake, and micro sinking granules. It perches on pebbles and hops between stations along the bottom rather than swimming in open water, so give it fine sand, smooth stones, and a few plants for cover. A well-established tank of around 40 liters or more, gently filtered, suits a small group of this miniature loach.

In the wild

The mango loach comes from clear, gentle waters of Shan State in Myanmar, a small fish from small habitats. Recreate that with a mature tank, fine sand, smooth pebbles, some planting, and soft, gentle flow rather than a torrent. Keep it cool to middling, from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.8. Stable, clean, well-aged water suits a fish this small, since a tiny loach has little tolerance for swings.

Good to know

Physoschistura mango is one of the smallest known stone loaches, growing to only about 2.5 centimeters, and was described by Kevin Conway and Maurice Kottelat in 2023. Mature males show a bright orange-reddish body crossed by a dark stripe, and the species is named for that mango tone. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae, and its aquarium breeding has not been recorded.

Did you know

Scientists really did name it for a mango: mature males ripen to a warm orange-red, and the describers borrowed the fruit's name for the color, a rare case of taxonomy simply saying what it saw.

Tank mates

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

• False chocolate gourami

  Parasphaerichthys lineatus

  Freshwater

  1 in (2.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Harlequin moth catfish

  Pseudolaguvia ribeiroi

  Freshwater

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Darge's killifish

  Aphyosemion dargei

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Blue danio

  Danio kerri

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)

• 

  Rusty moth catfish

  Pseudolaguvia muricata

  Freshwater

  1.2 in (3 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)

• 

  Gold ring danio

  Danio tinwini

  Freshwater

  1.2 in (3 cm)11 gal (40 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• Assam banded loach

  Neonoemacheilus assamensis

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Mini zebra loach

  Yunnanilus pulcherrimus

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Thuttinjet stone loach

  Nemacheilus stigmofasciatus

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Barito loach

  Kapuasia falaris

  Freshwater

  2.6 in (6.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Rosy loach

  Petruichthys sp. 'rosy'

  Freshwater

  1.2 in (3 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Pridi loach

  Schistura pridii

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)