Pearl River hillstream loach

Beaufortia granulopinna

Also known as Grainy-fin hillstream loach

FreshwaterFish

Pearl River hillstream loach (Beaufortia granulopinna) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–75°F (16–24°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 3.1 in (8 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Upper Pearl River system, southwest China
Family: Gastromyzontidae

Overview

A newly described butterfly loach kept like the rest of its group: a cool, fast, oxygen-rich tank with grazing stone and a small group of five or six. It is mostly peaceful, with males holding stones and shimmying at rivals in disputes that rarely turn into real fights when space allows. It grazes biofilm and algae from rock and should be offered fine sinking foods, crushed wafers, and small frozen foods to supplement. Keep it with calm, cool-water fish that can handle strong flow. A tank of around 90 liters, wider than it is tall, gives a group grazing room along the current.

In the wild

Beaufortia granulopinna comes from the upper Pearl River system in southwest China, subtropical water that runs cool and fast with a seasonal chill. Keep it cool, 16 to 24 C, with strong flow and high oxygen from plenty of surface movement. Give it broad, smooth grazing stones, a sand and gravel base, and a pH held between 6.5 and 7.5.

Good to know

Beaufortia granulopinna is a hillstream loach in the family Gastromyzontidae, reaching about 8 centimeters. It was described in 2024 as part of a study that split apart the Beaufortia pingi species group, and the name means grainy fin, for the prominent tubercles adult males carry on the first several pectoral-fin rays. As a very new species, it has no aquarium breeding record yet.

Did you know

It only entered science in 2024, and it is partly defined by a vanishing act: in the study describing it, more than half of adults had lost or blurred the dark stripes along their sides.

Tank mates

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