Pridi loach

Care at a glance

Overview

One of the few Schistura that suits a smaller tank, a genuine dwarf that holds tiny territories among pebbles without doing real harm. Keep a small group together over a floor of gravel and stone with cool, clean, flowing water, and pair it with small, calm coolwater fish. It shows itself constantly rather than hiding. Feed fine sinking granules, frozen daphnia, and small bloodworm. A tank of around 54 liters or more, cool and briskly filtered, keeps a small group active and on view.

In the wild

The Pridi loach lives in cool, clear limestone hill streams of the upper Chao Phraya drainage in northern Thailand, mostly inside protected forest around Doi Chiang Dao at roughly a thousand meters. Recreate that with clean, flowing water over gravel, rocks, and boulders, with good oxygen. Keep it cool, from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.8. Swift, pristine, well-oxygenated water is what it is built for.

Good to know

Schistura pridii was described by Chavalit Vidthayanon in 2003 and stays under 5 centimeters, a real dwarf in a genus of larger, pushier loaches. Bold dark saddles on a pale body make it one of the prettier small Schistura. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae. Breeding is difficult but has been achieved: Thailand's Department of Fisheries raised it after a long captive effort, though yields stayed low.

Did you know

It is named for Pridi Banomyong, a Thai statesman and former prime minister, and has quietly become a gateway Schistura, small and civil enough for keepers who would never take on its larger, more combative cousins.

Tank mates

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

• Narayan barb

  Pethia narayani

  Freshwater

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

  Fundulopanchax fallax

  Freshwater

  3.5 in (9 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Paraguay black otocinclus

  Otothyropsis piribebuy

  Freshwater

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Walker's killifish

  Fundulopanchax walkeri

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Dwarf spineless eel

  Garo khajuriai

  Freshwater

  2.8 in (7 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Assam banded loach

  Neonoemacheilus assamensis

  Freshwater

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

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Devdevi loach

  Schistura devdevi

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Cloud loach

  Schistura nubigena

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Savona loach

  Schistura savona

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)
• Aizawl loach

  Schistura aizawlensis

  Freshwater

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

  Schistura nilgiriensis

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Sparkling loach

  Schistura coruscans

  Freshwater

  3.1 in (8 cm)24 gal (90 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)