Red-tail squirrel loach

Aborichthys elongatus

Also known as Red-tailed creek loach, Red tail zebra loach

FreshwaterFish

Red-tail squirrel loach (Aborichthys elongatus) — 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: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Darjeeling foothills, West Bengal, India
Family: Nemacheilidae

Overview

An unheated river tank shows this slim loach at its best, wedging into crevices and whipping between stones before darting out for food. It is sociable and does well in a small group, so keep several with hill-stream loaches and coolwater danios. Being lively, it can unsettle very timid fish, and very small tankmates may be seen as food, so choose companions of similar size and temperament. Feed sinking foods readily, from pellets to frozen bloodworm and daphnia. A tank of around 90 liters or more, cool and current-swept with smooth rock, suits a small group.

In the wild

The red-tail squirrel loach comes from cool, fast torrents of the Darjeeling foothills in West Bengal, northeast India, water running fresh off the Himalaya over rock and pebble. Recreate that with smooth boulders and rounded stone, a fine gravel or sand floor, strong flow, and high oxygen. Keep it cool, from 16 to 24 degrees Celsius, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. It needs brisk, oxygen-rich, coolish water rather than warm, still conditions.

Good to know

Aborichthys elongatus reaches about 9 centimeters, a long, eel-slim loach ringed in fine dark bars, with an orange-red tail that often carries a dark spot near its base. The genus Aborichthys is confined to the eastern Himalayan fringe of northeast India. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae, and its aquarium breeding has not been documented.

Did you know

The squirrel in its name comes from that flag of a tail: brightly banded and often the only part of the fish on show while the rest stays tucked into a crevice among the stones.

Tank mates

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