Redtail loach

Care at a glance

Overview

The redtail loach is a large, blue-grey botiid with bright orange-red fins, and it needs a group of five or more to spread out its bold, boisterous nature. It lives on the bottom, digging through sand and combing rockwork for food, and it readily crunches pest snails. It is mostly peaceful but assertive and can bully smaller or slower fish, so pick robust, active tankmates that hold their own. Feed a varied diet of sinking pellets, frozen bloodworms, snails, and the occasional vegetable. This is a big, energetic loach, so give a group a long tank of at least 285 liters with plenty of caves and open floor.

In the wild

Yasuhikotakia modesta ranges through the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, moving between main river channels and flooded areas with the seasons. The water is warm at 23 to 28 C and slightly acidic to neutral, around pH 6 to 7.5. A good tank offers a soft sand bed, smooth rocks and driftwood built into caves and tunnels, and moderate to strong, well-oxygenated flow. Shaded hideouts and clean, stable water help this large loach settle and forage confidently rather than skulking out of sight.

Good to know

Yasuhikotakia modesta is a member of Botiidae and grows to about 25 cm, with a plain blue-grey to bronze body set off by bright orange or red fins. As with other botiine loaches it carries a sharp, erectile spine below each eye, used in defense and easily caught in a net. It is an egg-scattering, migratory spawner in the wild, and there is no reliable record of it breeding in home aquaria, so trade fish are wild caught or farmed.

Did you know

Unlike most loaches, the adult redtail loach wears almost no pattern, relying instead on a smooth steel-blue body and bright red-orange fins for its looks. Juveniles can show faint bars that fade away as the fish matures into its plain adult coloring.

Related species

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  Skunk loach

  Yasuhikotakia morleti

  3.3 in (8.5 cm)37 gal (140 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Leconte's loach

  Yasuhikotakia lecontei

  5.9 in (15 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Sun loach

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• 

  Redfin tiger loach

  Syncrossus berdmorei

  9.4 in (24 cm)50 gal (190 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)

• 

  Green tiger loach

  Syncrossus hymenophysa

  8.3 in (21 cm)40 gal (150 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)

• 

  Banded tiger loach

  Syncrossus helodes

  11.8 in (30 cm)75 gal (285 L)75–86°F (24–30°C)