Schultz's stone loach

Schistura schultzi

Also known as Chao Phraya stone loach, Banded river loach

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Mekong basin, northern Thailand and Laos
Family: Nemacheilidae

Overview

A solid, mid-sized stone loach that should be housed the way the genus expects: territories of rock and sand, brisk flow, and food that sinks. It is sociable and holds its own with active barbs and danios, patrolling the floor and marking out a patch of its own. Keep a few together with enough broken-up cover that each can claim space. Feed sinking meaty foods such as bloodworm, chopped prawn, and pellets. A tank of around 110 liters or more, warm and current-swept, suits a small group of this fair-sized loach.

In the wild

Schultz's stone loach comes from clear, flowing hill streams of northern Thailand, in the Mekong drainage around Chiang Rai and Loei and likely into neighboring Laos. Recreate that with a floor of cobbles and sand, rounded stones for cover, and moderate to strong current. Keep it warm at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Clean, oxygen-rich, moving water keeps it in good condition.

Good to know

Schistura schultzi reaches about 11 centimeters, a solid mid-sized member of the genus, and was described by Hugh Smith in 1945. Its species name honors Leonard Schultz, long the curator of fishes at the United States National Museum. Very little is known about its biology, and it belongs to the family Nemacheilidae, with no recorded aquarium breeding.

Did you know

The fish honors Leonard Schultz, an American museum curator of fishes, while its own biology stays almost blank in the record: even now, little is documented about how it lives beyond where it has been caught.

Tank mates

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