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Schultz's stone loach

Schistura schultzi

Also known as Chao Phraya stone loach, Banded river loach

FreshwaterFish

Schultz's stone loach (Schistura schultzi)

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
Family
Nemacheilidae
Origin
Mekong basin, northern Thailand and Laos

Overview

Schultz's stone loach is a solid, mid-sized loach for the floor of a warm, current-swept tank. It is best with a little experience.

Did you know

The biology of Schultz's stone loach stays almost blank in the record. Even now, little is documented about how it lives beyond the places where it has been caught.

Caring for the Schultz's stone loach

Give a Schultz's stone loach a tank of 29 gal (110 L) or more, set up the way its genus expects. Lay a floor of cobbles and sand, with rounded stones and enough broken-up cover that each fish can claim its own territory. Run moderate to strong current, since clean, oxygen-rich, moving water keeps it in good condition.

Keep the water warm, at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Feed sinking meaty foods such as bloodworm, chopped prawn and pellets.

Schultz's stone loach is sociable and mostly peaceful, and it holds its own with active barbs and danios in a community tank. It does fine alone or in a group. In a small group, each one patrols the floor and marks out a patch of its own. There is no record of it breeding in an aquarium.

Good to know

Schultz's stone loach, Schistura schultzi, belongs to the family Nemacheilidae. Hugh Smith described it in 1945. Its species name honors Leonard Schultz, long the curator of fishes at the United States National Museum.

In the wild

Schultz's stone loach comes from clear, flowing hill streams in northern Thailand. Its range covers the Mekong drainage around Chiang Rai and Loei and reaches into neighboring Laos.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Schultz's stone loach is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Schultz's stone loach need?

A Schultz's stone loach needs at least 29 gal (110 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Schultz's stone loach need?

A Schultz's stone loach is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a Schultz's stone loach eat?

A Schultz's stone loach eats sinking meaty foods such as bloodworm, chopped prawn and pellets.

How big does a Schultz's stone loach get?

An adult Schultz's stone loach reaches about 4.3 in (11 cm).

Related species