TankBud

Showy hillstream loach

Sewellia speciosa

Also known as Spotted sewellia, Vietnamese porcupine hillstream loach

FreshwaterFish

Showy hillstream loach (Sewellia speciosa)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–75°F
20–24°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
2.6 in
6.5 cm
Minimum tank
24 gal
90 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Egg scatterer · Medium
Rarity
Rare
Family
Gastromyzontidae
Origin
Se Kong drainage, Laos and Vietnam

Overview

The showy hillstream loach is a disc-bodied Sewellia that grazes stone in a cool, fast, oxygen-rich tank. It is a fish for experienced keepers.

Did you know

The showy hillstream loach's describer named it speciosa, Latin for showy, for its bright, contrasting pattern. Such open praise is rare in scientific naming.

Caring for the showy hillstream loach

Set up showy hillstream loaches just like the tiger hillstream loach, in a mature tank of 24 gal (90 L) or more. Furnish it with broad, smooth grazing stones and a deep bed of rounded gravel, which gives eggs somewhere to lodge.

Keep the water cool, at 68 to 75°F (20 to 24°C), with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Run strong laminar flow, and keep oxygen high with brisk surface movement.

It grazes biofilm and algae. Supplement with fine sinking foods, crushed wafers and small frozen items.

Keep a group of five or six with small, peaceful, current-loving fish. Males hold stones and display at one another in mild, shimmying contests.

Like others in its genus, it will spawn in a mature river tank. It scatters eggs into the gravel, where they develop out of reach of the adults. Breeding it is moderately difficult.

Good to know

Sewellia speciosa is a hillstream loach in the family Gastromyzontidae. Roberts described it in 1998.

In the wild

The showy hillstream loach lives in the Se Kong drainage, on the border of Laos and Vietnam. Its home waters are fast, clear torrents running cool over stone.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The showy hillstream 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 showy hillstream loach need?

A showy hillstream loach needs at least 24 gal (90 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a showy hillstream loach need?

A showy hillstream loach is comfortable at 68–75°F (20–24°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a showy hillstream loach eat?

A showy hillstream loach grazes biofilm and algae. Supplement it with fine sinking foods, crushed wafers and small frozen items.

How big does a showy hillstream loach get?

An adult showy hillstream loach reaches about 2.6 in (6.5 cm).

How does a showy hillstream loach breed?

The showy hillstream loach scatters its eggs into gravel, where they develop out of reach of the adults. It will spawn in a mature river tank, and breeding it is moderately difficult.

Related species