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Sparkling loach

Schistura coruscans

Also known as Glitter stone loach, Flametail loach

FreshwaterFish

Sparkling loach (Schistura coruscans)

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–77°F
20–25°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
24 gal
90 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Nemacheilidae
Origin
Nam San basin, Laos

Overview

The sparkling loach is a social stone loach for the floor of a cool, fast river tank. It suits a keeper with a little experience.

Did you know

The sparkling loach only sparkles under the right conditions. Its metallic shimmer needs clean, moving, well-lit water, so a dull, listless fish is often a sign the tank has gone stale.

Caring for the sparkling loach

Give the sparkling loach a tank of 24 gal (90 L) or more, with strong flow and high oxygen. Lay an open floor of sand and water-worn stones, with enough rounded rocks and gaps that each fish can claim its own station. Those stations keep its mild territorial squabbling from turning serious. Fit a tight lid, since stream loaches are agile and can jump.

Keep the water at 68 to 77°F (20 to 25°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. It hugs the bottom, darting from rock to rock and tasting everything the flow delivers. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and other small meaty foods, which it takes readily.

The sparkling loach is social and mostly peaceful, and it does best as a small group of its own kind. Keep it with other current-loving stream fish rather than slow fancy types. It has not been bred in captivity.

Good to know

The sparkling loach, Schistura coruscans, belongs to Nemacheilidae, the stone loach family. Its species name means flashing or sparkling, for the metallic sheen that plays over its barred body. It was described from Laos in 2000 and remains little known to science, listed as data deficient.

In the wild

The sparkling loach lives in the Nam San basin in Laos, a cool, tumbling tributary system of the Mekong. The basin's headwater streams run clear and fast.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The sparkling 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 sparkling loach need?

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

What temperature and pH does a sparkling loach need?

A sparkling loach is comfortable at 68–77°F (20–25°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a sparkling loach eat?

A sparkling loach readily takes sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and other small meaty foods. It tastes everything the flow delivers as it darts from rock to rock.

How big does a sparkling loach get?

An adult sparkling loach reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species