Weather Loach

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

Also known as dojo loach

FreshwaterFish

Weather Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) — (c) Andrew Durso, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Care at a glance

Temperature: 50–73°F (10–23°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 11 in (28 cm)
Minimum tank: 55 gal (210 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam
Family: Cobitidae

Overview

The weather loach, also called the dojo loach, is a long, hardy, eel-shaped fish that is peaceful and genuinely social, so keep a group of three or more rather than a single fish. It spends its time on the bottom, nosing through sand and rooting under wood and plants for food, and it enjoys burrowing. It is calm enough for a community of similarly sized, temperate fish and does well in unheated or coolwater tanks. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworms, blackworms, and sinking vegetables. Because it grows long and appreciates floor space, give a group a tank of around 210 liters or larger with a soft substrate and a tight lid.

In the wild

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus is native to East Asia, ranging across Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam, where it lives in slow rivers, ponds, ditches, and rice paddies with soft, muddy bottoms. It is a temperate fish that prefers cool water, roughly 10 to 23 C, at a pH from about 6 to 7.5, and it does not need or want tropical heat. A good tank gives it a deep, soft sand or fine-gravel bed for burrowing, gentle flow, and plenty of cover from wood and plants. It tolerates a wide range of conditions, which is part of why it is so easy to keep.

Good to know

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus is a member of Cobitidae, the true loaches, and is one of the largest, reaching about 28 cm with a slender, eel-like body and several pairs of barbels around the mouth. It can breathe atmospheric air by swallowing it and absorbing oxygen through its hindgut, an adaptation for low-oxygen mud. Unlike many loaches it is readily bred, spawning in ponds and tanks where it scatters adhesive eggs among plants and gives no parental care.

Did you know

The weather loach earns its name by reacting to the fall in air pressure that comes before a storm, when it often grows restless and swims up and down the glass. Aquarists have long treated that burst of activity as a rough forecast of coming rain.