Zipper loach

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a group of six or more, in a tank of 110 liters or larger with a footprint of at least 75 by 30 cm, and 90 cm or longer is better for a group. Kept singly or in pairs they turn shy and squabble, and even in a group rivals will fin-nip each other, so give them room and plenty of cover. They are mostly peaceful, active bottom dwellers that prefer the cooler tropical end, 21 to 26 C, with a pH of 6 to 7.5, and they want freshwater only, never brackish. Feed them as the micropredators they are, with small live and frozen foods like bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp, plus good sinking dried foods.

In the wild

Zipper loaches range across South and Southeast Asia, from the Indus in Pakistan east through the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, and Salween to the Mae Khlong in Thailand, with their core range in the Brahmaputra of Assam, India. They live in flowing, well-oxygenated streams over sand and rock. To match that, give them a tank of at least 110 liters with a sandy substrate they can dig and sift through, smooth rocks, caves, leaf litter, and some plants. Add brisk stream-like flow with a filter turning over about 4 to 5 times the tank volume per hour. Keep the water between 21 and 26 C and a pH of 6 to 7.5.

Good to know

This is Paracanthocobitis botia, a stone loach in the family Nemacheilidae. Realistic adult size is roughly 8 to 10 cm, despite an often-cited 14.9 cm FishBase figure that traces back to misidentified specimens. Almost all fish in the trade are wild-caught, since there is no reliable aquarium breeding record.

Did you know

They are tireless sand-sifters, constantly taking in mouthfuls of substrate and pushing it back out through the gills to pick out small food. That habit is why sand matters so much for them. Gravel does not pass through the same way and can wear down their mouths and barbels over time.

Related species

• 

  Barred loach

  Nemacheilus fasciatus

  3.1 in (8 cm)24 gal (90 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Zodiac loach

  Mesonoemacheilus triangularis

  2.4 in (6 cm)24 gal (90 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Sumo loach

  Schistura balteata

  3.1 in (8 cm)24 gal (90 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Cross loach

  Micronemacheilus cruciatus

  1.6 in (4 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Rosy loach

  Petruichthys sp. 'rosy'

  1.2 in (3 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)

• 

  Honduran red point cichlid

  Amatitlania siquia

  3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (114 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)