Social, digging bottom-dwellers with real needs
Loaches
Kuhli, clown, yoyo, dwarf-chain and hillstream loaches are endearing, active and endlessly mis-sold — as "snail control", as solo oddballs, or as fish for a new tank. They are gregarious animals that want a group, a mature aquarium and a smooth floor, and several get far bigger than the shop suggests.
9 species on Finfern · 9 with a full care guide.
💧 Get the water right: Keep them in groups of 5–6+, only in a mature, well-oxygenated tank with a tight lid (many jump) — not a snail-control tool. Care model: Tropical community tank
- Kuhli Loach Pangio kuhlii The little eel-like loach that hides by day and pops out at night — a peaceful, quirky bottom-dweller.
- Clown Loach Chromobotia macracanthus Sold as a cute juvenile, but it hits ~40 cm, lives 20+ years, and must be kept in a shoal in a huge tank.
- Yoyo Loach Botia almorhae Not a small snail-zapper — a ~6-inch social loach that needs a mature tank, a group of 5+, and a locked-down lid.
- Dwarf Chain Loach Ambastaia sidthimunki A planted-tank-safe mini loach — but a real shoal of 5+, no long-finned tankmates, and not snail pest-control.
- Hillstream Loach Sewellia lineolata A cool, high-flow river specialist — mature biofilm tank, 15–20× turnover, a group of 6+ and a tight lid.
- Weather Loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus A hardy ~11-inch coldwater loach with real personality — needs a big cool mature tank and must never be released.
- Zebra Loach Botia striata The best community Botia — but only in a mature tank, in a group of 5–10+, and never as snail pest-control.
- Panda Garra Garra flavatra A stripy, busy little algae-grazer with real character — a hillstream-ish garra that stays small and works hard on biofilm.
- Rosy Loach Physoschistura mango (formally described 2023). Long sold under the trade names Petruichthys sp. 'rosy', Yunnanilus sp. 'rosy', and Tuberoschistura arakanensis. Note: Petruichthys brevis is a related but separate species (the Inle Loach), not the trade Rosy Loach. A thumbnail-sized, peaceful shoaling loach with a rosy glow — a charming, active nano bottom-to-mid dweller.
Plan a loaches tank
Our free tools use these species' real, sourced care data — no guessing:
Stocking calculator → Compatibility checker → Which fish suit your water? →