Photo: Manoel Jr., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Weather loach
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
28 cm
Adult size
300 L
Minimum volume
3
Minimum group
12 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Misgurnus
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- small group
In the wild
Overview
The weather loach owes its name to its restlessness when the air pressure changes before a storm. Very hardy and adaptable, it has become established all over the world, mainly through the aquarium trade, to the point of worrying conservationists.
- Scientific name
- Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor, 1842)
- Classification
- Cypriniformes › Cobitidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
East Asia: Siberia (Amur), Sakhalin, Korea, Japan, China down to northern Vietnam; introduced to Europe, North America, Australia and Hawaii
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives mainly in slow, shallow stretches of rivers, marshes, oxbows and rice paddies, often rich in plants and roots, over mud in which it buries itself with only its head sticking out. It breathes air when the water lacks oxygen.
Behaviour
Peaceful with its own kind and other species, but it may eat eggs, fry and very small fish. More at ease and active in a group, it goes well with active, medium-sized fish that swim higher up. A fine substrate is essential. A predator of larvae and small crustaceans: sinking food and live or frozen prey. Cool water.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth