Weather Loach

People who have kept a weather loach can agree that using them as weather forecasters is not the only reason to have one. Their comical and interesting individuality together with hardy nature and ease of care have put weather loaches among the most popular sort after loaches.

With an eel like body, the weather loach has a drawn out olive coloured body that is sprinkled with many spots from head to tail. Ten sensitive barbels surround the mouth of the weather loach, which given the right substrate can grow quite some length.

Being larger than most other freshwater loaches, backed up by reports of weather loaches reaching 20 inches in length, the average loach kept in aquariums is 5-8 inches in length. Its hardy nature makes this loach suitable to anyone starting in the world of fish keeping. In fact it's almost impossible to kill. Many owners have reported stories of loaches jumping out from the tank and surviving overnight without any ill effects.

Not the most colourful addition to an aquarium, they have very expressive characteristic. It's common to see weather loaches resting on their pectoral fins using them as arms, intently following your movements with their eyes. Another report is of owners reporting that their weather loach likes to be touched or even petted.

I've found mine to be very curious, particularly when doing maintenance and my hands are in the tank tidying up plants or rocks. This doesn't seem to bother the loach; in fact it almost seems to enjoy being handled.

Habitat/Care

The ability of weather loaches to thrive in less than ideal conditions can be traced back to their roots in Asia. There they live in shallow rivers, paddies, and even ditches. Because they posses the ability to use their intestine to receive oxygen from the air, they can survive when oxygen levels drop.

During dry spells when a water source is sparse the industrious weather loach survives by burrowing in the mud to protect its skin from drying out.

This burrowing habit is a favourite pastime, and it's not unusual for an owner to think the fish has disappeared only to discover the loach burrowed beneath the substrate.

If burrowing does not offer sufficient protection during particularly severe conditions, the weather loach is capable of secreting a protective mucous to prevent it from drying out.

Although adaptable to almost any conditions, colder water is preferable. The weather loach enjoys hiding places such as rocks and other landscaping materials, or even something as simple as a plastic tube left in the tank. Take care to keep filter inlet tubes well covered, as they will not hesitate to swim up an uncovered tube. It is not unusual for owners to report having found their loach inside the filter.

Diet Weather loaches are great vacuum cleaners, sucking up virtually anything that falls to the bottom of the tank, and spitting out what it doesn't care for. They are particularly fond of fish eggs, so keep that in mind if you are thinking of breeding egg laying fish in the same tank. In the wild their diet consists of insect larvae and small worms. However, they will also readily eat fresh vegetables. Peas are a prized delicacy, but should be skinned before being placed in the tank.

Breeding

Breeding is fairly difficult, mostly down to the lack of knowledge and information on their spawning habits. They are a cold water fish, and require several months of cold temperatures to induce spawning. Spawning occurs in the spring to early summer, before water temperatures become too warm.

They may be sexed based on the pectoral fins, which are larger in males than in females. Spawning follows a courtship ritual that includes sinuous movements back and forth by the breeding pair, sometimes lasting for a period of several hours. The fertilised eggs hatch in approximately three days. For the first week the fry feed on infusoria, after which they may be fed freshly hatched brine shrimp.

For more information on setting up an loaches Click Weather Loach