My Story on the Weather Loach
by Majid Ali
From the Ryedale Reporter, Ryedale Aquarists Society, England
Aquarticles
The weather loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, has other common names,
including weather fish, Chinese weather loach, Japanese weather loach, Dojo loach, and
golden Dojo. It has been given nicknames such as eel fish, snake fish, and moustache fish.
When I was new to fish keeping, the first time I saw this fish for sale in a pet shop,
with barbels hanging out around the mouth making it look like the head of a mop, I asked
the shop keeper 'How much for that snake fish and does it bite?' The shop keeper laughed
and informed me that I wasn't the first person to have approached her like this and
probably wouldn't be the last.
LIFE IN THE WILD
The weather loach acquired its name due to the fact that it is sensitive to barometric
pressure. When stormy weather is approaching it becomes hyperactive and excited, and
starts dashing around from one place to another. Stormy weather is also the time for it to
mate and lay eggs.
The weather loach comes to us from North-East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. It
is nocturnal in nature, and buries into the substrate with usually only the eyes being
visible or head stuck out. Surprisingly, these loaches can be found in shallow waters
including ditches! Apparently they have a substitute or second breathing apparatus in the
form of their intestine, which they use to derive oxygen from the air. They can survive
when oxygen levels drop low. European populations literally hibernate in mud during winter
time and times of severe drought.
On hot days when the water starts to dry up, the loach burrows into the substrate to
prevent its skin from drying out. Amazingly, it has the ability, via the skin, to secrete
a protective mucus that keeps its body slimy and wet.
Weather loaches found in Europe are yellow-brown in colour with dark brown stripes
along the flanks. Those from Asia are more golden in colour. In aquarium circles we now
have a pink-yellow variant (like the albino version of the bronze corydoras) with red
eyes, sold as the albino weather loach.
BREEDING
This is rare in captivity. They may be sexed via the pectoral fins. Males have larger
pectoral fins than the females.
Aquatic consultant Bernice Brewster believes that weather loaches should be kept at a
cool temperature for several months in order to encourage spawning, which takes place in
early spring to early summer, before the water becomes too warm. They wrap around each
other, sometimes for hours, and then lay eggs, usually amongst plants. The eggs normally
hatch in 3 days, and during the first week the fry feed upon infusoria, and then on brine
shrimp before moving on to crumbled flake foods. For the first few days of their lives the
fry have external gills.
WEATHER LOACH IN AQUARIA
Size - Usually grow to 12" in captivity, but have been known to grow larger in the
wild. The weather loaches in my aquarium grew to about 14" in length.
Lifespan - Have an aquarium lifespan of 10 years, but can live longer in the wild.
These omnivorous loaches are peaceful and hardy, and don't require any particular diet,
water chemistry or water temperature. They like hiding places such as bogwood, pipes,
ornaments (especially those with holes) and places to burrow - burrowing is their way of
passing time or relaxing. I had several ornaments with dark holes, and my loaches enjoyed
hiding in these. They had a preference for dark areas, in association with their nocturnal
nature.
Since they like to bury themselves, I would recommend natural pea-gravel as a
substrate, which is soft and gives the aquarium a natural look. Avoid rough gravel or
gravel with sharp edges, as it can hurt the loaches when burrowing, since the sensitive
barbels around their mouths can become damaged causing cuts or infections.
Some of my friends used inert sand as a substrate, but then discontinued this practice
since every time the weather loaches dashed around, wiggled about or tried to burrow into
the sand, they caused a sand storm which upset the other fish by irritating their gills.
Be careful with live or plastic plants and also aquarium decorations, which can easily
be uprooted and knocked over by the loaches. Some loaches like to suck or swallow pieces
of plants. If so let them - a bit of vegetable intake won't do any harm. My loaches loved
sucking in pieces of oxygenating plants (Elodea species).
With regard to filtration, I am in favour of using internal box filters. Undergravel
filters are best avoided since the loaches are natural burrowers and could mess up and
cloud the aquarium by stirring up the gravel, as some of my friends have found to their
cost.
At times you will see a slimy film floating about in the aquarium and eventually
getting caught or sucked into the filter intake. Do not worry, since this usually
indicates that the loach has shed its skin. The slimy-white floating skin can, at times,
look like a floating ghost.
Make sure that the tank hood is a good one, and cover up any holes, because as we shall
see later, these loaches are very acrobatic and are notoriously known to jump out of
aquariums.
FEEDING
Weather loaches will happily feed upon many food items as follows:
- Commercial aquarium foods including catfish pellets, granules, freeze dried bloodworm,
freeze dried tubifex, tablet and flaked food.
- Frozen foods are eagerly accepted, and available in blister packs at the local pet shop.
My weather loaches ate frozen tubifex, bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, glass
worms, cockle, red-Pacifica krill, black mosquito larvae, fish eggs (my friends claim
their loaches love fish eggs), red plankton, spinach, mysis, mussel and algae.
- The following live foods also proved to be a hit at feeding times:
1. Bloodworms
2. Tubifex fed via a worm feeder.
3. Daphnia (a well known laxative which contain a pigment in their bodies that help to
bring out and maintain natural colouration in fish) and brine shrimp.
4. Earthworms (laxative qualities).
5. Mealworms. These are sucked in, and then the loaches suck the juice out of them and
spat out the skins.
6. Snails were a favourite item. Some weather loaches (if you are lucky) will happily deal
with unwanted snails, which are usually introduced via plants. My loaches sucked in the
snails then left the shells for me to clear up.
7. Glassworms.
According to my research these loaches have a particular preference for worms, and if
you have any worms (e.g. blood worms) hiding in the substrate they will be rooted out by
the loaches. Same goes for snails - that is if your loaches develop a taste for them.
Weather loaches also make good scavengers because they are constantly searching for
food in the substrate, and will eat left over or uneaten food not taken by their
companions. When coming up to the surface to feed they can make 'sucking noises' which you
can hear very easily.
NOCTURNAL PROBLEMS
Some of my friends have complained about their weather loaches not being active during the
day (hiding away), and have spied upon them by turning the lights off and looking at them
with dim lights or with a small torch. Other friends believed that their loaches had died
of starvation due to the fact that the fish did not emerge during light to compete for
food with fellow tank companions.
There are two ways of dealing with this problem: - Get a divider (Perspex should be
okay), with small holes in it for the circulation of air and water, and separate the
loaches at night. When separated feed them on one of the foods mentioned above. In the
morning clear away uneaten food. - Acquire a suitable aquarium nightlight. During the day
use the normal lights for your fish and plants, and at night use the nightlight. This will
allow you to view your loaches moving around the aquarium and eating. Although I have had
no problems with this, some of my friends have reservations that the nightlight could
affect daytime and night activity, and therefore the health, of fellow aquarium occupants.
OTHER INFORMATION
Weather loaches like to live in groups, and the more space you give them the more active
they become. More space also encourages growth. You can get away with keeping just a
couple rather than a group; it won't do any harm. I have known friends with smaller
tanks keeping just one loach, but it is better to keep them how they wish to be - in
groups.
A friend of mine once told me she fed her fish and left the feeding cover open (forgot
to close it) and went shopping. Upon returning she saw the loach wriggling about on the
carpet and quickly put it back in. Yes, - it survived for a few hours out of the tank with
the aid of its second or substitute breathing apparatus (intestine) and its ability to
survive in low oxygen conditions, along with the secretion of mucus to stay wet. This
clearly proves that its intestine is a good quality life saver.
I recall an incident one summer when I was cleaning the aquarium and left the tank with
the hood off, rushing outside for some emergency. When I returned home almost an hour
later, I saw a weather loach wriggling on the carpet. I quickly put it back into the
aquarium and it survived!
At times my other fish have suffered health problems such as white spot, constipation,
being sluggish and run down, and bacterial problems. Rather than treating just the ones
affected I have treated them all, because of the possibility of the disease being passed
on to the others. This included the weather loaches being treated. They have tolerated
medications for the control of white spot and bacteria, along with a revitalizing tonic
and tonic salt. I have also used liquid plant foods to stimulate growth in my plants,
which again had no harmful effects on my loaches. Weather loaches are, in my experience,
adaptable and hardy.
In America, weather loaches (an introduced species) have been served at the dinner
table! Also in places like Korea and China they are sold live in open markets, and when
taken home they are turned into a soup that is believed to bring good health.
They can be acclimatised to living in tropical temperatures, which I have seen at pet
shops. So those wanting to keep weather loaches in tropical conditions can do so - just
make sure that any companions are suitable to live in harmony with them.
The weather loach is a remarkable fish that is well worth the effort of keeping.
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