AquaNexus verified profile
Zebra loach
Botia striata
A social Western-Ghats botiid requiring a six-plus group, smooth substrate and a long oxygen-rich aquarium. Captive reproduction remains specialist.
Outcome: PASSED Permanent ID: 750
Profile overview
- Scientific Name
- Botia striata
- Identity and search names
- Zebra loach, Candystripe loach
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Subgroup
- Loaches
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Origin
- Western Ghats of India
- Care
- Intermediate
- Adult Size
- About 8–10 cm
- Lifespan
- 6–20 years
- Tank
- At least 200 L with a 120 cm footprint for six or more
- Temp
- 22–26 °C
- pH
- 6.0–7.8
- Hardness
- Soft to moderately hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater
- Lighting
- Normal aquarium lighting
- Placement
- Bottom
- Diet
- Omnivore; many relish invertebrates
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
- Aeration
- Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
- Maintenance
- Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
- Welfare
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. This threatened Western-Ghats loach is not a solitary snail-control tool. Prefer traceable captive-bred fish and provide a full social group.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Review Status
- PASSED
- Source Status
- CURRENT — accepted identity or explicitly bounded species profile; husbandry, welfare, sources and Australian/South Australian biosecurity rechecked. CURRENT
App-ready care, welfare and biosecurity details
Identity Scope
Single-species profile for Botia striata. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 750, slug zebra-loach and route /species/zebra-loach/; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.
Adult Size And Space
Expected adult size: About 8–10 cm. Minimum permanent housing: At least 200 L with a 120 cm footprint for six or more. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression, oxygen demand and waste production rather than sale size.
Social Structure
Keep at least six; provide more retreats than fish and monitor hierarchy
Swimming Zone
Primary zone: Bottom. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
Feeding Ecology
Omnivore; many relish invertebrates
Feeding Plan
Small appropriate meals based on age and body condition
Water Stability
Maintain 22–26 °C; pH 6.0–7.8; hardness or minerals: Soft to moderately hard; salinity: Freshwater. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact value.
Habitat Structure
Smooth substrate, multiple tight hides, strong oxygenation and a secure lid.
Compatibility Plan
Pair with robust peaceful fish and avoid very small snails if you intend to keep them.
Breeding Plan
Captive maturation and commercial propagation are specialist work; recent research has improved broodstock maturation, but routine home spawning is not established Parental care: No dependable aquarium parental-care method is established.
Quarantine
Quarantine new livestock in a separate cycled system for at least 30 days. Observe appetite, respiration, waste, skin, fins and behaviour; use dedicated equipment and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
Welfare Checks
Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. This threatened Western-Ghats loach is not a solitary snail-control tool. Prefer traceable captive-bred fish and provide a full social group.
Biosecurity And Release
Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Main Risk
This threatened Western-Ghats loach is not a solitary snail-control tool. Prefer traceable captive-bred fish and provide a full social group.
Adult Projected Load
Plan filtration and stocking for the full adult size (About 8–10 cm), the complete social group and peak feeding waste, not the current shop size. Permanent housing remains At least 200 L with a 120 cm footprint for six or more.
Filtration
Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
Aeration
Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
Maintenance
Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
Overridable Warnings
Warnings are decision support, not permission to ignore welfare limits. Override only with specimen-specific evidence, equivalent risk controls and a recorded reason; never override legal, biosecurity, provenance or no-release requirements.
Sources and review basis
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Botia striata: Taxonomy — accepted name, former combinations, synonyms and family placement
- Guntapalli et al. — maturation dynamics in Botia striata: Reproduction and conservation — captive maturation research; home breeding remains specialist
- IUCN Red List — Botia striata: Conservation and provenance — current wild-status and collection-risk cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list: Australian biosecurity — current South Australian possession, trade and movement restrictions
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia: Australian biosecurity — national live-fish import pathways and permitted-species warning
AquaNexus uses original editorial synthesis. Exact import, possession, movement and disposal requirements must be rechecked with the current authority before acquisition or transfer.