Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Fish like this in any of the live fish stores or online stores that we visit.
Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.
Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.
Origin: These Loaches are caught in rapidly flowing small streams in Viet Nam, but now you can find them in aquariums all around the world.
Maximum Size: In aquariums Tiger Butterfly Loaches can grow to be about 3" long, including their tails.
Behaviors: Tiger Butterfly Loaches are semi-active swimmers and are not aggressive. They need plenty of water flow and rocks to hang onto.
Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include any community fish, Barbs, Rainbowfish, Danios, Gouramis, other Loaches, and many other small to medium size aquarium fish.
Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.
Temperature: They live well from about 75 to 80+ degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 78 degrees F.
Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.
Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when very small and small Premium Pellet Food when larger.
Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.
Water Conditions: Tiger Butterfly Loaches seem to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.
Probably a pH of about 6.5 with moderate hardness is best.
Most water in the US is harder and of higher pH but seems to be OK for this fish, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.
Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.
Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.
Aquarium Size: It is probably best to house these fish in at least a 20-gallon aquarium, but of course bigger is better
Decor: Tiger Butterfly Loaches do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.
Click here for more about aquarium gravel.
Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality. Tiger Butterfly Loaches seem to do better in aquariums with live plants, even though their original habitats in Viet Nam do not have many plants.
Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.
A Penguin 350B in an aquarium with 20 or 30-gallons of water is oversized and that's good, because this fish needs lots of water flowing.
Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.
The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.
Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.
Life Span: Tiger Butterfly Loaches can live for several years, if they're fed premium food and kept in very good water with lots of flow.
Gender: As they mature females become larger and plumper than the males who are raised in the same group.
Breeding: There have been progress in breeding Hillstream Loaches in the last decade or so, and this species is one of the easiest to breed in aquariums.
Popularity: Tiger Butterfly Loaches have become quite popular.
Names: The scientific name of the Tiger Butterfly Loach is Gastromyzon psiloetron and it had the code SK04.
Variations: There are no variations of this fish.
We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.
DrTom - 01/02/2014
All of our fish are Premium Quality Fish from the best suppliers in the world. Our fish have better health, more energy and brighter colors, as you can see in our pictures on this website.
We have 380-aquariums with lots-and-lots of popular aquarium fish plus lots-and-lots of rare fish!
We consider ourselves to be the link between the world's best sources of fish and the world's best customers. We love our work, and we are very responsible about caring for our fish and then shipping them carefully.
We also offer lots and lots of information about keeping and caring for pet fish, all from the knowledge of the Bailey Brothers, who have a combined total of 100+ years of experience as breeders, wholesalers, and retailers of pet fish!
Our fish and our customers are treated with the best of care, and we work energetically everyday to make sure every customer enjoys their new fishy friends.
When you purchase pet fish from us, you know you're receiving premium quality fish and premium quality service.
"Received my fish last night and was so pleased! They all arrived alive and appeared to be healthy.
"Once in the tank, they became very active and are now thriving in their new home.
"Beautiful fish, I asked for color and aquariumfish delivered. Processing and shipping was extremely quick."
Nevin and DrTom, the Bailey Brothers
This website is owned and operated by the Bailey Brothers, DrTom and Nevin, who've been together in the fish business for more than 50-years.
The Product Manager has been with the company for more than 35-years.
So we feel very confident that this is the fishiest crew anywhere.