Butterfly loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis) hillstream loach for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

Butterfly loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis)

butterfly hillstream loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis) is a small and very unusual fish. If you want to keep it in a tank you’ll have to recreate the conditions like the ones the fish used to have in the wild.

Chinese butterfly loach inhabits in Jiangxi river system (West river), in the South of China, main tributary of Zhu Jiang river (Pearl River). This species was described in the upper part of Guizhou province and it’s widely spread in independent region Guangxi and in Guangdong province.

The fish inhabits mainly in depthless rivers with fast flow and upstreams highly saturated with oxygen, small tributaries of rivers and streams; zones restricted with crests and sometimes with waterfalls.

Bottom substrate is mainly composed of small rocks, sand, gravel and roundstones. In such places there no even streamside vegetation. The water is crystal clear there with small amount of dissolved oxygen.

Such water and sunlight are good for biofilm development which consists of different types of microorganisms and algae. The biofilm covers all stones and rocks surface like a blanket.

Temperature: the fish inhabits in humid, subtropical area where the air temperature is seldom lower than 15,5 °C and it can be significantly higher in summer.

The tank water temperature range 17-24˚C is considered preferable for Beaufortia fishes care. However, the experience shows that the fish is rather good with higher temperature 68°F to 75°F (20 to 23.8°C) (including 30˚C but not for a long term) at the condition of high water aeration.

In such case it’s also good to raise the intensity of water circulation. Hillstream loaches group are mountain river loaches united by common conditions of inhabitance in the wild, therefore they require strong water filtration in a tank.

Such a filtration and powerful flow imitating violent natural stream can be created by installing a filter or a pump that ideally should be able to pump more than 10 water volumes per hour.

Of course, high aeration and flow are desirable in the tank, however some aquarists consider that high flow is necessary only during the adjustment cycle.

Later the fishes can do with common water flow created by the filter or they can even do without the filter provided with sufficient amount of oxygen in the water.

Bottom substrate can be made of gravel, sand or their mixture. Loach needs numerous rocky covers therefore it’s obligatory to add flat rocks, pebbles and roundstones, where the fish eagerly feeds by browsing soft algae from them.