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The pond loach ( Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), also known as the Dojo loach, oriental weatherloachGomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. (2020). Oriental Weatherloach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor 1842), Fishes of Australia, Museums Victoria. Retrieved 2 February 2023. or oriental weatherfish, is a freshwater fish in the loach family Cobitidae. They are native to East Asia, but are also popular as an aquarium fish and introduced elsewhere in Asia and to Europe, America and Australia. The alternate name weather loach is shared with several other Cobitidae, including the other members of the genus Misgurnus and the spotted weather loach ( Cobitis taenia, commonly known as spined loach). This term comes from their ability to detect changes in barometric pressure before a storm and react with frantic swimming or standing on end.
Pond loaches are benthic , feeding mainly on algae or scavenging , and may also eat on Tubifex tubifex and other small aquatic .
Pond loaches are very hardy fish that can live in poor-quality water, and can survive short periods of drought by producing a layer of moisture-trapping mucus to keep themselves damp. Despite their resiliance against water conditions, pond loaches should still be kept in pristine water to ensure their health and prosperity within the home aquarium or pond. These loaches prefer a soft, sandy, smooth stone, fine gravel substrate, or bare bottomed tank as opposed to any form of rocks or rough gravel, which have been known to damage the sensitive barbels and skin.
The pond loach is an exceptionally peaceful, hardy species, capable of withstanding unheated aquariums, and preferring to live in outdoor ponds. Not being a tropical species by nature, water temperatures above are not recommended for, and can cause respiratory issues, fatigue, and even death, in pond loaches. For this reason they make a viable companion species for goldfish, which also are a cold-water species. They show virtually no aggression or hostility to any other tankmates, including their own kind, mostly minding their own business despite being a highly sociable species; if housing multiple individuals, which is usually recommended, pond loaches will often "cuddle" and rest huddled-together. The species is widely sold at pet stores and local fish shops. Given their somewhat "goofy" and cantankerous nature, they are not particularly aloof or shy, and thus can develop a "friendliness" towards their caretakers, swimming around their owner's hands and arms, allowing for physical contact and even hand-feeding.
The larger a pond loach matures, the more muscular and likely to breach the water's surface they become; due to their jumping prowess, the average aquarium cover should be secured with tape or additional sheets of acrylic or plastic, or panes of additional glass. If kept outside, proper netting over the water feature may be required. If a pond loach successfully jumps from the water (and is not subsequently caught by a bird or other animal), it may crawl on the ground for some time, breathing atmospheric oxygen, before eventually suffocating. Despite their ability to move terrestrially between shallow bodies of water in the wild, something many species do (like killifish), they do not have the same respiratory adaptations as, for example, the or . Also, in an indoor aquarium setting, care must be taken to cover any tubing or pipes that are large enough for a loach to fit inside of, as they may even travel up filtration tubes and become stuck in the filter itself. Pond loaches enjoy digging and burrowing themselves in the substrate of their tank, so make sure that your substrate is fine enough for them to dig in. If you keep live plants in your tank, they will be uprooted by the loaches, so it is a good idea to weight your plants. The pond loach is also peculiar in that it will sometimes bury itself in the substrate during times of stress. This often surprises new owners, as the fish will "disappear" shortly after introduction to the tank only to "reappear" later.
Because of their alleged appetite for snails, these loaches are commonly perceived as helping to alleviate snail infestations in fish tanks; however, due to their sensitive barbels, and substrate-sifting method of foraging for buried worms and hidden brine shrimp, pond loaches are not nearly as effective against mollusks as the related Botiidae loaches. Botias possess notably different, downward-pointing snouts with visibly fewer barbels, as they are more active hunters of prey than the bottom-dwelling pond loaches. The botias have evolved perfectly shaped snouts to fit inside a snail's shell.
The pond loaches prefer a water pH of 6.5–8.0, but, as a temperate-climate freshwater species, will tolerate far more acidic conditions, even for extended amounts of time, with little negative reactions. This makes the pond loach a great choice for first-time aquariums and for those who want a hardy fish tank able to withstand a few mistakes. This fish should be kept in groups of at least three, as they like to be in physical contact with each other and feel each other with their barbels when they rest.
There are some hybrid varieties bred in captivity, like the golden dojo and the peppered strain (not to be confused with the peppered loach). Sometimes the pond loach (especially the golden variety) is mistaken for the kuhli loach. The kuhli, however, likes warm tropical temperatures, will tolerate more acidic conditions, and matures at a much smaller . Although these two species have numerous differentiating traits, individual kuhli and pond loaches may resemble each other while young and at the usual age and size of what most fish stores market.
In Korea, chueo-tang (loach soup) is made with pond loach. The Japanese hotpot dojō nabe, a specialty of Asakusa, is also made with this.
In China, pond loach is consumed, especially in Sichuan, and known as niqiu.
As of November 2021, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, this species has also been captured from the wild in Illinois (including many captures in the Chicago area), New York, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Louisiana, and southern California.
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