Slimy Loach

About

The slimy loach (Pangio myersi), also sold as Myers' loach, is a slender, eel-shaped cobitid from the lowland streams and peat swamps of the Mekong basin and southeastern Thailand. Its appearance is pretty distinctive: an orange base color crossed by 8 to 11 broad, dark, squarish body bars, plus a caudal fin that is either fully black or carries a large black blotch at the base with a submarginal bar or row of spots. That tail pattern is actually useful for telling it apart from close relatives like P. kuhlii and P. semicincta, which lack that feature. Like all Pangio, it has small, sharp spines beneath its eyes that can snag aquarium nets, so use a soft container when moving fish around. Despite the 'aggressive' flag in some databases, this species is reliably peaceful with tankmates. The main caveat being that it may snack on eggs or fry. In the wild these loaches gather in large groups, and they carry that habit into the aquarium, happily piling on top of each other in a shared cave or crevice. A group of five or six should be considered the minimum. Small, gentle fish from similar soft-water habitats make the best companions. The species can also breathe air when dissolved oxygen runs low, which speaks to the sometimes challenging environments it calls home.