Should I buy it?
Dojo / weather loach
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Also known as: dojo loach, weather loach, pond loach, Dojo loach, Weather loach, Pond loach
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
A 25 cm temperate loach that acts as a barometric pressure indicator by increased activity before storms. Hardy and peaceful but too large for most tropical setups.
Best for
Cool-water or temperate community tanks 150L or more at 15–22 °C alongside goldfish or cold-water species.
Avoid if
Your tank runs above 24 °C, you keep small nano fish, or your lid has gaps.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Common mistakeDojo loach in a warm tropical community. Above 24 °C they develop bacterial infections and stop feeding within weeks.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Predation risk scales with gape, night feeding, and crowding. 'they grew up together' is a schedule, not a law.
- 2.Classed peaceful for similar-sized community use. Still a bite-sized risk toward fry or very small comm fish in small volumes.
- 3.Kept in tiny aquaria on sharp gravel, which damages barbels and causes infections.
- 4.Placed with strictly tropical species in constantly hot rooms without a cool zone.
- 5.Sand, smooth stones, and a secure lid. Check local regulations: in some countries wild-type dojos are not legal to import. Reconsider if you need tropical-only communities above 25°C year round.
About this species
Eel-shaped East Asian loach with barbels. Tolerates cool water and burrows into fine substrate. Grows much larger and messier than the 'starter' size in shops. Some regions restrict or ban release. Never flush or release outdoors.
- Zebra Loach120L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Hillstream Loach100L min · same fish family
- Yoyo Loach200L min · same fish family
- Kuhli Loach70L min · same fish family
- Clown Loach400L min · same fish family
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- African freshwater butterflyfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Boesemani Rainbowfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease32
- Peacefulness76
- Community fit73
- Small-tank fit87
- Hardiness54
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 150L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Dojo / weather loach against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Dojo / weather loach + Boesemani Rainbowfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Dojo / weather loach is peaceful in mixed company. Treats any fish small enough to fit in its mouth as food. Mouth size at adult length matters, not the prey's listed adult size.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **5+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Shoaling species. Buy 5 or more of one species together. Smaller schools sulk, lose colour, and redirect their schooling energy at whatever else is in the tank.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Hold 15 to 25 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6.5 to 8 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 3 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 150L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 5 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 15–25°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 150L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 600L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 15–25°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Dojo / weather loach does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 15–25°C and pH 6.5–8:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.