Should I buy it?
Dojo / weather loach
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Also known as: dojo loach, weather loach, pond loach
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.
Dojo / weather loach tank mates · 160L tank size hub
peaceful · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: caution
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
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.
Common mistakeParking a dojo loach in a warm tropical community because the shop tank looked fine is how keepers invent mystery infections. These fish prefer the cool side of the range, often 18–22°C, and sit poorly above the mid-twenties for months on end. Pairing them with discus-temperature stocks burns both plans. Buy length and cooler honesty, not a 24–28°C community sticker.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- Shrimp & snails. Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Shops still sell dojos as hardy tropical community loaches that will clean the gravel for free. They are cool-leaning omnivores that need space and a group, not a warm nano cleanup crew. A single dojo in a heated 60L is a stressed oddball, not a beginner algae solution.
- 2.Kept in tiny aquaria on sharp gravel, which damages barbels and causes infections.
- 3.Placed with strictly tropical species in constantly hot rooms without a cool zone.
- 4.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 listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease32
- Peacefulness76
- Community fit62
- Small-tank fit87
- Hardiness54
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Match temperature and pH overlap with every tank mate, then verify adult size and group rules on pair pages — Fishori is biased toward boring, survivable plans.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Dojo / weather loach
Usually safer (engine GOOD): White Cloud Mountain Minnow. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Kuhli Loach, Yoyo Loach. Avoid (RISKY): African Cichlid, German Blue Ram, Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Oscar. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Dojo / weather loach + White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Behaviour and temperament
Dojo loaches are peaceful toward similar-sized fish and spend more time exploring the substrate than holding territory. Stress shows as frantic surface swimming or refusal to eat when the tank runs too warm or too bare. A proper group of five or more settles into a digging, scavenging rhythm that a lone fish rarely shows.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Groups work the sand and décor after feeding; singles often hide and look “shy.”
- Cooler tanks with soft substrate show the real foraging behaviour, not frantic glass pacing.
- Gasping or frantic surface swimming in warm tropical communities is usually temperature, not oxygen alone.
- Clamped fins and no interest in sinking food after a hard water change means chemistry before disease.
- Low listed risk toward similar-sized fish; they are scavengers, not midwater bullies.
- Crowding with tiny fry still means accidental predation at night — not community malice.
- Remove a dojo that cannot settle after weeks of warm, bare conditions — the tank type is wrong.
- Any tank mate small enough to fit in an adult mouth at night needs a different plan.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Dojo loaches are opportunistic omnivores that work the substrate for leftovers, worms, and sinking wafers. A flake-only routine leaves the bottom hungry while midwater fish skim the surface. Offer sinking omnivore pellets, frozen bloodworm or daphnia a few times a week, and the odd blanched vegetable. They gorge when they find food, so small portions beat one heavy dump that fouls the sand.
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- 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
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
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:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
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.
Common questions about Dojo / weather loach
- How big do Dojo / weather loach get?
- Dojo / weather loach adults run about 20–30 cm. In home tanks they usually land near 25 cm — plan space and filtration for that, not the juvenile in the shop bag.
- What size tank does Dojo / weather loach need?
- 150L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 200L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Dojo / weather loach aggressive?
- Dojo loaches are peaceful toward similar-sized fish and spend more time exploring the substrate than holding territory. Stress shows as frantic surface swimming or refusal to eat when the tank runs too warm or too bare. A proper group of five or more settles into a digging, scavenging rhythm that a lone fish rarely shows.
- Do Dojo / weather loach need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Dojo / weather loach?
- Parking a dojo loach in a warm tropical community because the shop tank looked fine is how keepers invent mystery infections. These fish prefer the cool side of the range, often 18–22°C, and sit poorly above the mid-twenties for months on end. Pairing them with discus-temperature stocks burns both plans. Buy length and cooler honesty, not a 24–28°C community sticker.
- What fish can live with Dojo / weather loach?
- The Dojo / weather loach profile lists White Cloud Mountain Minnow among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Kuhli Loach are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid African Cichlid, German Blue Ram, Green Terror, Jack Dempsey (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.