Furry Diary

Not furry, but we like them anyway.

Stone Loach

Barbatula barbatula

Also called Cobitis barbatula (historic name), Nemacheilus barbatulus (historic name)

SpeciesShort profile

From Europe north of the Pyrenees, Alps and Caucasus, including the British Isles and Scandinavia, reaching east into Asia12

At a glance the quick version

Length6 to 21 cm321
Lifespan3 to 7 years321
Sizesmall
Superb camouflage on gravel and stones
Its presence is a sign of clean, well-oxygenated water
Interesting night-time forager
321

Looks how to spot one

Smooth, elongated bottom-dwelling loach

A slim, smooth-skinned loach with rounded fins and six short barbels like a moustache around the mouth. Its mottled yellowish to olive brown body with darker blotches and bands blends in perfectly with stones and gravel.32

Coloursmottled olive-brownyellowish brown with darker blotches and bandsgreyish belly32

Personality what they are like

A shy, mostly nocturnal bottom-dweller that spends the day hidden in gravel or under stones and comes out to forage after dark.32

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

A true coldwater fish that needs cool water all year (about 14-18 C) and colder winters, so it is better suited to a cool stream-style setup than a typical indoor tank.4

Home where they are happiest

Clean, well-oxygenated, flowing streams and rivers over gravel and stone. In captivity give fine sand for digging, plenty of smooth rounded pebbles and many hiding places; pH 6.0-7.5 and soft to medium water.124

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Eats bottom-living invertebrates such as freshwater shrimps, mayfly and midge larvae. In captivity it takes sinking foods and frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and Daphnia.3241

The story where it all began

Linnaeus described the stone loach in 1758, and it has since been moved between the genera Cobitis, Nemacheilus and Barbatula. It is a widespread native of European streams and one of only two loaches found in the UK.23

Fun facts for the dinner table

  1. 1

    It feels for food in the dark with six sensitive barbels around its mouth.2

  2. 2

    A female can lay as many as 10,000 eggs in a season.2

  3. 3

    Ecologists treat it as an indicator of good water quality.1

  4. 4

    It is one of only two loach species found in the UK; the other is the rare spined loach.3

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List
Least Concern (assessed February 2023)1
FishBase
Listed as used in public aquariums1

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Stone Loach. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

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Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

  1. FishBase: Barbatula barbatula fishbase.seused for size, max age, range, water parameters, diet, reproduction, IUCN status
  2. Wikipedia: Stone loach en.wikipedia.orgused for size, appearance, habitat, diet, behaviour, lifespan, taxonomy, fun facts
  3. The Wildlife Trusts: Stone loach wildlifetrusts.orgused for size, weight, lifespan, identification, diet, behaviour, fun fact
  4. Loaches Online: Barbatula barbatula loaches.comused for temperature, pH, hardness, diet and setup in captivity

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.