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Pond loach
The pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), also known as the Dojo loach,[self-published source?] oriental weatherloach 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.
Wild pond loaches can grow up to 12 in (30 cm) long, but may only reach a length of 6 in (15 cm) in captivity.[self-published source?] They also come in a variety of colors, such as pink, orange, albino and gray, and can vary in colour from yellow to olive green, to a common light brown or grey with lighter undersides. Like many other loaches, pond loaches have slender, eel-like body. The mouth of the loach is surrounded by three sets of barbels, which are used to sift through silt or pebbles to find food, and also to dig under gravel and sand to conceal the fish out of nervousness or self-defence, unlike the other loaches who use the spines beneath the eyes.
Pond loaches are bottom-dwelling omnivores, feeding mainly on algae or scavenging organic materials, and may also eat on tubifex worms and other small aquatic invertebrates.
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.
Unlike most other fishes, the pond loach can burrow into and hide in soft substrates, breathe atmospheric air through enteral respiration if necessary, and survive for long periods of time outside of the water. For the pond loach to survive on land for extended periods of time, it has physiological adaptations to reduce toxic ammonia concentrations in the body and maintain homeostasis and normal functioning of tissues. When on land, the pond loach can suppress protein breakdown and catabolism (which avoids creating ammonia), switch to partial amino catabolism (which creates non-toxic alanine instead of ammonia), convert ammonia to non-toxic glutamine, and get rid of ammonia by excreting it as NH3 gas. The pond loach is also relatively insensitive to ammonia, though it is not known how pond loach tissues, especially the heart and brain, are able to function at ammonia concentrations that would be lethal for other species. One hypothesis is that the pond loach may maintain normal brain cell functioning by altering the sensitivity and specificity of receptors in the brain for potassium ions, which otherwise would be overwhelmed by ammonia.
The pond loach can reproduce sexually and asexually. Although sexually reproducing diploids (2n = 50) are most common in Japan, asexual clones also occur in a few wild populations. Clonally reproducing diploid loaches produce unreduced diploid eggs that develop into identical clones (without any genetic contribution from sperm) by the process of gynogenesis. During gynogenesis, an egg is activated by a sperm that degenerates without fusing with the egg nucleous, so that the resulting embryo contains only maternal chromosomes. This asexual process involves the duplication of chromosomes by mitosis without cytokinesis prior to meiosis, i.e. premeiotic endomitosis, followed by a quasi-normal meiosis to produce diploid eggs.
Pond loaches are quite active, athletic swimmers, with their activity levels, allegedly, being influenced by oncoming storms or changes in barometric pressure (hence the name "weather" loach). They are generally active throughout the day, only resting intermittently, but become notably crepuscular and nocturnal as the day progresses, foraging and swimming more actively in the hours between sunset and sunrise. For this reason, many aquarists and keepers will adjust their fishes' communal feeding time to be in the evening, an important point to consider if cohabitating pond loaches with other species. When not resting out-of-sight, pond loaches can often be seen lying on the surfaces of larger-leaved plants (such as Anubias, Echinodorus or Nymphaea sp.), on driftwood, or on smooth rocks, and often in comedic or ridiculous positions. They may even appear lifeless, lying on their sides or back, before suddenly springing back to "life" and continuing with their routine behavior. This "playing-dead" style of rest is also well known from other related species, like the clown loach (Chromobotia macracanthus).
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 70 to 75 °F (21 to 24 °C) 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.
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Pond loach AI simulator
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Pond loach
The pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), also known as the Dojo loach,[self-published source?] oriental weatherloach 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.
Wild pond loaches can grow up to 12 in (30 cm) long, but may only reach a length of 6 in (15 cm) in captivity.[self-published source?] They also come in a variety of colors, such as pink, orange, albino and gray, and can vary in colour from yellow to olive green, to a common light brown or grey with lighter undersides. Like many other loaches, pond loaches have slender, eel-like body. The mouth of the loach is surrounded by three sets of barbels, which are used to sift through silt or pebbles to find food, and also to dig under gravel and sand to conceal the fish out of nervousness or self-defence, unlike the other loaches who use the spines beneath the eyes.
Pond loaches are bottom-dwelling omnivores, feeding mainly on algae or scavenging organic materials, and may also eat on tubifex worms and other small aquatic invertebrates.
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.
Unlike most other fishes, the pond loach can burrow into and hide in soft substrates, breathe atmospheric air through enteral respiration if necessary, and survive for long periods of time outside of the water. For the pond loach to survive on land for extended periods of time, it has physiological adaptations to reduce toxic ammonia concentrations in the body and maintain homeostasis and normal functioning of tissues. When on land, the pond loach can suppress protein breakdown and catabolism (which avoids creating ammonia), switch to partial amino catabolism (which creates non-toxic alanine instead of ammonia), convert ammonia to non-toxic glutamine, and get rid of ammonia by excreting it as NH3 gas. The pond loach is also relatively insensitive to ammonia, though it is not known how pond loach tissues, especially the heart and brain, are able to function at ammonia concentrations that would be lethal for other species. One hypothesis is that the pond loach may maintain normal brain cell functioning by altering the sensitivity and specificity of receptors in the brain for potassium ions, which otherwise would be overwhelmed by ammonia.
The pond loach can reproduce sexually and asexually. Although sexually reproducing diploids (2n = 50) are most common in Japan, asexual clones also occur in a few wild populations. Clonally reproducing diploid loaches produce unreduced diploid eggs that develop into identical clones (without any genetic contribution from sperm) by the process of gynogenesis. During gynogenesis, an egg is activated by a sperm that degenerates without fusing with the egg nucleous, so that the resulting embryo contains only maternal chromosomes. This asexual process involves the duplication of chromosomes by mitosis without cytokinesis prior to meiosis, i.e. premeiotic endomitosis, followed by a quasi-normal meiosis to produce diploid eggs.
Pond loaches are quite active, athletic swimmers, with their activity levels, allegedly, being influenced by oncoming storms or changes in barometric pressure (hence the name "weather" loach). They are generally active throughout the day, only resting intermittently, but become notably crepuscular and nocturnal as the day progresses, foraging and swimming more actively in the hours between sunset and sunrise. For this reason, many aquarists and keepers will adjust their fishes' communal feeding time to be in the evening, an important point to consider if cohabitating pond loaches with other species. When not resting out-of-sight, pond loaches can often be seen lying on the surfaces of larger-leaved plants (such as Anubias, Echinodorus or Nymphaea sp.), on driftwood, or on smooth rocks, and often in comedic or ridiculous positions. They may even appear lifeless, lying on their sides or back, before suddenly springing back to "life" and continuing with their routine behavior. This "playing-dead" style of rest is also well known from other related species, like the clown loach (Chromobotia macracanthus).
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 70 to 75 °F (21 to 24 °C) 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.