Species spotlight- Micronemacheilus cruciatus (Dwarf zebra hovering loach)
The Micronemacheilus (dwarf hovering loaches) were recently reclassified from Yunnanilus to Micronemacheilus, and were just too adorable to resist photographing today. They are a really fun little critter, hovering mainly in the mid-water section of the tank. They are a small species, the females at maturity being slightly larger than the males, at about 1.3″. They are easy to feed, readily taking live, frozen, or dried foods. They do wonderful with other small, peaceful species like Danios, Boraras, Trigonostigma, etc. They are the fish that made me start keeping loaches in my fish room, as they are not snail eaters. I have kept them in with shrimp colonies, though they do predate upon small, newly hatched shrimp. Hovering loaches love a planted tank, and are not as shy as some of the other species, especially when kept in groups of 8 or more. All in all, this is probably my favorite loach species due to their outgoing personality, cute patterning, and ease of husbandry.