''Beaufortia kweichowensis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of gastromyzontid

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of C ...

native to rivers in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The common names for this popular

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

species are Chinese hillstream loach,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

pleco,

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

hillstream loach, and Chinese sucker fish.

Habitat

''Beaufortia kweichowensis'' can be found in fast-flowing

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

and in-land

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s in

In the aquarium

Aquarium maintenance

An aquarium that duplicates the natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of the Chinese hillstream loach is ideal since these fish require high

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

levels. They need excellent water-flow, adequate

aeration Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...

and numerous hiding places inside the

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

. Adequate

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

ing is necessary to promote

algal Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

growth in the aquarium. Other live plants, however, are not necessary although they may assist in maintaining water quality. Suitable plants for high-flow tank environments are ''

Anubias ''Anubias'' is a genus of aquatic and semi-aquatic flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical central and western Africa. They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. They are characterized by broad ...

'' species and ''

Microsorum pteropus ''Leptochilus pteropus'', synonym ''Microsorum pteropus'', commonly known as Java fern after the Indonesian island of Java, can be found in Malaysia, Thailand, Northeast India and some regions of China. It is a highly variable plant with several ...

'', which can be grown on

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

driftwood __NOTOC__ Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and fo ...

. Chinese hillstream loaches normally thrive in an aquatic environment with medium water hardness (12 dh maximum), with water temperatures from 68 °F to 75 °F (20 to 23.8 °C), and with pH readings ranging from 7.0 to 8.0. A tank size of 36" (90 cm) minimum is preferable. They can be kept in groups of three to seven. Chinese hillstream loaches can reach up to 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) in length.

Compatibility

''B. kweichowensis'' is characteristically not too aggressive an aquarium fish, but like the

Bornean Borean (also Boreal or Boralean)http://ehl.santafe.edu/EhlforWeb.pdf is a hypothetical linguistic macrofamily that encompasses almost all language families worldwide except those native to the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and the Andaman Islands. ...

'' Gastromyzon'' species, it is territorial and may engage in skirmishes or "topping", where one fish will try to cover another fish. These clashes seldom result in damage, because one fish will eventually cease from engaging in the topping behavior.

Feeding

Chinese hillstream loaches have small mouths thus necessitating the offering of good quality

fish food Aquarium fish feed is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pet fish kept in aquariums or ponds. Fish foods normally contain macronutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep captive fish in good health. Approximately ...

such as flakes, sinking pellets, algae

wafers A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light and dry biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. Wafers can also be made into cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They ...

, thawed frozen bloodworms,

mysid shrimp Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in ...

s, blanched

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

kale Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head ...

and natural algae.

Breeding

There are minimal differences between males and females in ''Beaufortia kweichowensis'' but the males often display stronger coloration. Although ''B. kweichowensis'' are not normally bred in captivity, they may reproduce in pits under rocks inside tanks that mimic riverine settings.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

#https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235810/http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/species.php?tsn=639788 #http://www.answers.com/topic/hillstream-loach

#http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=2822735 {{Taxonbar, from=Q134048 Beaufortia (fish) Fish of Asia Taxa named by Fang Ping-Wen Fish described in 1931 Gastromyzontidae