Burmese Loach Tank Mates

Burmese Loach is peaceful, so its tank mates need choosing with care. Here are the 168 freshwater species that pair well with a burmese loach — plus the 57 to avoid — with a live checker you can tune to your own tank.

By The Aquarium DB Team • Updated June 8, 2026 • Full Burmese Loach care guide →
Best matches

The best tank mates for a burmese loach

  • Ember Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Neon Green Rasbora ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Ramshorn Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 20–28 °C (68–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Red Lip Nerite Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Dawn Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2.5 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Nerite Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2.5 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Assassin Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Endler's Livebearer ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Glowlight Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Gold Ring Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Malaysian Trumpet Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 21–27 °C (70–81 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Neon Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Tail-spot Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Trinidad Guppy ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 19–24 °C (66–75 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Pygmy Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3.2 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Glowlight Rasbora ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3.5 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Blue Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 21–26 °C (70–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Emperor Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Flame Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Glowlight Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Golden Dwarf Barb ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Phoenix Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 23–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Red Phantom Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Rosy Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
With caution

Burmese Loach tank mates that can work with care

  • Afra Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • African Butterfly Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Altifrons Geophagus ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Burmese Loach is small enough to tempt Altifrons Geophagus; only risk it in a densely planted setup with hiding spots.
  • Amano Shrimp ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 5 cm · 18–28 °C (64–82 °F)
    Burmese Loach may eat Amano Shrimp or pick off its shrimplets — a densely planted tank with moss gives them a fighting chance.
  • Amazon Puffer ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 8 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Your 75 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Angelfish ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 15 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Angelicus Synodontis ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    Angelicus Synodontis may hunt Burmese Loach, fry or shrimplets — safest in a heavily planted tank.
  • Arrowhead Puffer ⚠️ With caution
    Hard care · Aggressive · 12 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Your 75 L tank is below the ~132 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

+ 107 more “with caution” pairings — see the interactive checker above.

Avoid

Fish to avoid keeping with a burmese loach

  • Wels Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 300 cm · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
    Size gap is too large (300 vs 9 cm): Wels Catfish will treat Burmese Loach as food.
  • Alligator Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 250 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Size gap is too large (250 vs 9 cm): Alligator Gar will treat Burmese Loach as food.
  • Redtail Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 120 cm · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 120 cm predatory redtail catfish — it will be eaten.
  • Fire Eel ⛔ Avoid
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 100 cm predatory fire eel — it will be eaten.
  • Clown Knifefish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Clown Knifefish (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 9 cm Burmese Loach whole.
  • Koi ⛔ Avoid
    Medium care · Peaceful · 90 cm · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
    Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 90 cm koi — it will be eaten.
  • Spotted Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    Size gap is too large (90 vs 9 cm): Spotted Gar will treat Burmese Loach as food.
  • Wolf Cichlid ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 72 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Size gap is too large (72 vs 9 cm): Wolf Cichlid will treat Burmese Loach as food.

+ 49 more to avoid — the checker above flags every one.

Interactive tool

Check any fish against a burmese loach

Dial in your exact tank size and filter by result — the checker scores every species in our database against a burmese loach, with the reasoning for each verdict.

Tank-mate checker

Will it live with a Burmese Loach?

We compare each fish against your burmese loach on temperament, size, water parameters and swimming zone. Set your tank size and filter the results.

  • Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Badis✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Brilliant Rasbora✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Keep Brilliant Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Celebes Rainbowfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 7 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Keep Celebes Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Costa's Tetra✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Keep Costa's Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Croaking Gourami✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Dwarf Gourami✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Gold Barb✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 7.5 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Keep Gold Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Golden Wonder Killifish✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Goldeneye Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Kribensis✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 25–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Molly✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 23–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Murray River Rainbowfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 11 cm · Easy care · 15–26 °C (59–79 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Keep Murray River Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Rosy Barb✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Splashing Tetra✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Keep Splashing Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Thick-lipped Gourami✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Tiger Betta✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 11 cm · Hard care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Topaz Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Afra Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Afra Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Bandit Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Bandit Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Bearded Corydoras⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Brichardi Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Rasbora⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Clown Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Convict Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 21–28 °C (70–82 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Daffodil Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Burmese Loach 6.5–7.5 vs Daffodil Cichlid 7.8–9) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Demasoni Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 9 cm · Hard care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Demasoni Cichlid in a shoal of 12+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Electric Yellow Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Giant Danio⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 20–27 °C (68–81 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Giant Danio in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Johanni Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Burmese Loach 6.5–7.5 vs Johanni Cichlid 7.8–8.6) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Johanni Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Lifalili Jewel Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Mexican Tetra⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Easy care · 18–25 °C (64–77 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Mexican Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Silver Tetra⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~115 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Silver Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Zebra Loach⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~115 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Size gap is too large (250 vs 9 cm): Alligator Gar will treat Burmese Loach as food.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Clown Knifefish (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 9 cm Burmese Loach whole.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Fire Eel⛔ Not recommended
    Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 100 cm predatory fire eel — it will be eaten.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~380 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Koi⛔ Not recommended
    Peaceful · 90 cm · Medium care · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
    • Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 90 cm koi — it will be eaten.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3800 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    • Burmese Loach is bite-sized to a 120 cm predatory redtail catfish — it will be eaten.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    • Size gap is too large (90 vs 9 cm): Spotted Gar will treat Burmese Loach as food.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
    • Size gap is too large (300 vs 9 cm): Wels Catfish will treat Burmese Loach as food.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Size gap is too large (72 vs 9 cm): Wolf Cichlid will treat Burmese Loach as food.
    • Your 75 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.

Setting up a burmese loach community tank

Give the group a stable, planted 75 L+ tank with a gentle filter, a reliable heater and plenty of cover — broken sight lines and hiding spots let mid-water and bottom dwellers keep out of each other's way. Cycle it fully and stock gradually.

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How to choose

How to choose the right tank mates for a burmese loach

As a peaceful species, burmese loach is easily bullied — favour other calm, non-nippy fish and steer clear of boisterous or aggressive tank mates. It mostly occupies the bottom of the tank, so it pairs naturally with species that use the other levels.

Burmese Loach grows to about 9 cm, so avoid tank mates small enough to be seen as food — as a rule of thumb, skip anything under roughly 5 cm. Match its water, too: aim for 22–28 °C (72–82 °F), pH 6.5–7.5 and 3–12 dGH. Fish needing very different conditions — coldwater species, or hard-water lovers against a soft-water fish — rarely thrive side by side.

Burmese Loach is a shoaling fish — stock a group of 5+ of its own kind first, then build compatible tank mates around them. Whatever you add, introduce new fish slowly, watch for bullying in the first days, and have a backup plan if temperaments clash.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a burmese loach live with other fish?

Yes — with the right companions. Our checker finds 168 compatible freshwater species for burmese loach. Pick calm, similarly-sized fish that share its water needs and add them to a mature, well-planted tank.

What is the best tank mate for a burmese loach?

Easy, peaceful, similarly-sized species top the list — for example Ember Tetra, Neon Green Rasbora, Ramshorn Snail. Use the checker above to match against your own tank size.

What fish should you avoid keeping with a burmese loach?

Avoid Wels Catfish, Alligator Gar, Redtail Catfish and similar — usually a temperature, size or temperament clash. The full "avoid" list below gives the reason for each.

How big a tank do burmese loach tank mates need?

Start from Burmese Loach's own minimum and scale up with every addition. The checker above defaults to a 75 L community tank and flags pairings that need more room — drag the slider to match your setup.

← Back to the full Burmese Loach care guide