Live fish · WA only

Spotback Mountain Loach (Schistura notostigma)

A busy, patterned stream loach that loves fast, cool, clean water.

Care levelModerate

EasyModerateExpert

Water temperature20 to 24°C

18°C32°C

Adult size7cm

LivesBottom

DietOmnivore

SuitsStream tanksCool water

Spotback Mountain Loach

Schistura notostigma4.6(27)

Moderate careSemi-aggressive

$59.95each, incl. GST

Live fish delivery, WA only$35 Perth metro and Mandurah, $65 rest of WA. One fee covers your whole order, plants and dry goods included. Sent overnight on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to a street address (no PO Boxes).

Free pickup in KenwickOpen Tue to Sat, 12pm to 6pm

A busy, patterned stream loach that loves fast, cool, clean water.

Care levelModerate

EasyModerateExpert

Water temperature20 to 24°C

18°C32°C

Adult size7cm

LivesBottom

DietOmnivore

SuitsStream tanksCool water

Pairs well with this fish

Picked by our team to go with this.

About this fish

Spotback Mountain Loach is a great pick for planted aquariums, chosen for colour, movement, and personality.

Why you will love it

Snail control, River-style aquariums
Approx size in store: 4 - 5cm
Works best as a feature fish with calm tankmates
Specialist community - needs cooler, fast-flow tanks

Care requirements

Care level: Moderate
Adult size: 7 cm
Temperature: 20 to 24°C
pH: 6.5 to 7.5
Swimming level: Bottom
Minimum group size: 1
Substrate: Sand or smooth fine gravel is ideal

Feeding: Offer a varied diet. A quality staple (flake or micro-pellet) plus frozen foods (brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworm) several times per week keeps colour and condition strong. For algae grazers, include wafers and blanched veg.

Compatibility: Best with peaceful, similarly sized tankmates. Avoid fin-nippers with long-finned species and avoid aggressive fish with shy species.

Note: Not tropical community compatible

School of Scape quality: We select healthy fish and recommend acclimation and stable parameters for best results.

How your fish arrive

Packed in oxygen filled bags inside an insulated box and sent overnight by air express on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Live arrival

8 hour live arrival guarantee. If a fish arrives dead or clearly stressed from transit, contact us within 8 hours of delivery with photos of the fish in the original sealed bag, and we will replace or refund it. Freight is not refundable, and someone needs to be home to accept the delivery. Remote far north WA (Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley) is sent at your own risk.

Read the full policy

Delivery and returns

Free delivery over $100 in WA and $150 elsewhere in Australia. Free pickup from our Kenwick store, Tue to Sat, 12pm to 6pm.

Returns policy

5 stars: 18 (67%)
4 stars: 6 (22%)
3 stars: 3 (11%)
2 stars: 0 (0%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

Thriving

A few weeks in and they've coloured up beautifully. Eating everything and very active.

Good size and health

Decent size on arrival, no signs of stress and acclimated without issues.

Healthy and active

Arrived in great condition, all swimming happily within an hour of acclimating. Colours are even better than the photos. Really happy with the whole experience.

Love them

Such characters. Always grazing or out the front of the glass.

Bigger than expected

Pleasantly surprised at the size when they arrived. Strong, alert and eating within the day. Will definitely order from School of Scape again.

Beautiful fish, fast post

Couldn't be happier. Packed well, posted quickly and arrived looking fantastic.

No complaints

Healthy fish, fair price, packed with care. Exactly what you want.

Recommend

Quality fish at a fair price. Will buy again.

Lovely temperament

Peaceful and a great fit for my community setup. They get along with everything.

Will order again

Second time buying and just as good as the first. Reliable seller and healthy livestock.

Great little fish

Bright, active and curious. Always interested in feeding time.

Excellent service

Had a small concern about timing and the team responded quickly and sorted it out. Fish arrived perfect.

Perfect addition

Added these to my community tank and they fit right in. No aggression, great colour, and the delivery was quick despite living regionally.

Happy customer

Arrived safe and sound interstate. The heat pack was a nice touch given the cold snap.

Impressed

Better than my local store by a mile. Quality you can see straight away.

Very pleased

Exactly what I was after. Active, colourful and clearly healthy. Acclimation was easy with no losses.

Great

Lovely little fish, very active.

Stunning fish

Wow. Just wow. These settled into my planted tank straight away and are constantly out and about. Packaging was spot on too.

Great cleanup crew

Constantly grazing and keeping the substrate tidy. Healthy on arrival and settled in quick.

Real character

Full of personality and a great addition to my tank. Healthy and active from day one.

Beautiful colouring

Good experience

Smooth ordering and the fish were healthy on arrival. Took a couple of days to settle but totally normal.

All survived transit

Every single one made it through delivery in great shape. Carefully bagged and double boxed.

Settled in fast

Honestly impressed. Within two days they were out and about. The kids love watching them.

Top quality stock

You can really tell these are well looked after before shipping. No stress marks, no clamped fins, just healthy fish. Consistent quality every time.

So vibrant

The colours pop under my LED lights. Some of the nicest specimens I've added to my tank.

Very happy

Came packed beautifully with heat pack and plenty of oxygen. Acclimated over an hour and they're thriving. Highly recommend.