Description
Spotted Lizard Loach – A Fascinating, Bottom-Dwelling Gem for Your Aquarium
Add an exotic touch to your aquarium with the Spotted Lizard Loach (Kuhlia mugil), a fascinating and striking species known for its lizard-like appearance and playful nature. With its unique spotted pattern and dynamic behavior, this loach is an eye-catching addition to any tank, especially for enthusiasts seeking an interesting and hardy bottom dweller.
The Spotted Lizard Loach is easily recognizable by its long, slender body, adorned with distinctive dark spots across its golden-brown or light brown coloration. These loaches resemble small lizards in both shape and movement, which adds an intriguing element to your aquarium. Their bottom-dwelling nature and inquisitive behavior mean they will often be found foraging along the substrate, exploring rocks, plants, and decorations in search of food.
Although peaceful by nature, the Spotted Lizard Loach is social and thrives when kept in small groups. It’s an excellent scavenger, helping to keep the tank clean by consuming leftover food, detritus, and algae. These loaches are also fairly active, adding movement and interest to your aquarium as they swim and explore.
Key Features:
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Unique Appearance: Long, slender body with a lizard-like shape and distinct dark spots across a golden-brown or light brown background, making it a standout in any aquarium
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Curious & Active: Constantly foraging along the substrate and exploring the tank, adding a dynamic element to the bottom of the aquarium
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Peaceful and Social: A calm species that thrives in small groups, creating a lively yet peaceful aquarium atmosphere
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Natural Scavenger: A valuable cleaner, consuming leftover food, detritus, and small amounts of algae
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Hardy & Adaptable: Tolerant of various water conditions, making it suitable for most freshwater setups with non-aggressive tankmates
Care Guidelines:
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Tank Size: Minimum 30 gallons for a small group (3 or more)
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Water Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
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pH Range: 6.0–7.5
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Diet: Omnivorous – enjoys a varied diet, including sinking pellets, live or frozen foods (bloodworms, brine shrimp), and blanched vegetables
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Lifespan: 5–8 years with proper care
Tip: The Spotted Lizard Loach enjoys a tank with plenty of hiding spots, such as caves, rocks, and plants, where it can retreat when needed. These loaches are known to be more active at night, so they’re best suited for aquariums with a peaceful, low-light environment. Providing a fine or sandy substrate will allow them to sift through the bottom more easily and keep their barbels intact.
With their distinctive appearance, playful behavior, and natural cleaning abilities, the Spotted Lizard Loach makes a fantastic addition to community tanks. Its fascinating lizard-like movements and constant activity will provide plenty of entertainment, while its algae-eating habits contribute to a cleaner and healthier aquarium.
Click & Collect
FREE COLLECTION FROM OUR STORE
Place your order online and select Click & Collect at checkout.
Livestock will normally be bagged when you arrive, helping to minimise the amount of time animals spend packaged. If you’d prefer your livestock to be ready beforehand, simply contact us in advance.
Local Delivery
DELIVERED BY TROPICAL SUPPLIES • WITHIN 25 MILES
Order from our in-store range and have it delivered directly to you using our own local delivery service.
Minimum order: £50
Local Delivery Charges:
Up to 5 miles — FREE
5–10 miles — £10
10–15 miles — £15
15–20 miles — £20
20–25 miles — £25
Distances are measured “as the crow flies” rather than by road.
Once your order has been placed, we’ll contact you to arrange a suitable delivery date and time. We often combine nearby orders into efficient delivery runs, so local delivery may take a little longer during busy periods.
Ordering a large aquarium?
Please make sure someone is available to help unload the aquarium from our van when we arrive.
Dry Goods Delivery
FREE UK Delivery Over £75
Spend £75 or more on eligible dry goods and receive FREE UK delivery on orders weighing up to 20kg.
A great opportunity to stock up on food, treatments, filter media, accessories and other aquarium or reptile essentials while saving on delivery.
Free delivery applies to eligible orders up to 20kg and excludes livestock, aquariums, terrariums and other oversized items.
Qualifying orders will automatically show the FREE UK Delivery option at checkout — no discount code required.
Standard Parcel Delivery
Our standard parcel delivery charges are calculated according to the weight of your order and the available delivery service.
Orders placed before 12 noon may be dispatched the same day on our current dispatch days.
Express Pallet
75–500kg • Usually 1–3 working days
Designed for large and heavy orders that cannot be sent using our standard parcel service.
Please note: We currently dispatch parcels Wednesday to Friday.
Adding Something to an Existing Order?
If your original order hasn’t been dispatched yet, simply place the additional items as a Click & Collect order and leave us a note asking us to combine them with your existing order.
Available to Order
See something you want that we don’t currently have on the shelf? Many of our products can be quickly sourced from our suppliers.
Products marked Available to Order are not currently held in stock at our store but are available for us to order on your behalf.
Most items arrive with us within a few days and usually no longer than a week, depending on supplier availability.
Once your item arrives with us, we’ll either dispatch your order or let you know it’s ready for collection, depending on the delivery option you selected.
After receiving your order, we’ll check availability with our supplier. If there are any issues or expected delays, we’ll contact you to let you know.
Nationwide Livestock Delivery
Have your new livestock delivered safely to your door using our specialist livestock delivery service.
Minimum livestock order: £50
Thursday Delivery — £24
Order by: Wednesday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Wednesday afternoon
Delivered: Thursday before 1pm
Friday Delivery — £24
Order by: Thursday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Thursday afternoon
Delivered: Friday before 1pm
Saturday Delivery — £29
Order by: Friday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Friday afternoon
Delivered: Saturday before 1pm
Add Dry Goods to Your Livestock Order
You can include suitable dry goods with your livestock delivery, making it easy to add food, treatments, filter media, accessories and other supplies at the same time.
Please note: Livestock deliveries cannot include frozen food or heavy items such as gravel, sand or other unsuitable bulky goods. These items must be ordered separately using an appropriate delivery method.
Already Placed Your Order?
No problem. If your livestock order hasn’t been dispatched yet, place another order using Click & Collect and leave us a note asking us to combine it with your existing order.
Payment & Security
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