Family: Balitoridae
Beaufortia liui — a Balitoridae from southern Chinese mountain streams, peaceful; territorial only over a favourite stone. Reaches 6–8.8 cm; keep one per stone field, or 3+ to spread territory. 18–26 °C.
Beaufortia liui, a member of the family Balitoridae, comes from southern Chinese mountain streams, where it inhabits fast-flowing mountain streams, clinging to rocks. Peaceful; territorial only over a favourite stone and herbivorous grazer — aufwuchs, algae wafers, vegetable matter, it grows to 6–8.8 cm and adapts well to a properly set-up aquarium in the 18–26 °C range. Other Beaufortia species in our database include Beaufortia kweichowensis, Beaufortia leveretti, Beaufortia pingi.
Difficulty: moderate. Peaceful; territorial only over a favourite stone. Keep one per stone field, or 3+ to spread territory.
Hold 18–26 °C and keep it stable — 18.0–26 °C typical for the genus. Cool, highly oxygenated water.
Expect 6–8.8 cm as an adult, living bottom-dwelling on rock surfaces. A 93 L tank or larger gives it room.
Herbivorous grazer — aufwuchs, algae wafers, vegetable matter. It forages naturally over bare rock and coarse gravel, so let some food reach the bottom.
Yes, with care. Peaceful; territorial only over a favourite stone — pair it with Other cool-water stream fish — Share the need for oxygen and flow and skip Large aggressive cichlids — Disrupt the calm grazing regime.
Native to southern Chinese mountain streams, where it lives in fast-flowing mountain streams, clinging to rocks. Very strong, highly oxygenated current; Requires very high dissolved oxygen.
In the aquarium: no confirmed aquarium breeding; treat as egg-scatterer. Difficult to distinguish.