Loach

Loach, a name applied to the members of a group of fresh-water fishes in the carp family (Cyprinidae). The mouth bears six or more barbels; the scales are small or absent; the air-bladder is more or less enclosed in bone. Most belong to the genus Nemachilus, which includes numerous carnivorous and edible forms frequenting rapid streams, and represented in Britain by N. barbatulus, called in Scotland the Beardie. It is a small fish, about 4 inches long, of a yellowish-white colour, with brown spots. The largest European form, Misgurnus fossilis, not uncommon in Germany, approaches a foot in length. A rare British species is Cobitis tenia. See Günther's Introduction to the Study of Fishes (Edin. 1880).