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Encyclopedia / Loaches / Leopard sewellia
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Variations

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Leopard sewellia

Sewellia sp. 'SEW01' · Sewellia pardalis, Leopard hillstream, Sewellia, Spotted hillstream

Peaceful but territorial with its own kind.

Not yet scientifically named. It is traded as Sewellia sp. 'SEW01', the spotted Sewellia.

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8 cmBody length, without tail ✓
20–24 °CTemperature ✓
6.5–7.5pH ✓
81 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • Leopard sewellia needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Cardinal tetra is tropical.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 23–24 °C.
Not recommended
  • Leopard sewellia needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Serpae tetra is tropical.
Not recommended
  • Leopard sewellia needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while X-ray tetra is tropical.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 24 °C.
With conditions
  • Leopard sewellia will eat baby cherry shrimp. Add lots of moss and plants so some survive.
With conditions
  • Leopard sewellia will eat baby amano shrimp. Add lots of moss and plants so some survive.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

162 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓1–10 dGH
Group size ✓6 or more
Temperament ?Peaceful
Swims at ✓Bottom
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–5 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful but territorial with its own kind. Needs strong current and algae-covered rocks.

  • current
  • cool

Food

Algae wafers, frozen bloodworm, biofilm.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Seen from above, males are slimmer with a squarer snout and pectoral fins at near right angles; mature males grow rows of soft tubercles ('fences') on the first 5-6 pectoral-fin rays and on the head. Females have a broader body.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Not bred commercially ·

Sewellia are among the easiest loaches to breed in aquaria. A group on coarse, mature river gravel spawns in the open current after a cool water change; fry hide in the gravel and are raised on infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.

Pairing

Wild groups are imported; pairing is not controlled in home tanks.

Setup

Species has no reliable captive spawning method; hobby spawnings are rare and unplanned.

What starts it

Unknown in captivity; seasonal rain-type changes are suspected in the wild.

Eggs

Unknown; spawning is almost never observed in aquaria.

Raising the fry

Not documented in aquaria.

Common mistakes
  • Expecting easy home breeding
  • Keeping single fish rather than a group
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionCentral Vietnam
HabitatFast, clear, rocky hill streams
Native rangeAbout 150 km across
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The story of the leopard sewellia

A spotted hillstream loach from central Vietnam, close kin of the striped Sewellia lineolata. Sold as 'spotted' or 'special' Sewellia, it is still scientifically undescribed; the name 'Sewellia pardalis' is not a real scientific name. Needs strong flow and clean, cool-tropical water.

Sewellia pardalis was described in 2000 in a review of the genus Sewellia from Vietnam. Its leopard-like spotting makes it one of the most attractive hillstream loaches. It needs cool, well-oxygenated, fast-flowing water.

First described by Jörg Freyhof & Dmitry V. Serov in 2000. Named for 'pardalis' means 'leopard-like'.

  • Its flattened body and fins act like a suction disc.
  • It grazes biofilm from rocks.
  • Sewellia loaches occur in Vietnam and Laos.

Sources

16 facts checked with sources