Genus · Loaches

Indoreonectes

Indoreonectes is a genus with 5 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Loaches section, recorded from India. Adult sizes run from 1.5 in to 2 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
5
Adult sizes
1.5–2 in
IUCN assessed
5 of 5 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
India

About the genus

Indoreonectes is a small genus of stone loaches in the family Nemacheilidae, restricted to freshwater streams in India. The atlas covers 5 species, all quite small at roughly 1.5–2 in, including Indoreonectes evezardi and the more recently described Indoreonectes keralensis, Indoreonectes rajeevi, and Indoreonectes telanganaensis. Like other nemacheilids, they are slender, elongate, scaleless or fine-scaled bottom dwellers with a subterminal, sucker-adapted mouth and barbels used to feel out small invertebrate prey among gravel and stone in flowing water.

This genus has essentially no presence in the aquarium hobby; it is known almost entirely from regional ichthyological surveys and species descriptions rather than trade. The mix of one Least Concern, one Vulnerable, and three Not Evaluated species in the atlas is typical of small-range Indian stream loaches, where new species are still being described from restricted drainages and formal conservation assessment often lags behind taxonomic discovery. Data on population trends, precise habitat requirements, and threats for most Indoreonectes species remain sparse.

The genus name signals its Indian range and its placement alongside the related genus Nemacheilus in ongoing efforts to resolve the taxonomy of South Asian stone loaches, a group where morphology-based species boundaries continue to be refined as more streams are surveyed.

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable · 1 Least Concern · 1 Not Evaluated · 3

The 5 species

Every Indoreonectes recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

(Day, 1872)

Evezard's loach

1.5 in SL · LC

Kerala Loach, Cardamom Hills River Loach

VU

Kumkar, Pise, Gorule, Verma & Kalous, 2021

NE

Kumkar, Pise, Gorule, Verma & Kalous, 2021

2 in SL · NE

Prasad, Srinivasulu, Srinivasulu, Anoop & Dahanukar, 2020

NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Indoreonectes. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/indoreonectes/

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