Genus · Loaches

Mustura

Mustura is a genus with 10 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Loaches section, recorded from India and Myanmar. Adult sizes run from 1.5 in to 4 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
10
Adult sizes
1.5–4 in
IUCN assessed
10 of 10 · 2 threatened
Recorded from
2 countries

About the genus

Mustura is a genus of small stone loaches (family Nemacheilidae) restricted to fast-flowing hill streams of northeastern India and Myanmar, part of a wider group of nemacheilid genera that carve up the region's stream-loach diversity by drainage. Many of its species were only formally distinguished from the area's larger, wider-ranging stone-loach genera in fairly recent taxonomic work, which is typical of this heavily under-surveyed corner of the Himalayan foothills. Atlas species are small and slender, running roughly 1.5–4 in, with the elongate, cylindrical body and reduced scaling that let stone loaches hug the substrate and hold position against strong current.

Mustura has no real presence in the aquarium hobby; it is known almost entirely to regional ichthyologists and loach specialists rather than the trade. Data are sparse across the genus - most atlas species are Not Evaluated for conservation status - but the one Vulnerable and one Endangered listing among the handful that have been assessed point to real pressure on narrow-range hill-stream habitat in a region facing extensive hydropower development.

IUCN Red List: Endangered · 1 Vulnerable · 1 Not Evaluated · 8

The 10 species

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

Lyu, Lin & Chen, 2026

1.5 in SL · NE

Kottelat, 2018

NE

(Lalramliana, Lalhlimpuia, Solo & Vanramliana, 2016)

1.5 in SL · NE

Rameshori, Chinglemba, Darshan & Vishwanath, 2022

3 in SL · NE

(Das & Darshan, 2017)

2 in SL · NE

(Hora, 1921)

4 in TL · VU

(Menon, 1987)

2 in SL · EN

Choudhury, Das, Bharali, Sarma, Tyagi, Lal & Sarma, 2021

NE

Chinglemba, Rameshori & Vishwanath, 2021

2 in SL · NE

(Tamang & Sinha, 2016)

2 in SL · NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Mustura. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/mustura/

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