Loach

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New Horizons fish

Catfish (18) →

New Horizons fish
← (16) Freshwater goby	→ Catfish (18)

Loach
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Cobitis biwae (Japanese striped loach) Family: Cobitidae (true loaches)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ドジョウ  미꾸라지  Cobite  Bachschmerle  泥鳅  Loche d'étang  Locha  Modderkruiper  泥鰍  Loche d'étang  Locha  Вьюн

The loach is a river fish in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori. It appears as a small shadow that can be found in rivers all day exclusively during spring.

Catch details

In the first-generation games

#11

"I caught a loach! You don't suppose it's Hylian, do you?"

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	Mar – May
Time of day	All day
Location	River
Shadow size	Tiny
Selling price	300 Bells
Feng shui	None
Furniture size

In Wild World

#14

"I caught a loach! I'm in the loach coach!"

Description	Sucker-shaped mouths help them bottom-feed. To control their vertical position in the water, they inhale air and pass gas. Shocking!
Time of year	Mar – May
Time of day	All day
Peak times	Mar – Apr
Location	River
Shadow size	Tiny
Fish size	20 cm
Selling price	300 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#14

"I caught a loach! Don't encroach on my loach!"

Description	These use their whiskers to taste the environment and search for food.
Time of year	Mar – May
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	About 8 in.
Selling price	300 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#16

""I caught a loach! It wasn't hard to approach!""

Time of year	Mar – May
Time of day	All day
Peak times	Mar – Apr: 9 AM – 4 PM
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	20 cm
Selling price	300 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#16

Availability (Pocket Camp Complete)	Spring
Former availability (Pocket Camp)	Not currently available 2018-04-17 – 2019-12-27 2020-03-27 – 2020-06-29 2021-03-26 – 2021-06-29 2022-03-24 – 2022-06-23
Location	Lost Lure Creek
Shadow size	Small
Size	16.7 cm – 23.3 cm
Rarity	★★★
Selling price	1,500 Bells
Version added	Unknown
Villager gift data	Tier: 3 (Uncommon+) Rewards:  1,500 Bells Fortune cookie (20%) +3 Friendship points

In New Horizons

#17

"I caught a loach! It's...looking at me with reproach."

Time of year	North: Mar – May South: Sep – Nov
Time of day	All day
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Rarity	Common
Spawn requirement	Appears from the start of the game
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  400 Bells  C.J.:  600 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

The loach can be donated to the museum by talking to Blathers. During the donation, Blathers will say the following about the loach:

In Animal Crossing

"Even run-of-the-mill, common fish are valuable resources, you see. All part of the grand tapestry, wot!"

In Wild World

"When I hear loach, I think of a friend of mine who makes smoothies of them. It sounds repellent, I know and to be honest, it is. Hop I say! The stench!"

In City Folk

"The loach is a slippery, somewhat vile-looking fish...but in truth, it can be quite useful, wot? For ages, some cultures used the loach as a poison treatment. It also tastes great in a hot pot... A bit of wisdom for the day, eh wot? One must never judge a person, or a fish, by its appearance..."

In New Leaf

"Loaches are rather small fish that make their habitats in rivers and muddy water. They have 10 whiskers around their mouths with taste buds built in for tasting sweetness and bitterness. Loaches can breathe through their intestines as well as their gills―a rather unique quality of the species. They push their mouths above the surface of the water to inhale, exhaling through their tail regions. Making stew with loaches and burdock root is known to improve stamina, or so people believe."

The loach can be found in the leftmost tank of the freshwater fish room.

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"Loaches are a large group of bottom-feeding freshwater fish. Because there are so many species, it is difficult to generalize about them all. The one thing they all have in common is perhaps their most unappealing trait; the name 'loach.' Repellent, isn't it? They should have just called it the 'cockloach' and been done with it, eh wot! Loach...loach... It just tastes terrible in the beak."

The loach can be found in the recessed tank in the freshwater room in the aquarium with the catfish and bluegill.

Fishing Tourney

During a Fishing Tourney, when given a loach, Chip will say the following dialogue.

In City Folk

"That reminds me... Loach stewed with veggies makes for a mean meal! Yup! Nyuuuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

In New Leaf

"That reminds me. Loach stew with veggies makes for a mean meal! Er, assuming you eat your veggies. I mean, I'm just gonna go for raw myself! You know me! YUM!"

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing

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  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A real-life true loach

It is unclear what type of loach appears in Animal Crossing, since there are vast varieties of loaches. It is, however, a member of the Cobitidae family of loaches, called the True loaches, which live in fast flowing waters. All true loaches are "bottom feeders," meaning they swim at the bottom of freshwater bodies, using their sensitive barbels to search for worms, snails, algae and other small invertebrates to feed on. Under true loaches, it is most likely a Japanese striped loach which grows to roughly 14 cm (5.5 inch).

Names in other languages

	ドジョウ Dojou	Loach
	미꾸라지 Mikuraji	Loach
	泥鳅 Níqiū	Loach
	泥鰍 nai4cau1	Loach
	Вьюн V'yun	Loach
	Modderkruiper	Loach (lit. "Mud crawler")
	Bachschmerle	Loach
	Locha	Loach
	Loche d'étang	Pond loach
	Cobite	Loach

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

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