Weather loach are an invasive species in Australia, especially in rivers like the Murray.

"The weather loach are an invasive species that were introduced to rivers as ornamental releases," Lee Baumgartner, an executive director and professor of Fisheries and River Management at the Gulbali Institute of Charles Sturt University in Australia, told Newsweek. "They are sold in aquarium shops as an ornamental species, but owners have introduced them to our rivers. Over time they have established wild populations."