[2][better source needed] Sewellia lineotola is found in shallow, fast-flowing, highly oxygenated tributaries and headwaters that contain stretches of riffles broken up by pools or sometimes waterfalls.

Inhabited substrates are normally composed of gravel, bedrock and sand among stretches containing boulders, surrounded by well-developed riparian vegetations but with fewer aquatic plants present.

[2][better source needed] In the aquarium, fish flakes, mini pellets, and algae wafers can also be added to the diet, along with bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and tubifex.

[3][better source needed] Tiger Hillstream Loaches, Sewellia lineolata, have especially developed fins to attach themselves to rocks and flat areas in their naturally fast moving rivers and streams.

For them to survive and be happy they need strong currents plus abundant oxygen, numerous rocky hiding places and smooth pebbles and boulders to graze over.