This species is also sold under the vernacular names 'golden Chinese loach' and '12-banded Chinese loach'. Along with S. pulchra it's the most commonly-traded member of the genus, and the two are often imported in mixed batches, presumably because they occur and are thus collected together in nature.

This species is sometimes confused with S. hymenophysa, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and Peninsular Malaysia, but differs in several ways, the most immediately identifiable of which are possession of small, irregular, dark markings in the lower half of the body and lack of a dark spot in the dorsal-fin. It also has 10-12 vertical body bars…

Following Grant (2007) this species is included in the B. dario complex of closely-related species within the genus alongside B. striata. They're characterised by body patterning consisting of a base yellow to golden colour with 7-9 blue, green, grey or black body bars usually with thinner, lighter bars between. In some individuals the…

Y. eos isn't as commonly-traded as it once was but is still available occasionally. It's difficult to confuse with any other member of the genus due to its colour pattern consisting of yellow to reddish brown base body colour (can appear greyish in some specimens, especially post-import or when introduced to a new aquarium) with a metallic green/blue golden sheen and large darkish marking on either side of the caudal peduncle. The fins can be yellowish to reddish, and the dorsal and c…

Interestingly some observations suggest that the character of the highest-ranked, or alpha, fish appears to affect that of the whole group though it must be said that scientific studies of botiid loach behaviour are virtually non-existent. It certainly seems that they display a degree of ‘personality’ with some specimens being naturally bolder/more aggressive than others. The alpha is normally the largest specimen within the group and often female.

Sound also appears to be an important factor in communication since these loaches are able…

This species is very similar in appearance to S. berdmorei which is native to India and Myanmar, and has been widely mislabelled under that name in older aquarium literature. The two can appear identical on first glance but there are some notable differences, most obviously possession of 9-10 branchedrays in S. beauforti vs. 11-14 in S. bermorei, and the fact that even young specimens of S. beauforti exhibit laterally-orientated rows of small, dark markings running across the …

This species is one of the more commonly-encountered botiids in the hobby and is also sold as ‘blue’, ‘orange-finned’, or ‘red-finned’ botia/loach. It’s sometimes subject to artificial colouring with bright blue or purple dyes and we strongly recommend you do not purchase such fish (they’re illegal in several countries).

This species is sometimes confused with Y. modesta though in reality the two are readily distinguishable from one another by body shape since Y. lecontei is a slimmer, more elongate fish.

Further, in Y. lecontei the overall body colouration is usually brownish with a gold/green sheen and the dark markings…

In a survey of fish diversity in the Bhadra River (which joins the Tunga to form the Tungabhadra) it was recorded alongside numerous other species including Puntius chola, Balitora mysorensis, and Mystus armatus. Dry season water paramaters were temperature 69.8°F/21°C, pH 7.0, hardness ~ 2.5°.

The substrate was composed of bedrock, boulders, cobbles, gravel, sand and leaf litter in descending order of abundance with a maximum depth of around…

This specie is relatively rare in the aquarium trade and much sought after by enthusiasts as a result.

It looks relatively similar to A. sidthimunki but according to the original description by Kottelat and Chu (1987) can be told apart by colour patterning which uniquely consists of a solid da…