This species is common in the hobby and also sold as 'skunk botia' or 'Hora's loach', the latter in reference to Botia horae Smith, 1931, currently considered a synonym of Y. morleti. It's similar in appearance to the rarely-seen Y. longidorsalis but can be told apart by the fact it has a dark stripe running over the dorsal surface (this giving rise to the vernacular name 'skunk loach') which is lacking in its relative.

The two can be further separated…

This species was lost to the hobby for several years prior to the turn of the century and when commercially-produced stock first came onto the market prices were very high. It’s now readily available, though, and while never particularly cheap is considerably less expensive.

The physical appearance of B. almorhae sensu stricto is something of a mystery. No pictures of live specimens appear in any scientific publications we’ve read and we’ve been unable to find a certified image of one anywhere meaning it’s possibly never been seen in the aquarium trade. Instead the most commonly available members of the nominal species grouping seem to be B. lohachata, B. sp. ‘Kosi’ and B. sp. ‘Teesta’ (see individual notes below), plus the assorted hybrids that have appeared since the turn of the century (Grant, 2007).

This species is arguably one of the most misunderstood in the hobby since it's wholly unsuitable for smaller aquaria despite its ubiquitous availability. Most retailers sell it without providing what should be considered essential information regarding long-term care and most specimens undoubtedly fail to reach their potential in captivity. The purchase of a group is also a considerable investment given that if properly cared for typical life span is in excess…