Botia

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).

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...

Adult patterning of the different geographical forms can vary considerably though young specimens all possess 5 solid dark bars on each flank and are often confused with those species exhibiting a similar juvenile pattern, particularly B. kubotai. However the horizontal dark bars on the flanks in B. kubotai typically split at quite a young age and/or develop horizontally-orientated 'peaks' whereas those in B. histrionica remain solid for longer and the central bar usually has a pale spot at the top so forms a 'y' shape.

Appears to be endemic to headwaters of the Salween River basin around the border between Myanmar and Thailand. The type specimens were collected from the Megathat Chaung (Megathat stream) in the upper Ataran (known as the Kasat in Thai) River basin, Kayin/Karen State, Myanmar and another population was later discovered in the Hanthayaw River (Suriya in Thai), Tak Province, Thailand.

Within the nominal species grouping suggested by Grant (2007) almost all B. rostrata sold in the hobby are B. sp. 'upper Brahmaputra' with B. rostrata sensu stricto rarely, if ever, available. Trade names include 'Gangetic loach', 'twin-banded loach' and 'ladder loach'. The defining characters of the group are "Pattern consisiting of 8-10 black to dark brown body bars that exhibit pale and numerous spots in juveniles, and in adults the bars can anast...

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...

Known only from the Tanintharyi River drainage in Tanintharyi (previously Tenasserim) Division, southern Myanmar. Tanintharyi lies on the Kra Isthmus and the river bisects the central zone north-to-south before emptying into the Andaman Sea at Mergui/Myeik. This area is not easy to access for fish collectors due to occasional conflict between the Myanma...