Acanthopsoides spp. are most closely related to the horse-faced loaches of the genus Acantopsis with which they often co-occur in nature, and thus commonly referred to as 'dwarf horse-face loaches'. Most are very difficult to tell apart but A. robertsi is quite easily identified since it's the only…

Juveniles of this 'species' (probably a group of species – see 'distribution') are traded in large numbers but it's still uncommon to see adult specimens in the hobby suggesting their needs are not catered for often enough. This is a shame as when maintained properly they're hardy, long-lived and interesting aquarium residents. Other trade names include 'long-nosed' and 'banana' loach. Please note although certain that more than one species is being tr…

This fish is usually traded as A. elongatus but that species appears endemic to higher altitude waters of the Brahmaputra drainage in Darjeeling District which borders Jalpaiguri to the north east. These flow down from the Sivalik Hills whereas the Raidak I originates in Bhutan. Only three species of Aborichthys have been officially described to date meaning this is likely to represent an undescribed species. It was pictured in Tekriwal and Rao (1999) under the name 'A. bijulensis' but…

Prior to description this species was considered to represent, and traded as, A. rubidipinnis, but that species is apparently endemic to the lower Irrawaddy basin in Myanmar and unknown in the aquarium hobby.

Male individuals of A. pictilis, A. botia and A. mandalaysensis possess a suborbital slit rather than suborbital flap which immediately distinguishes…

According to Kottelat (1990) the chief distinguishing characters for the genus are: possession of 9-18½ branched dorsal-fin rays; colour pattern without black basal caudal bar, but with an ocellus at upper base of caudal-fin; upper lip with or without several rows of papillae; lower lip with a broad median interruption and a widened, papillated pad on each side.

This species may be seen listed as a member of Nemacheilus or the nomen nudum Noemacheilus in older literature and is sometimes sold as 'red tailed, striped sand loach' or 'red tailed squirrel loach'.

Only two other Aborichthys have been described to…

Traditionally considered to be a micropredator feeding on insect larvae and suchlike (Rainboth, 1996), but a study by Herder and Freyhof (2006) revealed adult A. normani inhabiting the Duc My River in central Vietnam to be specialised grazers of cyanobacteria. In rapids the latter form hard encrustations on rock surfaces from which adults are able to bite chunks.

This species isn’t common in the trade but occasional specimens may be found among shipments of wild caught fishes from northeast India, and it’s sometimes seen on sale as ‘pan…

During winter months N. delicata retreats to streams or underflows where it remains dormant between October and April (Kano, 2000) before emerging to spawn. Other species living alongside it in nature include Rhinogobius flumineus, Cottus pollux and Phoxinus spp.

Niwaëlla is closely related to Cobitis and N. delicata, also the type species, was described as C. delicata (Niwa, 1937). The combination of characters used to tell it…

This apparently undescribed species has been available in the hobby since around 2006 and has been traded under several trade names of which others include ‘tri-band sumo loach’ and ‘chubby loach’.

The name ‘Sumo II’ is now in wide use to distinguish it from the real S. balteata since both have been traded as ‘Sumo loach’…