This species is rare in the aquarium trade, increasingly so in nature and as a result prohibitively expensive when available. Given its adult size and probable longevity this is therefore a species for the specialist possessing the necessary time, money and dedication to house it long term.

The distribution records for this species are somewhat confusing. It was described from the confluence of the Lamatang and Enim rivers, Palambang Province, Sumatra and has since been recorded from Thailand (Chao Phraya River), Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang River) plus the islands of Java (Solo River) and Borneo (Kapuas and Barito rivers).

This species is available sporadically and makes an excellent choice for those new to keeping loaches. It’s distinguishable from congeners by a combination of characters including: truncate/rounded caudal-fin; no scales on top of head; dark, squarish spots o…

This species differs from congeners in the presence of papillae covering the mouthparts (lips, barbels, and lobes) which are absent in other species. It’s also the largest species in the genus and the serrae on the second pectoral fin rays in males form a broa…

We’re unaware of this species having yet appeared in the aquarium trade although a few private collectors have experience with it. Among congeners it uniquely possesses a simple suborbital spine and further differs from K. pristes by: smaller adult size (13.5 mm SL vs. 40); presence of a long nasal barbel (vs. absence); anatomy of the modified second pectoral ray in males (6-7 fine, narrow serrae vs. 8-11 pointed, anteriorly-orientated serrae). In K. hipporhynchos the serrae on the second pectoral ray in males form a broad, contiguous blade-like structure but other differences are the same as for K. pristes.

The genus Kottelatlimia was erected by Nalbant (1994) to accommodate K. katik which had previously been assigned to Lepidocephalichthys but differs in various aspects noted earlier by Kottelat and Lim (1992) including: relatively small adult size; scaleless…

As far as we know this species is yet to arrive to the international aquarium trade though it has been maintained by a handful of Indian aquarists.

It’s restricted geographical range and difficulty of collection mean it’s unlikely to become available in numbers unless adopted by commercial breeders.

The family Cobitidae, often referred to as ‘true’ loaches, is widely-distributed across most of Eurasia with the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China representing particular centres of species diversity.

Phylogenetic analyses by Tang et al. (2006), Šlechtová et al. (2007) and Šlechtová et a…

This species is traded as S. sp. ‘rainbow’, S. sp. ‘gold fin’, or S. sp. ‘gold cheek’ and is among the more widely-available members of the genus although its identity was unclear prior to 2013.

The most commonly-traded fish certainly appears to…

Type locality is given as ‘Kuala Tahan, Pahang (King George V National Park)’ which corresponds to the village of Kuala Tahan in Pahang state, central Peninsular Malaysia.

The settlement is located at the confluence of the Tahan and Tembiling Rivers which form part of the Pahang river basin, while the national park was re…