Botiidae Explained

Botiidae is a family of cypriniform ray-finned fishes from South, Southeast, and East Asia. Until recently they were placed in the true loach family Cobitidae, until Maurice Kottelat revised the loaches and re-elevated this taxon to family rank in 2012.^[1] The family includes about 56 species.

The Botiids are more robust than most of their relatives in Cobitidae and tend to have a more or less arched back, yielding an altogether more fusiform shape. Botiids typically have a pointed snout of intermediate length, while many cobitids are remarkably stub-nosed.

Botiids are generally fairly small, with maximum lengths between 6cmand30cmcm (02inchesand10inchescm) depending on the species involved, although Leptobotia elongata reaches 50cm (20inches) (Chromobotia macracanthus has been claimed to reach a similar size, but this would be exceptional).^[2]

As aquarium fish

Many of the more brightly colored species are popular with freshwater aquarists, so are of importance in the aquarium trade. Botiidae often encountered in aquarium trade include:

• Clown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus
• Red-finned loach, Yasuhikotakia modesta
• Dwarf loach, Ambastaia sidthimunki
• Skunk loach, Yasuhikotakia morleti
• Yoyo loach, Botia almorhae
• Zebra loach, B. striata
• Bengal loach, B. dario
• Burmese border loach, B. kubotai

References

• Kottelat, M. (2004): Botia kubotai, a new species of loach (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from the Ataran River basin (Myanmar), with comments on botiine nomenclature and diagnosis of a new genus. Zootaxa 401: 1-18. PDF abstract and first page image
• Tang, Qiong-ying; Yu, Dan & Liu, Huan-zhang (2008): 斑纹薄鳅 (Leptobotia zebra) 应该为斑纹沙鳅 (Sinibotia zebra) ["''Leptobotia zebra'' Should Be Revised as ''Sinibotia zebra'' (Cypriniformes-Botiidae)"]. Zoological Research 29(1): 1-9 [Chinese with English abstract]. PDF fulltext

Notes and References

1. Kottelat, M. (2012): Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement No. 26: 1-199.
2. Web site: Clown loach Chromobotia macracanthus (Bleeker 1852) . 6 June 2014 . www.bollmoraakvarieklubb.org . Åhlander, Ola . 2 September 2004 . 20 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150520221941/http://www.bollmoraakvarieklubb.org/artiklar/praktbotia/clown%20loach.htm . dead .