Dwarf loach

Dwarf loach
Dwarf loach
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cobitidae
Subfamily: Botiinae
Genus: Yasuhikotakia
Species: Y. sidthimunki
Binomial name
Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki
(Klausewitz, 1959)

The dwarf loach, ladderback loach, pygmy loach, chain loach or chain botia,[2] Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki (formerly Botia sidthimunki), is a popular freshwater tropical fish in aquariums belonging to the Cobitidae family.

Contents

Size and habitat

The dwarf loach can grow up to 5 cm (2 in) in length.[3] It prefers water with temperature 25 - 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), pH 6.5 to 6.9 dGH to 8.0. It is omnivorous, with a diet including live crustaceans, insects, snails, etc.

The dwarf loach is found in the Mae Klong River and the Khwae Noi River in western Thailand. This species is endangered and is a protected species in Thailand. It was thought to be extinct in the wild until recently rediscovered in Sangkhla Buri. While they disappeared from the wild, it remained in the aquarium trade because of artificial breeding by private fish farms for over 3 decades.

The fish was discovered by Somphong Lekaree (สมพงษ์ เล็กอารีย์) and Damri Sukaram (ดำริ สุขอร่าม) in 1959. Lekaree was an aquarium fish exporter while Sukaram was a fisherman for aquarium trade.[4]

The binomial name of this fish is in honor of Aree Sidthimunk (Thai: อารีย์ สิทธิมังค์), a researcher at Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture.

Related species

Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata at about 7cm SL

The dwarf loach closely resembles Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata, another Thai protected species, especially when the fish is fully grown. The difference is easily seen when the fish is still small. Juveniles of Y. sidthimunki have dotted patterns while Y. nigrolineata have horizontal lines on them. Furthermore the chain pattern of Y. sidthimunki develops in fish at a smaller size.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kottelat, Maurice (1996). Botia sidthimunki. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 21 March 2007.
  2. ^ The CassiDietsch Zoo Loach Name Game
  3. ^ Dwarf Loach (Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) — Loaches Online
  4. ^ Kittipong Jaruthanin (story) and Kamphol Udomritthiruj (photo), ตามรอย... "หมูอารีย์" สัตว์สงวนแห่งสยาม (Following the trail of... "Dwarf Loach" protected fauna of Siam), Fish Zone, Vol. 3 Issue 24 (15 May - 15 June 2002)
  5. ^ Loaches Online - Botia sidthimunkis vs Botia cf. nigrolineatas (Archived 4 December 2004 at web.archive.org)

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