Barbucca diabolica

Nemacheilidae

Most of the type series was collected from a series of tributaries between the settlements of Sintang and Putussibau in the upper-middle Sungai (river) Kapuas basin, Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan), Indonesian Borneo , although a single specimen originated from Johor state, Peninsular Malaysia. A possible undescribed member of the genus has been discovered in southern/eastern Thailand and one or more representatives can also be found on Sumatra. The group is quite poorly-studied at present but it's been suggested that the Malaysian populations may also turn out to represent separate species eventually.

Not much information is available - the Bornean type specimens were all found in small forest streams but no further details are given. A 1997 survey of fish species diversity resulted in the discovery of a population in the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, a mountainous, forested area covering almost 800 square kilometres. Some of the other species found there (but not necessarily inhabiting the same habitats) include Garra cambodgiensis, Mystacoleucus marginatus , Oreichthys parvus, Puntius binotatus, P. partipentazona , Danio albolineatus , Esomus metallicus , Rasbora borapetensis , R. trilineata , Pangio myersi, Acanthopsoides gracilentus, Lepidocephalichthys berdmorei , a Serpenticobitis species, Homaloptera smithi , Nemacheilus binotatus, N. platiceps, Pseudomystus siamensis , Glyptothorax spp., Parambassis siamensis , Betta prima , Trichopodus trichopterus and Tetraodon cambodgiensis. Given its characteristic swimming behaviour (see 'notes') it's unlikely to inhabit major river channels or areas of open substrate and is probably restricted to marginal zones or areas where rocks, boulders, driftwood or leaf litter collect.

40 - 50 mm.

24" x 12" x 12"/60cm x 30cm x 30cm/56.6 litres.

To see it at its best furnish the tank with a sand/gravel substrate and add some water worn rocks of varying sizes arranged to form plenty of nooks, crannies and overhangs. Driftwood roots/branches and aquatic plants can be added as well with species able to grow attached to the décor such as Microsorum pteropus, Anubias spp. and many mosses being particularly suitable. Lighting can be quite bright to aid the growth of aufwuchs which the fish appear to enjoy combing for food items. In set-ups with less water flow a few handfuls of leaf litter can look very effective and these should be allowed to decompose fully in the tank as the micro-organisms colonising them can provide a valuable food source for small fishes, plus beneficial chemicals may be released as by-products of the process.

Like many fishes that hail from running waters it's intolerant to accumulation of organic wastes and requires spotless water in order to thrive. For this reason it should never be introduced to biologically immature set-ups and adapts most easily to stable, mature aquaria. Provided oxygenation is adequate water movement is unimportant though this species is also proven to do well in a river tank-style arrangement in which a river tank manifold to provide unidirectional flow would be an excellent addition. In terms of maintenance weekly water changes of 30-50% tank volume should be considered routine.

68 - 77°F/20 - 25°C

6.0 - 7.5

1 - 10°H

Little is known of this species' natural diet although presumably it feeds on small crustaceans, insect larvae and other invertebrates. In the aquarium it's proven to accept both dried foods and live/frozen Artemia nauplii, Cyclops, etc. but anything offered must be of a sufficiently small grade.

Not especially robust and should not be kept with much larger or more competitive fishes. Miniature schooling cyprinids such as Boraras, Microdevario or smaller Danio/Rasbora species make good tankmates and if geography isn't an issue many similarly-sized characins and livebearers should also work. It can be protective of the area in which it's currently foraging in but aggression is limited to short chasing attacks rather than biting, and intruders aren't pursued into open water. In a tank with lower water flow other substrate-dwelling loaches could include Pangio or Acanthopsoides spp. while in hill stream conditions many Gastromyzon, Pseudogastromyzon and Homaloptera are suitable. Some members of the families Botiidae, Cobitidae and Nemacheilidae are also ok but proper research is essential as some can be excessively aggressive/territorial or simply grow too large. It's also proven to co-exist peacefully with open water-dwelling Yunnanilus species and small freshwater shrimp of the genus Neocaridina.

Like many loaches it's loosely territorial towards conspecifics but seems to require their presence to truly thrive. A group of six or eight specimens should be the smallest considered.

According to Roberts (1989) both sexes possess tubercules on the caudal peduncle which extend above and in front of the anal fin, a feature seen in some other balitorid genera. Both sexes can also exhibit tuberculation on the gill covers but mature males display a patch of very small tubercules around the base and rear of the eye, described by Roberts as "slightly concave, or hook-shaped".

No records exist.

Barbucca are uncommon in the trade but available periodically, and as a result of their rarity usually quite expensive. It's possible that more than one species has been exported but this is tricky to confirm in the near-absence of scientific reference material. Most of the ones we've seen possess red eyes (when viewed at certain angles), unique tuberculation and six dark body stripes as mentioned in Roberts' description although there are exceptions in the latter character at least (see images above). These fishes also exhibit a unique mode of swimming, maintaining near-continuous belly contact with solid surfaces, and often swim in an inverted or vertical position if plants/décor allow. They rarely venture into the water column and are thus commonly referred to as 'scooter' loaches.

The genus has long been considered related to nemacheilid loaches and was placed into the old grouping Nemacheilinae by Roberts (1989) and several subsequent authors. Details of its exact phylogenetic position remained unknown until 2007, when the results of an analysis grouped it alongside balitorids of which members of Pseudogastromyzon, Vanmanenia, Beaufortia, Homaloptera and Balitora were included in the study. Specimens of Barbucca from Borneo and Sumatra were found to differ from one another slightly though no comments were included, and the genus Serpenticobitis was also shown to be a member of the family Balitoridae rather than Nemacheilidae.

The family Nemacheilidae is widely-distributed across most of Eurasia with the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China representing particular centres of species diversity. It was first proposed as a genetically distinct grouping in 2006, and according to current thinking contains over 30 genera of which the most well-known in the aquarium trade are Aborichthys, Acanthocobitis, Barbatula, Barbucca, Longischistura, Mesonemacheilus, Nemacheilus, Physoschistura, Schistura and Yunnanilus. These were previously considered members of the family Balitoridae, subfamily Nemacheilinae, but phylogenetic studies have revealed that though closely related Balitorid and Nemacheilid loaches did not evolve from the same common ancestor and represent separate genetic lineages. The revised Balitoridae numbers 32 genera including some popular aquarium subjects such as Annamia, Beaufortia, Gastromyzon, Homaloptera, Liniparhomaloptera, Pseudogastromyzon, Sewellia, Sinogastromyzon and Vanmanenia species.

Literature cited

1. Kottelat, M. 1990 - Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, Germany. 262 p.
   Indochinese nemacheilines. A revision of nemacheiline loaches (Pisces: Cypriniformes) of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and southern Viet Nam.
2. Roberts, T.R. 1989 - Mem. Calif. Acad. Sci. 14: 210 p.
   The freshwater fishes of Western Borneo (Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia).
3. Šlechtová, V., J. Bohlen and H. H. Tan. 2007 - Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 44(3): 1358-1365.
   Families of Cobitoidea (Teleostei; Cypriniformes) as revealed from nuclear genetic data and the position of the mysterious genera Barbucca, Psilorhynchus, Serpenticobitis and Vaillantella.
4. Sontirat, S., S. Tunchareon and Y. Soothornkit. 2006 - Proceedings of 44th Kasetsart University Annual Conference : Fisheries, Bangkok (Thailand), p. 60-67.
   Fish species diversity in the areas of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in the five eastern provinces of Thailand.
5. Tang, Q., H. Liu, R. Mayden and B. Xiong. 2006 - Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 39(2): 347-357.
   Comparison of evolutionary rates in the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene and control region and their implications for phylogeny of the Cobitoidea (Teleostei: Cypriniformes).
6. www.loaches.com
7. www.petfrd.com