Ambastaia

The black-lined loach, Ambastaia nigrolineata, is a botiid loach from the Mekong drainage in southern China and Laos, and the Nan River in Thailand. It resembles its only congener A. sidthimunki but has a solid dark lateral stripe and another along the dorsal mid-line, with the vertical bars between them much less prominent. In Thailand it is considered endangered and appears in the national Red Book of threatened species.

The dwarf chain loach, Ambastaia sidthimunki, is a small botiid loach from the Mae Klong basin in western Thailand and the Ataran drainage in Myanmar. Older records from the Yom River, Laos and Cambodia refer to A. nigrolineata. Gregarious, it should be kept in a group of at least five or six and preferably ten or more, and reports conflict on whether it stays peaceful with sedentary or long-finned fishes.