Schistura

Type locality is 'India: Mizoram: Muthi River, a tributary of Tuirial River in vicinity of Zemabawk, Aizawl, 23°44' 54" N 92°45'27" E', and to date this species is known only from the Muthi system. The Muthi is an affluent of the Tuirial River which is itself a tributary of the Barak watershed. The Barak is one of the great rivers of southern Assam and forms part of the Surma-Meghna River System.

This species is very rare in the aquarium trade but available on occasion. It has 8-9 darkish body bars which usually split vertically as the fish mature, and like some conspecifics possesses a prominent dorsal adipose crest on the caudal peduncle. Schistura is the most species-rich genus among...

During collections of the type series stream width was found to vary seasonally but was never wider than 9.1 metres. Water depth was 10-40 cm, flow rate 20-70 cm/s−1, and substrates comprised small to medium-sized rocks. Water temperature was seasonally variable but always within the range 20-26°C/68-78.8°F, pH was 6.5-7.9, oxygen 7.4-8.5 mg/l−1, ammonia, nitrate and total iron were 0.01, < 0.03 and < 0.5 mg/l−1, respectively, and alkalinity was aro...

This species is quite uncommon in the aquarium hobby although its name is sometimes used in reference to the similar-looking, apparently undescribed congener S. cf. balteata, and both are also traded as 'sumo loach', 'tri-banded sumo loach', and 'orange saddle-back loach'. Following Kottelat (1990) it's diagnosed by the following combination of characters: unique colour pattern consisting of two da...

Type locality is given as 'Babianjiang River, 24°20'N, 100°10'E, Jingdong County, Yunnan Province, China'. The Babianjiang joins the Mengyejiang River to form the Langmajiang River, a tributary of the Lixianjiang (Black River) within the Red River basin.

This apparently undescribed species has been available in the hobby since around 2006 and has been traded under several trade names of which others include 'tri-band sumo loach' and 'chubby loach'. The name 'Sumo II' is now in wide use to distinguish it from the real S. balteata since both have been traded as 'Sumo loach'...

Type locality is 'Tham [=cave] Phra Sai Ngam, about 200 meters from entrance, Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, Phitsanulok Province, Thailand, 16°37'22"N, 100°39'47"E', and this species is endemic to the Tham Phra Sai Ngam cave system. Tham Phra Sai Ngam is a limestone cave system about 1.7 km long and containing a subterranean stre...

This species is feisty and largely unsuitable for the general community aquarium. This is not to say it must be kept alone, rather that tankmates must be selected with care and proper research. Slow-moving or long-finned species should certainly be omitted because they're likely to struggle with the necessary level of water movement and may end up with nipped fins.

Type locality is 'Eastern Himalayas; small streams below Darjeeling and Sikkim, India', and this species is only known with certainty from upland parts of Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal states in northern India. Records from Nepal apparently require confirmation while it may also occur in Bhutan.

Can be told apart from congeners by its colour pattern which consists of 8-11 closely-set, narrow dark bars in the anterior part of the body and 5 wider bars in the posterior part. It also possesses prominent dorsal and ventral adipose crests on the caudal peduncle and 9½ branched dorsal-fin rays.

Fishes which inhabit similar biotopes in nature constitute the best options, especially peaceful, open water-dwelling cyprinids since the presence of one or two schools can make a visible difference to the confidence of this naturally reclusive loach.

It can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: caudal peduncle deep, ≥ the deepest part of the remainder of the body; no dorsal or ventral skin crests along the caudal peduncle; caudal-fin deeply forked, the outermost principal rays in the upper and lower lobes more than twice the length of the innermost: suborbital flap in males present; a well-developed suborbital groove in females; 6–8 very regular bars along the flank.

This species' conservation status clearly precludes its suitability as an aquarium fish so it's included here for reasons of interest only. It's protected by Thai national law and illegal to remove from its habitat. Species exhibiting morphological, physiological or behavioral adaptations to a subterranean existence are often referred to as troglomorphic.

This species is distributed in the middle Mekong River basin in north and northeastern Thailand, Myanmar and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, southern China, and is also known from the Nam Beng, Nam Tha and Nam Yuoan drainages in Laos. Type locality is 'Laun We (Loi Mw...

Appears restricted to highly-oxygenated, fast-flowing riffles of small-to-medium sized streams. These typically contain clear water with substrates of gravel, rocks, boulders, and bedrock with no aquatic plants.

This species is not a well-known aquarium fish but is maintained by a number of Indian enthusiasts. It can be told apart from related species by the following combination of characters as per Sreekantha et al. (2006): pectoral-fin rays 10; absence of black spot at base of dorsal-fin; presence of rows of spots on caudal-fin; lateral line incomplete; caudal-fin slightly emarginate; 11-14 vertical bars on the body.

On Koh Chang one habitat consisted of a stream flowing from the waterfall Nam Tok Mai Yom which empties into the Gulf of Thailand after less than 1 km. The stream was dry in its lower reaches and had a substrate of boulders and pebbles. Sympatric fi...

It's been considered a synonym of Schistura caudofurca (Mai, 1978) by the majority of recent authors following Kottelat (2001) but this appears to be a case of misidentification since the two species exhibit several notable differences based on their respective descriptions (Endruweit, 2010).

The type locality originally consisted of a shallow (0.5 - 1.5 m deep) stream with a substrate of rocks and boulders and flow varying from 'moderate to swift'. When the holotype was collected there in 1980 sympatric species included Acanthocobitis zonalternans, Puntius orphoides, Pethia ticto, Raiamas guttatus, Barilius barnoides, Mystacoleucus argenteus and Mastacembelus armatus plus unidentified members of Crossocheilus an...

This species is sometimes traded for aquaria but its name also appears to have been widely misapplied to other fishes. It can be identified via the following combination of characters: presence of 8-10 quite regular dark bars...

It's known from five caves in total, the others being Tham Huet, Tham Ban Louk Kow Larm, Tham Nong Pha Cham, and Tham Mae Lana. Streams flowing from these caves drain into the Nam Lang and Nam Khong rivers of the Salween drainage system, and the two easternmost caves, Tham Huet and Tham Nong Pha Cham, are both tributaries of the former.

Schistura species are omnivorous although the bulk of their diet consists of small insects, worms, crustaceans and other zooplankton with only relatively small amounts of plant matter consumed, mostly via the stomach contents of prey items. In the aquarium they will acc...

Endemic to a handful of tributary streams within the upper Chao Phraya river system in northern Thailand. Six populations are known to date, with the majority lying inside the Doi Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary. Some of its habitats are under threat by over-grazing, deforestation, deliberate forest fires, and collection for the aquarium trade.

Should not prove difficult to maintain under the correct conditions. We strongly recommend keeping it in a tank designed to resemble a flowing stream or river with a substrate of variably-sized rocks, sand, fine gravel, and some water-worn boulders. This can be further furnished wit...

This species is seen in the aquarium trade on a relatively frequent basis and is sometimes sold as 'bicolor loach' in the United States. It can be distinguished from congeners by its unique colour pattern comprising 9-10 thin, yellowish bars on a dark background in the upper part of the body, and plain whitish colouration in the lower portion.

There appears to be some discrepancy between Smith's original description and Kottelat (1990) in that Smith states the fish is a member of a group of species lacking an ocellus at the upper caudal-fin base, whereas Kottelat mentions the presence of 'a black spot at upper extremity of caudal-fin base, surrounded by a whitish area'.

The identity of this fish is somewhat unclear although it's available in the aquarium trade on an occasional basis. It's been considered to represent various species including Schistura beavani, S. montana and S. himachalensis but there exi...

The identity of this fish is unclear but it has been traded as S. sp. 'Laos redtail'. Schistura is the most species-rich genus among nemacheilid loaches with some 190 members and it continues to grow with over 100 having been described since 1990. It may repre...

The identity of this fish is unclear but it has been traded as Schistura scaturigina M'Clelland, 1839 but does not appear to be that species based on its original description plus Vishwanath and Laisram (2001). The latter describe S. scaturigina as possessing a yellowish-white body with 12 transverse, triangu...

This species has been collected for the aquarium hobby, albeit in small numbers at time of writing, but its identity is unclear. Though obtained from close to the type local...

This fish was collected for the aquarium trade during 2012 but its identity has not yet been established. The fish in our images were obtained at an unspecified locality in the Garo Hills, these for...

This fish was collected for the aquarium trade during 2012 but its identity has not yet been established. Schistura is the most species-rich genus among nemacheilid loaches with some 190 members and it continues to grow with over 100 having be...

Not a commonly species in the aquarium hobby but sporadically available in shipments of wild fishes from Thailand. Following Kottelat (1990) it's a member of a group of species possessing a complete or near-complete lateral line, 8 ½ branched dorsal-fin rays, 17 branched caudal-fin rays and lacking sexual dimorphism (the latter is not strictly true - see above). Its colour pattern is quite distinctive, howe...

This species is traded on a fairly regular basis and is similar in appearance to some congeners, most notably S. bella, S. mahnerti, S. multifasciata, S. poculi, S. reticulata, S. longa, S. conirostris and S. udomritthiruji. This assemblage has been referred to as the Schistura multifasciata 'group', and members share a...

Following Kottelat (1990) the genus Nemacheilus is characterised by a combination of characters as follows: elongate body; complete lateral line; presence of enlarged scales above and below the lateral line in some species; caudal-fin forked to deeply forked with enlarged upp...