Suckers & Sucking ‘Loaches’

The sucking 'loach', Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, is a stream fish from the Mae Klong, Chao Phraya, Mekong and Dong Nai basins in Indochina. Often sold as a loach, or as the 'Indian' or 'Chinese' algae eater, it is neither a loach nor native to either country. It can live for more than 15 years and is largely unsuitable for the general community aquarium. It is farmed in large numbers, including albino, 'golden', 'piebald' and 'short-bodied' forms.

The Chinese sailfin sucker, Myxocyprinus asiaticus, is a catostomid endemic to the upper and middle Yangtze River system in China, including the Min. The only Asian member of its family, it is traded as juveniles under names such as 'Chinese banded shark', almost always without mention of an adult size of almost a metre or a lifespan of 25 years or more. Wild populations are threatened by dams, pollution, overfishing and introduced species.