Kiso

The ajime loach, Niwaella delicata, is a 'true' loach that appears restricted to river drainages of central Honshu, Japan. It lives in shallow, fast-flowing, highly-oxygenated headwaters and minor tributaries, and retreats to streams or underflows to remain dormant between October and April. In Japan it is a prized food fish. A dark stripe or row of blotches along the lateral line separates it from its congeners.