Loach Size List

[The-Wolf]

Hi all
Here is my latest size list. I have kept this list to loaches of the botia(or ex botia) family.
I plan on doing sand loaches and hillstream loaches at a later date.
I hope you find this usefull.
If there are any ommissions that you think need adding, please feel free to mention them or
add your own listing in your reply.

Botia sidthimunki 5.5 cm / 2.17 " Dwarf or Chain loach*
Botia nigrolineata 8 cm / 3.15 " Backline loach*
Botia caudipunctata 9 cm / 3.54 " Speckletail loach
Botia morleti 10 cm / 3.94 " Skunk loach
Botia splendida 10 cm / 3.94 " Splendid loach
Botia striata 10 cm / 3.94 " Zebra loach
Syncrossus reversa 10.3 cm / 4.06 " Reverse loach***
Botia eos 11 cm / 4.33 " Sun loach
Syncrossus berdmorei 11 cm / 4.33 " Blyth's loach***
Botia birdi 11.3 cm / 4.45 " Birdi loach
Botia histrionica 11.7 cm / 4.61 " Gold Zebra loach
Botia lecontei 15 cm / 5.91 " Silver loach
Botia dario 15.1 cm / 5.94 " Queen loach
Botia kubotai 15.5 cm / 6.10 " Polkadot loach
Botia lohachata 15.5 cm / 6.10 " Reticulate loach**
Botia robusta 18 cm / 7.09 " Robust loach
Botia rostrata 20 cm / 7.87 " Two Stripe loach
Botia almorhae 20.33 cm / 8.00 " Almorae loach**
Syncrossus hymenophysa 21 cm / 8.27 " Green Tiger loach***
Botia modesta 25 cm / 9.84 " Orange Finned Blue loach
Syncrossus beauforti 25 cm / 9.84 " Beaufort's loach***
Syncrossus helodes 30 cm / 11.81 " Tiger loach***
Chromobotia macracanthus 30.48 cm / 12.00 " Clown loach***
Leptobotia elongata 50 cm / 19.69 " Royal Clown loach

* These two loaches are very similar in looks. They can be determined by B.sidthimunki having a joining line between the dark bands, hense the other common name chain loach. B.nigrolineata doesn't or has the joining lines very faint and/or broken.

** The Reticulate loach and the Almorae loach are both sold as Yoyo/Pakistani loach
see This topic for my explanation of this confusing matter.

*** These are now the correct valid taxa, although it is still acceptable to refer to them as botias.

 

[mikev]

Wolf,

IMHO, What we really need is a loach subforum where your list is pinned.

 

[The-Wolf]

I too think it is time for loaches to split from this forum, but that is upto the admin.
perhaps if we could show that there is an overwhelming call for it?

 

[mikev]

Notice that the Catfish section of TFF greatly improved once they split off Plecos and Cories. I don't think that Loaches are any less deserving.

 

[mikev]

I think you got Kubotai wrong.

Your list:
Botia kubotai 15.5 cm / 6.10 " Polkadot loach
Fishbase:
8.5 cm

Watching mine growing, I'm fairly sure that fishbase is right.

 

[diademhill]

I think you got Kubotai wrong.

Your list:
Botia kubotai 15.5 cm / 6.10 " Polkadot loach
Fishbase:
8.5 cm

Watching mine growing, I'm fairly sure that fishbase is right.

My kubotai have grown from 3cm to 6/7 cm in about a year so they are going to get bigger than 8.5cm

Clowns - I've had them grow over 12" & mine were 14" at 25 years old.
I've seen a 12"+ modesta.
(all sizes SL)

Sue

 

[mikev]

Clowns - I've had them grow over 12" & mine were 14" at 25 years old.

Wow!!!! I want to hear more one day....

I'm taking back what I said about Kubotai:
http/www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_sp_myanmar.html
mentions a 5" fish.
(My kubotai (two largest) are currently at about 2.5" (after close to a year) with very minimal growth now...it is very hard to believe that they would ever reach anything like 6"...I guess they will.)

The other possible problematic entry: rostrata. LOL people claim that the entry on fishbase is erroneous and 3"-4" is about right *for the average adult size*, so 8" may be too high.

 

[mikev]

One more thing on the two Yoyo-species (in case you did not see my post before).

I have five baby Yoyo's right now, all started at about 1" back in January. Right now the largest two are at about 2.5" (!!!), and the other three are perhaps 2". The two largest also have deeper bodies.

Now, the funny thing is that the smaller three are all "standard Yoyo's", while the largest two have a different pattern -- not YOYO, and not the same as your picture from the other thread.

Of course, 5 loaches is insufficient statistics, but still makes me wonder....maybe more than 2 species?

 

[The-Wolf]

of course this list, like all my lists, is subject to different opinons gained from different sources.
I have not intended for any of these lists to be "cannon" they are a guide, and a rather good one at that
(even if I do say so myself ).
I will happily amend any of my lists, if you can prove you have fish larger than the stated sizes.
(photo against measuring stick would be nice, or a link to a recognised and varified scientific study).

I have heard of clowns that have reach 14+" but have been unable to varify this anywhere on the net
the closest I came accross was on a Japanese site, and through the garbled translation it mentioned growth hormones, so I decided it was not a natural event.

 

[diademhill]

of course this list, like all my lists, is subject to different opinons gained from different sources.
I have not intended for any of these lists to be "cannon" they are a guide, and a rather good one at that
(even if I do say so myself ).
I will happily amend any of my lists, if you can prove you have fish larger than the stated sizes.
(photo against measuring stick would be nice, or a link to a recognised and varified scientific study).

I have heard of clowns that have reach 14+" but have been unable to varify this anywhere on the net
the closest I came accross was on a Japanese site, and through the garbled translation it mentioned growth hormones, so I decided it was not a natural event.

My clowns go back to long before the net but the Shedd aquarium in Chicago has some biggies on display. Mine were kept in a 4'x2'x1.5' tanks from 2" -5" then moved to a 6x2x2 tank. They were given to a local public aquarium when I moved house having had them for ten years. The two survivors were the ones that made 14" last I saw of them. (measured against my forearm & checked with a tape later that day)
(funny how public aquaria have no room for donated fish when people offer things like redtail cats & pangasius but can always find space for large community fish )

Few clowns are given any chance of reaching their potential though -I'm moving again soon & have a clown loach tank planned - 9'x2'x3'wide B)

 

[TammyLiz]

I would like to put my vote in for a seperate forum. Loaches really aren't much like tetras!

Botia rostrata 20 cm / 7.87 " Two Stripe loach

I just got two loaches and I believe this is what they are, they're under 2" long right now.
I spoke to some people on another forum and two members saw my pictures and said they had the same loaches. They had their loaches for one year, and two years, and it seems both groups have slowed growth at 3 inches (7.6cm). I have read elsewhere on the net that they max out a 3-4 inches. Not saying you have to change your list just yet but thought I'd add the info.
Here are pictures of mine for ID. Remember these are juveniles and their adult markings will most likely be different.

If we're both still around the forum in a couple of years I'll let you know how it goes.

Tammy

 

[mikev]

One has to be careful with this entry.

Fishbase (usually accurate) does state 20cm for rostrata, and the entry is coordinated by Kottelat, who did a lot of work on loaches. Fishbase link is:
http/www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSum...esname=rostrata
Notice that the species occurs in a wide region, including India, Bangladesh and a part of China, and -- as usual with loaches -- may have regional variations. Some species continue growth after 2 years (cf. Clowns). Finally, we really don't know how many species are in the yoyo cluster.

So I'm not so sure that LOL people were right; there may be a 20cm specimen somewhere.


BTW, if the brown line on your lower picture becomes a little stronger, this loach will become a Kubotai...

 

[The-Wolf]

this is all good stuff and I am taking it into consideration.
I myself have 5 b.rostrata and I can say from personal
experiance they are the slowest growing loaches I've ever had.

I really do think that fishbase, on this occasion, has got it totally wrong.
I will continue to search the net and maybe dust off my Banesch volumes to
try and get a more "accurate" or at least consistant size.

 

[TammyLiz]

Wonderful. Let me know what you find. I have searched the net a bit and found the problem with this kind of thing is that people just quote each other and unless you find someone saying "Here is a picture of mine. It has lived for 10 years and it stopped growing at ___ ", then you really can't be sure. But I'm sure you already know that.)

Mike, I don't know why it looks like there is a brown line in that third pic. I increased the contrast on that one a little bit because the fish was near the back of the tank so it was not very clear. That may be why. The first one is most accurate on the color. I wouldn't mind if they were kubotai, though. I agree that the LOL people are surely wrong on some things. That just makes keeping the loaches more fun so we can make some discoveries of our own. And so can they. For now they're the best source I've found for information on some of the botia species. TBH their site was the first place I had seen fully grown clown loaches.

EDIT: I have to admit that the picture that they have on fishbase for rostrata look a lot like mine.

 

[mikev]

Mike, I don't know why it looks like there is a brown line in that third pic

Tammy,

It is interesting that this line is very much like in Kubotai's. You know, sometimes photos show something we cannot see otherwise. For example, with my hillstreams, I cannot see the barbels on the fish -- they are really too light and too small. But I can see them on the photo.

Kubotai's and Rostrata's are closely related (but, according to the recent genome study, they are not the nearest relatives; Kubotai's are much closer to Histrionica.)

Oh, btw, Wolf: the same study seems to prove that Botia almorhae is not the same as Botia lohachata, among other things.