Loaches Online Forum

I must apologise for calling this article really Robusta ,oops , i meant Rostrata , iv'e since edited this error , SORRY all !

Just curious Mikev, are you for or against crosses ? or indifferent ? personally i abhor it ! though a good friend of mine , who collects Synos , will keep both true fish and hybrids , so i guess its different strokes for different folks .

Hi all, Emma, i can fully understand any reluctance to tackle Rostrata , especially with there being other similar fish i.e. Birdi , Dayi, etc , oh and the one that comes in with Histrionica ! Graeme , i must say that fishbase pic ,does look like the preserved specimen of B.Birdi, also i will ask th...

HiEmma , iv'e just looked on fish base , there is a pic of a Rostrata ! it looks different to the Indian export ! i think its from China ? i remember a number of years ago i had the Rostrata/ Geto ,Indian export up to about 4 inches S L , and to be honest they didnt alter ,in the face that is , look...

Hi Emma, to be honest i'm not too sure if there are any photo's of Rostrata ? there are line drawings , and according to my mate, the nose is long , i'm genuinly not sure ,but does rostrata mean long snouted ? rostrum ? i dont know what you think but , i wouldnt say the Rostrata in the trade had lon...

Are we certain that the fish we call Botia Rostrata , really is ? its just that when i was discussing this with a friend , he cast a bit of doubt on its validity ! apparently the real Rostrata is noticibly long snouted ! it makes you wonder because in the Menon book Rostrata is a synonmy of Birdi , ...

Great pics Emma, it would take millions of pics to bore me ! so keep up the good work .

It seems a shame these fish have been banned ! more so with a lot of the chinese loaches Botia's etc , banned before we have had the chance to learn about them, a pity.

I'd like to see both loaches Pulchra and Guilenensis, side by side in pics !

Hello Angelfish , very strange , they seem a little deep for Histrionica's my initial thoughts are could they be Czech crosses !

Stunning shots Martin ! aint got these fish at the moment Martin , but despite their slightly Syncrossus like appearance , i found them to be non aggresive , whats your experience , i take it from the tank mates not bad ? very shy , hence very quick ,ha ha .

I'd say the pics by Wolf depict , S.Berdmorei [colour varient] and the pic by Mamas child is a S.Beauforti, not to sure if i agree with Martin about Beauforti loosing colour with age ,iv'e kept them up to about 200mm's and they have still displayed nice colour's , these Berdmorei are probarbly a bri...

A bit belated this, but, these are wonderful pics ,

I suspect that the fish we are dealing with here [Berdmorei] could at least be a regional varient, i'd be surprised if it ever grows much over 150mm's ? has anyone come accross a larger specimen? this fish is mostly spotted around the head and chest area ! i think the true Berdmorei is a fully spott...

The answers here are all valid thats for sure , a long time ago i kept about 4 dario's in a mixed loach tank ! Modestas Beauforti's Helodes,eos's and more , in this setup they were out of their depth , and were shy and retiring , no wonder i hear you say ! times change i now have a lot more tanks an...