ID this loach, please? (pics inside)

[texanangel]

We got this little one a week now, and he's doing fine. We went through the species index, and we think it might be a "Graceful Loach" ("Cobitis choii"), or a "Cobitis striata". But as you can see, our loach is made up of spots, not lines, though he does have a black eyespot on his tail fin, even though the eye spot doesn't come out well in pics. Of course he might just be the juvenile or adult of a species that doesn't have a corresponding picture yet.

Thanks for your time!

[worton]

Hey,

looks like young speciment of european species of "weather loach" Misgurnis fossilis.

Regards.

[sophie]

the head doesn't look right for m fossilis, does it? I don;t think they're kept in the hobby, either - they're certainly banned for import here.

cobitis sounds like a good guess.
don;t some of the nemacheilus look a bit like this, too?

ok, I'm guessing in the dark here...

[Martin Thoene]

One thing to remember with these types of loach is that their patterning is very highly variable and may represent regional variations. I wouldn't dicount Lepidocephalichthys for this guy. Here's a few usual suspects:

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pi ... variegated

Martin.

[piggy4]

I'd say Lepidecephalus too, possibly a Guntea varient ?

[texanangel]

Hmm...I guess we won't know until it's older. When we bought it the store owner didn't even know what it was.

[Graeme Robson]

He wont change much or grow much, texanangel. I'd say you have a Lepidocephalichthys guntea. The distribution of the Lepidocephalichthys guntea is vast >> Pakistan, Northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand and variations do apply.

[mckinnon]

i have two wether loaches which i get from two diffrent shops, one looks nothing like it but the other (the male) looks like your loach, same sort of colours but diffrent patterns (i'll try and get a pic at some point)

[texanangel]

Hmm...I'm looking at a pic of a Dojo (Chinese version) and it looks really close, so you guys might be right.

[Martin Thoene]

No....I think you're misunderstanding mckinnon there texanangel. Not saying it's Misgurnis anguillicaudatus, which it definitely isn't.....just similar in coloring to some examples.

I'm with Graeme on Lepidocephalichthys guntea.

Martin.

[mckinnon]

hmm maybe i dont have what i thought i had, but the eyes on the Lepidocephalichthys guntea are alot diffrent rather than small and a reddy/brown there larger and white. but hey 95% chance im wrong, im pretty new to this.

[Icewall42]

That's a Pepper Loach. I'm pretty certain of that. We've had those guys for sale in our fishs tore before. I don't think they grow as big as the weather loaches, but I could be wrong. My experience with these guys is limited.

I'm not sure what the scientific name of the Pepper Loach is, or how many variants there are of it, though... :S

[texanangel]

The problem I'm running into is that stores only have a few names for long loaches, and only sell them under those names. And with the variations inherint in the species, it's hard to find a definitive match.

I'm just looking for one that has the line across the head through the eye, a round tail, a black eyespot at the base of the tail, a slightly rounded dorsal fin, a roundish body type, and the right mouth shape and barbles (spelling?), and a spotted body where the spots make nearly full lines.