Loaches Online Forum

Could the darker color of the substrate be causing the fish to darken in color as well?

I don't think it really has had that much impact with my fish. They were brightly coloured for at least 2 years after I first introduced them to my River Tank, and it has had a black sand substrate from word go. The first sign that their markings were changing was when some seemed to 'lose' the vertical bars under the dorsal fin:


Emma

A simple enough case of mature loaches then.

Some users on Petfrd think the colourful 'balteata' that most of the photo's recently posted show, are S. robertsi.

Yes, Nonn says it's possible S robertsi.