Botia kubotai
Encyclopedia
The Burmese Border loach, angelicus loach or polka dot loach, Botia kubotai, is a recently described species that has quickly become a popular tropical fish
for freshwater
aquarium
s. In 2002, fish collectors working in western Thailand
began to expand their search into Myanmar
(Burma) area from the Three Pagodas Pass
Thai-Myanmar border to look for new fish for the aquarium trade. This is one of several species discovered and explains the origin of the fish's common name: Burmese Border Loach. Its scientific name came from Katsuma Kubota of an aquarium export company in Thailand who first purchased the catch and sent them out for identification.
The fish, a bottom feeder
, is found in the Salween River
system which is mostly in Myanmar. It was first discovered in Ataran River
(known in Thailand as Kasat River), a tributary of Salween River. A population in Thailand was discovered in early 2006 in another tributary of Salween River, Suriya River in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
. It grows as large as 15 cm in length, but most tend to be smaller at around 10 cm. It has gold, black, and grey colors arranged in a pattern that varies greatly depending on the age of the fish. Juvenile fish at about 2.5 cm are very similar to Botia histrionica. It has yellow body with only black vertical bands. Typically around this size grey dots on the black bands together with a middle horizontal bar joining the bands begin to appear. At about 5 cm, the top and bottom part of the vertical bands start to merge, producing a pattern of big yellow ovals along the body. More grey dots continue to appear as fish grows.
6.5 to 6.9, dGH
0 to 8.0. Lots of hiding places should also be provided. Newly purchased, it is a good idea to treat them for internal parasites, a very common problem for wild-caught bottom feeder fishes.
Botia kubotai is omnivorous and will accept most food types offered to freshwater fish including snails, small shrimp, sinking pellets, blood worms, and black worms.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
for freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
s. In 2002, fish collectors working in western Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
began to expand their search into Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Burma) area from the Three Pagodas Pass
Three Pagodas Pass
The Three Pagodas Pass is a pass in the Tenasserim Hills on the border between Thailand and Burma , at an altitude of above sea level....
Thai-Myanmar border to look for new fish for the aquarium trade. This is one of several species discovered and explains the origin of the fish's common name: Burmese Border Loach. Its scientific name came from Katsuma Kubota of an aquarium export company in Thailand who first purchased the catch and sent them out for identification.
Habitat and appearance
Bottom feeder
Demersal fish live on or near the bottom of the sea or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along...
, is found in the Salween River
Salween River
The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...
system which is mostly in Myanmar. It was first discovered in Ataran River
Ataran River
-See also:*List of rivers of Burma...
(known in Thailand as Kasat River), a tributary of Salween River. A population in Thailand was discovered in early 2006 in another tributary of Salween River, Suriya River in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
The Wildlife Sanctuary Thung Yai Naresuan is a protected area in Thailand in the northern part of Kanchanaburi province and the southern part of Tak province...
. It grows as large as 15 cm in length, but most tend to be smaller at around 10 cm. It has gold, black, and grey colors arranged in a pattern that varies greatly depending on the age of the fish. Juvenile fish at about 2.5 cm are very similar to Botia histrionica. It has yellow body with only black vertical bands. Typically around this size grey dots on the black bands together with a middle horizontal bar joining the bands begin to appear. At about 5 cm, the top and bottom part of the vertical bands start to merge, producing a pattern of big yellow ovals along the body. More grey dots continue to appear as fish grows.
In aquarium
This fish, like most other loach species, should be kept in groups when placed in an aquarium. Suitable water parameters are 25 - 30 °C, pHPH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
6.5 to 6.9, dGH
DGH
Degrees of general hardness is a unit of water hardness, specifically of general hardness.General hardness is a measure of the concentration of metal divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium per volume of water...
0 to 8.0. Lots of hiding places should also be provided. Newly purchased, it is a good idea to treat them for internal parasites, a very common problem for wild-caught bottom feeder fishes.
Botia kubotai is omnivorous and will accept most food types offered to freshwater fish including snails, small shrimp, sinking pellets, blood worms, and black worms.