Wonderous Strangers
Despite enormous amount of
unforgettable estethic impressions, resulting from possibility of watching
loach habits and customs in longer period of time, their keeper sometimes find himself
(or herself) in situation in which all his (her) to date acquired knowledge and
experience seem to be insufficient for quick and unique identification of the
next specimen, that in many cases by chance, in more or less intentional way,
has fallen into his possession. Owing to the fact that majority of botia
specimens available in aquarium trade comes from natural freshwaters
ecosystems, loach keeper is susceptible for being hit by really extremely rare,
or even yet scientifically undescribed species. There is certainly no need to
say to what extent this may increase his pulse rate and level of positive
emotions.
Nothing,
however, is gonna happen without the reason and usually we, loach enthusiasts,
can increase our chances to become lucky hobbyists. The nature is subject of
continuous evolution and local ecosystems evolve simultaneously with all
populations settled therein. Even systematic scientific research investigations
can touch, in case of ichtyology and related sciences, relatively small (from statistical
point of view) samples of limited number of fish communities of particular
species. As a result, following the words of dr Tyson Royal Roberts, renowned
ichthyologist and discoverer of Botia
reversa and Botia splendida
species, to mention a few of his many achievements, taken from our earlier
correspondence regarding my doubts related to the uniqueness of the definition
of holo- and paratype in fish study, what can be said for sure is that:
„…no species description, no matter how
detailed, can ever be complete. Nor can it take into account the differences
that might occur later on in specimens from different localities, of different
ages, etc, or kept in aquarium and subject to color changes over the time. Such
characters can only be described and discussed after they have been observed.…”
Keeping
this in mind, not only we, amateur fish hobbyists and loach fanatics, have got
incredible chance to contribute to human knowledge in the subject of our
beloved underwater friends, but also, in some appropriate situation, to observe
and report new data and facts to fill-in gaps in currently available
descriptions or to enhance scientific databases without the need of organizing
costly expeditions to subtropical humid forests in south-east Asian river basins.
I was personally lucky, even more than enough, to bring into the sight of loach
keeping community beautiful variation of the Speckletail loach (Botia
caudipunctata) met in nature in the Mun River basin (Thailand) and to
stimulate in Spring 2002, on the Loaches on-Line forum, international
discussion within loach enthusiast community with respect to potentially new
botia species (tentatively labeled
due to
the intuitively sensed visual resemblance to Gangetic loach as Botia sp. aff.
rostrata).
Later on, in the beginning of 2003, the North American and European markets
were hit by yet not scientifically classified botia species, labeled by Thai
exporters as Botia sp.
Myanmar or Botia angelicus. A year ago, another new
botia species, Botia sp.
Tenasserim
(Emperor botia) was revealed to public. Professional ichtyologists work,
according to well informed sources, on yet another species close, by means of
external features, to Skunk loach (Botia
morleti). I am personally convinced that discoveries of some more botia
species are only the matter of time. It is, in fact quite a paradox, that at
the verge of third millennium with already so many beautiful animals being
brought to extinction by human race, we still get from time to time gifts by
means of marvelous, highly organized forms of life. Scientific community can
yet not reach consensus according to the status of some of the Indian loaches.
Species, such as Botia birdi and Botia dayi are considered as synonymous
with reticulate loach (Botia
almorhae) only
by some of contemporary ichtyologists. Status of fish known for decades as Botia
pulchiprinnis
(Beautiful-fin loach) and Botia
lucasbahi (said
to be synonymous with juvenile tiger loach - Botia beauforti) is far from being solid firm. Having found, recently, a juvenile
specimen of tiger loach 
mixed with young Botia helodes, seen in attached photo, I
hesitated again. I had earlier a small group of tiger loaches of Botia beauforti species kept since their
very juvenile and, please entrust me, they looked, at more or less the same
stage of the onthogeny, quite differently. This is, however, a brand new story
and its end is yet to be written in the future to come.
When
for the first time I started to prepare this chapter of my website, I didn’t
even expected that some of my future predictions and earlier expressed
suppositions will be proven so quickly. In the beginning of February 2003, I
found a loach, mixed with recent shipment of Silver loach (Botia lecontei) (in fact 70% of them apparently appeared to be Sun
loaches (Botia eos)) which, according
to available descriptions and general visual impressions has originally been
identified as juvenile red-fin variation of Botia
lecontei. To my unspoken surprise, within a period of six weeks (or so)
since successful settlement in one of my loach community tanks, the fish has
developed coloration and markings non similar to those known and reported for
the Silver loach species. As usual, in such a situation, the unique diagnostics
is almost impossible to be done. The morphological features may indicate either
the existence or yet another, formerly unnoticed by ichtyology species, unknown
population of already known loach (but which one then?) or natural mutation of
one of recognized species belonging to the Modesta complex. This mysterious
loach seen in attached photo (and associated on-line photo presentation)
externally seems to resemble Speckletail loach rather than Silver one, but
extremely characteristic reddish coloration of both caudal and dorsal fins is,
on the other hand, closer to features met in Botia lecontei and Botia
modesta species. Speckletail loaches, though exhibit some kind of reddish
fin coloration, at least those already known and described, have usually,
however significantly lighter fins, in 
my opinion
much closer to yellowish-orange pigmentation more vivid in early stage of fish
onthogeny. In addition caudal fin of this species is characteristically marked
with a number of regularly distributed along fin lobes dark dots (speckles).
Instead of this, the specimen under discussion has clear blackish distal margin
on caudal fin and relatively broad, 2-3mm wide black margin on the verge of
dorsal. Caudal fin appears to be too large for Silver loach, though there are
eight branched rays in dorsal considered as characteristics for fish belonging
to this species. When I kindly asked three people from the business for their
opinions I got three different comments. I will shortly present them here for
the sake of discussion enrichment. Ian Baird (Lao Community Fisheries and Dolphin
Protection Project,