Another Species of Dwarf Loach

[PaulineMi]

This are my Schistura balteatas, also known as the sumo loach.

[Mugwump]

now that's an interesting little critter......zounds, look at those bars...

[LizStreithorst]

Cool fish.  Nice pics.

[b125killer]

They are cool. How big do they get?

[sschind]

I love these little guys.  I just picked a 6 more to go with the 3 I had.   I ordered 6 about a year ago and then they disappeared from my list for almost a year.  They finally showed up again so I ordered another 6 but they sent me something else.  This time though I go the right ones.  I'm not sure if these will end up being S. balteata in the long run or not.  According to these two pics it may be a different species or it may simply be a geographical variant. 

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/schistura-balteata  shows the S. balteata the ones we have look more like this

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/schistura-cf-balteata

Great fish either way.  They seem to be very hardy and less aggressive than some of the other "sand loaches and nemachelius species I have had.

loaches online says max size probably 4 inches but I would say if that.  I had a couple for almost a year and they never got more than about 2.5" and didn't seem to grow much at all for me.

[PaulineMi]

Mine have remained barely three inches in length. They're about the same size as my chain loaches but have a chunkier body. 

[Jo]

Really cool fish!

[P4Angels]

Great Looking little guys

[PaulineMi]

Thanks.  Dwarf loaches are so cute. 

[shatanka]

Very neat looking! I've never seen one of these before. Where did you get it? And of course..great pic Pauline ( that goes without saying! lol).

[pashley]

love them, might have to go looking for them once i get things set back up

[BillT]

Unusual coloration. Are both sexes colored that way?

[PaulineMi]

Thanks all.

I got these guys from my LFS a few years ago. From what I could find, the male and female are colored alike. The difference between the sexes isn't truly known yet.  It's thought there are some minor body shape differences with the female being plumper. I don't know if they've even been bred in captivity.

[sschind]

A guy at the swap yesterday told me they could get to 6 inches but then he said he had never kept them so I don't know.  Mine have always stayed small.  I sold 6 of them at the swap yesterday.  They are probably my second or third favorite loach behind the sidthimunki and maybe the zipper loach (though I can't figure out what they are for sure), and maybe that oddball dwarf loach that Captain Bob found a year or so back that we never could track down again.  Loaches on line says they can be a bit nippy with others of their own kind an similar loaches I have not found that to be the case but I try to have a lot of hiding places like they recommend.  They don't seem to school like a lot of loaches do but they are all over the place so its really hard to tell.

[Rjb3]

That would be the Dwarf Striped Loach.