Botia striata – Zebra Loach

Botia striata – Zebra Loach

Botia striata or Zebra Loach can reach a length of about 10 centimeters. It is a very popular and excellent beginner fish and has a beautiful stripe pattern, they are available in different varieties. The gender distinction is difficult to see, the adult females have a slightly fuller belly.

Synonyms: Botia striata kolhapurensis, Botia striatus, Botia dayi.

Origin

Maharashtra, Western Ghats, India.

The Aquarium

This species needs a soft substrate to root in. Sand is very suitable for this purpose. The substrate should not be sharp because the fish can injure themselves. Furthermore, this fish needs a lot of hiding places. This can be done by placing decorations such as rocks and wood, but also by using many plants. By rooting in the sand, the fish can uproot plants. Therefore, plants that are firmly planted in the ground should be used or the plants should be placed in flower pots.

The fish have a habit of hiding in places with narrow openings. Therefore, great care must be taken to ensure that the fish cannot get stuck anywhere. Particular attention should be paid to the rear wall. There should be no crack in between. It is advisable to cover the outflow and inflow of the filter with a basket or mesh. Otherwise, the fish will try to swim into the filter.

Use an aquarium with a minimum length of about 120 centimeters!

Water parameters

Temperature: 23-26 degrees Celsius.
PH: 6-6,5
GH: 3-7

In nature, fish have to deal with fluctuating temperatures. Keeping fish at the minimum or maximum temperature for a long time is not always desirable and can shorten the average lifespan of the animals.

Diet

Zebra Loaches are omnivores, both live food and frozen food can be given, such as mosquito larvae, shrimp, daphnia and green food, as well as food tablets and dry food. They are also excellent snail scavengers.

Character

The Botia striata is a peaceful species that must be kept with enough others of its own kind, otherwise it will wither away completely. In addition, this species is also very shy. They will hide when kept in too small a group.
An advantage of this species is that they like to eat snails. So with this species an aquarium will be cleared of snails in no time.

Breeding Botia striata – Zebra Loach

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the breeding of Botia striata – Zebra Loach in aquariums. Botia striata is commercially grown using hormones.

Video

Author

Coby – Stefan

Copyright images

Mark Duffill
Margie van der Heijden – Ons Natuurgenot Gouda