Really Rostrata

[piggy4]

Are we certain that the fish we call Botia Rostrata , really is ? its just that when i was discussing this with a friend , he cast a bit of doubt on its validity ! apparently the real Rostrata is noticibly long snouted ! it makes you wonder because in the Menon book Rostrata is a synonmy of Birdi , Now if that wierdly patterned fish , i.e. the one in Helens avatar , is really B.Birdi , and Rostrata is not an Indian fish ? [ more research needed] then what is the fish we refer to in the hobby as Rostrata ? Geto perhaps ? Hamilton described Dario and Geto in the same year ! other icthiologists have since deemed Geto to be a junior synonmy of dario ! it is thought that Geto were young Dario !
Hamilton also described two Barbs in the same year , Gelius and Caninus now Caninus has since been synonmised as a Gelius ! but anyone who is aware of these two fish , will know they are different fish !
It just makes you wonder if Hamiltons work has been underestimated ?
Perhaps the fish we call Robusta is really Geto ? i guess we would have to dig really deep and find out what , Robusta really is !

[Emma Turner]

Ooooh, you could be opening a real can of worms here! Do you happen to have any pics of this long-snouted S. robusta?
I still see suppliers listing Botia rostrata with the common name 'Geto Loach' too.

Emma

[piggy4]

Hi Emma, to be honest i'm not too sure if there are any photo's of Rostrata ? there are line drawings , and according to my mate, the nose is long , i'm genuinly not sure ,but does rostrata mean long snouted ? rostrum ? i dont know what you think but , i wouldnt say the Rostrata in the trade had long snouts ? certainly not in the Syncrossus league anyway , ha ha , i suppose ,as you say ,i am opening a can of worms , wouldnt it be interesting though if an old ,long gone icthyologist had got it sussed all along !

[piggy4]

HiEmma , iv'e just looked on fish base , there is a pic of a Rostrata ! it looks different to the Indian export ! i think its from China ? i remember a number of years ago i had the Rostrata/ Geto ,Indian export up to about 4 inches S L , and to be honest they didnt alter ,in the face that is , looked same as juveniles ! never did they look like the one on fish base !

[Emma Turner]

Yes, that fishbase picture looks nothing like the B. rostrata that we've come to know. (http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/species ... e=rostrata) I'd describe the ones in the trade as round-faced, not long-snouted.
What do you reckon about our entry for B. rostrata on the new species index then? Initially, no-one wanted to tackle it because of all the question marks around it: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=3131

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

I've always known Botia Rostrata as 'Geto loach'. You know Andy, those Old drawings are a bit misleading at times. So is fishbase come to think of it. I think! I wonder if location is a factor.

Has Steve (The Dark One) got any pictures of the long nosed Robusta?

[Martin Thoene]

These planes look kinda like fish don't they? I see no long-snouted ones though......probably because Concorde is no longer flying

I think this pic:

is a big ole adult common all-garden rostrata, while this is supposed to be Sinibotia robusta.........



I've never seen one that looks like that exactly

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

That first pic (the fishbase one) looks really weird to me, like a preserved specimen, yet it is clearly shown in an aquarium setting.

Emma

[TammyLiz]

I couldn't imagine my rostrata growing into something like that fishbase picture Its hideous. The little ones have such cute faces. It looks like there is something wrong with the forehead of that one if it is truely the same thing, and the noses on mine, although not curved so much as a dario, are more slanted down than that. The mouth looks so red, too, which is not a characteristic that mine have, although the striata does. I know I'm comparing young with old, but I don't think it would make that much of a difference.

Of course my own IDs are based off of LOLs opinion. I could see if I could get some pictures of mine to post here if it would help but I doubt it would. They are similar to those in the species description here on the forum.

[Graeme Robson]

Botia rostrata


Botia birdi

[angelfish83]

Oooooh its piiiiiickleeed....



riiiiiiight....

Because the pictures of adults I had seen were all quite beautiful. Im unfortunately going to have to rehome the orange mutant hybrid loaches I have because they beat up and bite all my other fish and make them all cower in the corner and it just isnt fair to torture my other fish, which I insist on keeping, in a confined four foot container...

Sorry though... i see.. its pickled... gotcha

odd that top picture though. if it is pickled why is it in a fish tank? I was under the impression that adult rostrata looked more like this guy here-


EMMA- If you look at the picture of the pickled guy there you can see the 'appendages' you noticed on your large clown loaches are also on this pickled specimen of another species. You can see them on the fins very clearly

also I don't believe this is a 'botia' species. It looks like one of the long nosed family of loaches like a tiger loach or something

[adampetherick]

To be fair you wouldn't look that great pickled either

[Martin Thoene]

Git yer luvly loaches 'ere! They're fresh, they're pickled, they're yummy in yer tummy!



That first "rostrata" looks like it's pinin' for the fjords guv'nor.
If you 'adn't nailed it to that rock in the first place it wouldn't be pushin' up tha daisies!

......And now for something completely different.....

Martin.

[angelfish83]

At Big Al's that would just say "Assorted butterfly pleco, 90% off, final sale"

[piggy4]

Hi all, Emma, i can fully understand any reluctance to tackle Rostrata , especially with there being other similar fish i.e. Birdi , Dayi, etc , oh and the one that comes in with Histrionica !
Graeme , i must say that fishbase pic ,does look like the preserved specimen of B.Birdi, also i will ask the dark one [Steve] if he can help , not sure if he comes on here ?
Hi Martin , i'd have to beg to differ on the fishbase pic being an old specimen of the one in the trade we call Rostrata , my long gone ,old guys never looked like that ! i do agree on that Robusta in that pic , it doesn't look like the Robusta in the trade , i.e. more yellowish , thinner bars ! b t w Martin what did you make of the Macrolineata page ?
Tammy, i'd agree the fishbase loach aint as pretty , ha ha ha .
To be honest i dont have the answers , i suppose i'm just a bit curious , i'll keep digging on this subject ,i do find it interesting !