Burmese loach and gold zebra loach differences

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I want some Burmese loaches for my planned 2nd 473 liter (as per my first thread), but am not interested in the much drabber (when adult) gold zebra loach. However I have read a number of cases on Loaches Online about gold zebra loaches making their way into shipments of Burmese loaches, plus they look very similar as juveniles and the gold zebra loach is sometimes also called the Burmese loach, creating the possibility of me buying gold zebra loaches instead of Burmese loaches if I am not careful.


https://www.loaches.com/articles/botia- ... ing-growth


https://www.loaches.com/articles/botia- ... ing-growth

Are there any known ways in which I could differentiate the Burmese loach from the gold zebra loach at the juvenile patterning shown above? Thanks!

[NancyD]

As you've seen it can be very hard to tell several species apart when they're small. & often now they're in mixed groups from what I've seen (pre-covid).

Using "common" names, small loaches can be similar until about 2 inches. B. kubotai (Burmese Border) usually have wider dark vertical bars & a hint of dark lateral lines connecting them. B. histrionica are often called "golden zebra" loaches. Their vertical bars are more narrow & there are NO dots or lines between the bars but there can be a slight Y in the upper central (dorsal fin) area. B. almorae (yoyo loaches) almost always have thin (ish) Y shaped vertical bars with dots between them, but not connecting lines).

I have also seen what I thought were "ladder loaches" (B. rostrata). Those tend to grow larger than yoyos & have a slight gray line in the middle of their vertical dark stripes but no dots or lines between the dark vertical stripes,

How's that for confusing? I have kept histrionica & loved them! I want to try kubotai but I only saw "mixed" groups several times & I could tell they were not all the same species, so I passed...I'm still waiting...I prefer to keep same species groups of at least 6, my "minimal" loach requirement almost always.

I hope this helps

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I appreciate your input NancyD. Including that about the yoyo vs ladder loach aswell.
Certainly is somewhat confusing, but your advice is useful. Especially the part on the width of the dark bars, every Burmese loach has much wider bars than a golden zebra now that you mention it.
This could be useful to select the right species from a mixed species shipment.
Images of the loaches will be shared when I get the tank up and running.