Chromobotia macracanthus(Clown Loach, Botia macracanthus)

One of the most popular aquarium fish which are widely available. The fish you will find in the shops are usually juveniles, and you do need to be aware that they can grow to a much larger size, although most are unlikely to exceed 20cm in aquarium conditions.

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Fish information (behaviour and breeding):

Clown loaches are very active and make good community tank inhabitants. They do need to be kept in pairs or groups (the more the merrier); otherwise they tend to be rather shy. They should be kept with a soft substrate because as with most loach species they like to forage and burrow searching for food.

Clown loaches have the alarming habit of resting on their sides, seemingly dead. They are also among the few aquarium fish that regularly make noises, usually clicking sounds. Clown loaches are notoriously sensitive to whitespot. Loaches can be sensitive to medications, so consult with your tropical fish retailer before using any medicines.

They have never been bred in aquarium conditions.

Family Group:	Loaches & Sharks
Distribution	Sumatra and Borneo
Temperature	24-29C
Size	Up to 30cm
Water Parameters	Soft to neutral conditions preferred
Water PH	6.0-7.5

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Useful sources of information:

For a well illustrated and detailed reference guide on this and many other fish, consider the Baensch Aquarium Atlases. Volume 1 contains all the common species, and later volumes cover more unusual species. You can buy these books here.

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Shop stock

The latest shops to have this fish in stock are listed below. Click on a shop name for full shop details, or click the link below the shops to view ALL shops that stock this fish.

	Lee Valley Aquatics	Essex	EN9 2PA
	Amwell Aquatics - Epping	Epping	CM16 6LX
	Amwell Aquatics - Soham	Cambridgeshire	CB7 5UE
	Maidenhead Aquatics @ Crowland	Peterborough	PE6 0JB
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Oxford	Oxfordshire	OX33 1YJ
	Pond Life Aquatics	London	NW7 1AS
	Maidenhead Aquatics @ Lincoln	Lincoln	LN6 9BY
	World of Water - Romsey	Hampshire	SO51 0HB
	The Japanese Koi Company	Bedfordshire	SG16 6BB
	Fish Fish Fish	Essex	CB11 4RT
	World of Water - Manchester	Cheshire.	WA15 7PJ
	Abacus Aquatics	Kent	DA15 8DJ
	The WaterZoo	Peterborough	PE1 2PE
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Wembley	London	NW9 8RY
	Maidenhead Aquatics @ Syon Park	Middlesex	TW8 8JG
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Woking	Surrey	GU22 0NH
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Worthing Findon	West Sussex	BN14 0RE
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Aylesbury	Wendover, Bucks	HP22 6BD
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Guildford	Surrey	KT24 6AR
	Maidenhead Aquatics@ Cambridge	Cambridge	CB23 7PJ

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Other fish added to TFF recently:

Other fish added to TFF/TF2YD recently can be viewed below.

	Scientific Name	Common Name
	Pseudacanthicus pitanga L024	L24, Red Fin Cactus Pleco
	Paraneetroplus synspilus	Red Head Quetzel Cichlid
	Piaractus brachypomus	Red Belly Pacu
	Astronotus Ocellatus 'yellow'	Lemon Yellow Oscar
	Cichlasoma sp. HYBRID	Flowerhorn Cichlid 'Short Body Super Red Dragon'