VERY rare loach - Vaillantella maassi

[Fruitbat]

Just got this loach in this morning. It is Vaillantella maassi, a very rare loach in captivity. It is about 5 inches long and not in very good color at the moment but it will be gorgeous when it is fully acclimated - long like a 'kuhli' loach and chocolate brown in color with a bright yellow or orange dorsal stripe, long dorsal fin and a forked tail. The pic is of the fish still in the shipping bag being acclimated in his new home. Better pics to come later!

 

[krap101]

arent loaches usually botia?

aww well. looks like one of those deep sea fish. i wouldnt be suprised if a lil bulb on a sting poped out and a light came on 8P.

and think it be a better color then that. this i gotta see

 

[medge00]

man, you've got the coolest fish. my tetras and rams just don't compare! Can you tell us more about this guy?

 

[madasafish]

"Botia" is just one genus of loaches, and it happens to be the genus of loaches most frequently kept in aquariums. Others include Orthrius, Pangio (e.g. the Kuhli loach, Pangio kuhlii), Cobitis, Paracobitis. The list goes on...

Fruitbat: nice loach! I can see you are as nuts about loaches as I am about Loricariid catfish.

 

[Fruitbat]

Vaillantella maasi is sometimes called the Chocolate Long-Finned Loach. It is found in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia and reaches a total length of about 12.5cm (about 5 inches). Very few of these loaches are ever exported into the United States. Though they are not particularly uncommon where they are found, the populations are widely scattered and many of them have been wiped out for one reason or another.

There is an excellent picture of this fish in full color on the loaches.com web page. Here's a link to the information they have: http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/vaillantella_maassi.html

 

[odysseysteve]

Very cool loach! I am setting up my tank again after having moved recently and am trolling this site and others looking for interesting and unusual fish. This is one worth considering for sure. Thanks for sharing the info!

 

[Fruitbat]

A pleasure, odysseysteve and welcome to Aquarium Advice!! You might think about checking out the user's galleries if you want to see a wide variety of fish.

Here's a link to my gallery: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=3687

And here is a link to the overall Member's Gallery page for freshwater fish:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photo...=4&perpage=12&password=&ppuser=&what=&name=&=

You can also access all of the galleries from the menu at the top of the page.

 

[medge00]

and if you're looking for unusual, fruitbat probably knows about 'em and where to get 'em

 

[odysseysteve]

Hi Friutbat,

Nice gallery! I really enjoy your Botia almorhae. Thanks for the links and the warm welcome. Looks like I'll be learning a lot on this site.

Hi medge00,

You're right, Fruitbat has some sweet looking unusal fish, that's for sure!

 

[krap101]

what would happen if they all bred together? a super duper king sized awesome loach. jk that would look wierd. giant head, short body, tiny fins haha that would be funny (not in real life but if someone edited a fish like that)

 

[shawmutt]

very awesome loach! you must have been excited, you didn't even take him out of the bag before taking a photo. Of course, the only way I see my loaches is by moving stuff.

 

[Fruitbat]

My loach tank is brimming with activity....but that Vaillantella has only made a daylight appearance ONCE since I got it!! Fortunately I have one of those 'moon lights' on my aquarium so I occasionally catch a glimpse of him at night as he scoots around the tank.