BOTIA PEPPERED LOACH

The Peppered Loach Lepidocephalichthys gunter is absolutely a wonderful looking fish. This is a moderately sized loach that can grow to between 4 to 6 inches (10 – 15 cm) in the wild but will usually stay smaller in the aquarium. Its form is long and cylindrical, almost eel-like. Being quite timid, if it is frightened it will disappear quite quickly, wiggling into the substrate.

This loach has a rather grayish or yellowish body color with a paler belly. There is a light horizontal stripe running the length of the body with various sized blotches and specks above and below it. There are also numerous dark specks on the dorsal and tail fin. All this splotching and speckling gives rise to a rather “peppered” looking fish, as its common name implies. Other common names it is known by are Guntea loach, derived from its scientific description, Peppered Dojo Loach, reflecting its similar shape and behaviors to those of the popular Dojo Loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, and Scavenger Loach.