SUMO BOTIA LOACH

It is among the most colorful members of the genus and is easy to keep, provided its environmental requirements can be catered for. It inhabits fast-moving, highly-oxygenated, often shallow stretches of streams and minor rivers flowing over substrates of rocks, gravel, and boulders.

Aquatic plants are unable to colonize such habitats, but the conditions favor the development of a rich biofilm in which carpets submerged surfaces. These loaches forage among the rocks, feeding mostly on aquatic arthropods and other forms of zooplankton.

A rocky substrate and high water flow should, therefore, be essential in the aquarium. While not especially belligerent compared with some Schistura, it is still territorial and in sparsely-decorated tanks, any aggression can intensify