''Acantopsis dialuzona'' is a

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of C ...

native to the swift, clear streams and rivers of mainland and archipelagic

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

through the

Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Et ...

and

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

river basins. It can also be found in flooded fields. The horseface loach or horsehead loach, formerly known as ''Acantopsis choirorhynchos'', is now recognized as belonging to this species.Kottelat, M. (2012)
Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei).
''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 26: 1-199.''

Taxonomy

Under

Maurice Kottelat Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, SwitzerlandCo ...

's review and revision of the loaches in 2012, this species name is considered to be a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''A. dialuzona''.

Aquarium Keeping

A very similar species is the unofficially named longnose loach, ''

Acantopsis octoactinotos ''Acantopsis octoactinotos'', the long-nosed loach, is a freshwater fish from Indonesia, commonly found in aquariums. ''Acantopsis octoactinotos'' has a long straight snout, unlike the similar Horseface loach ''Acantopsis dialuzona'' is a loa ...

'', from which the horseface can be distinguished by the latter's down-turned (horse-like) nose. Additionally, the horseface loach buries itself in the bottom substratum (if silt or fine sand); the longnose loach does not. The horseface loach is fast moving; the longnose is rather slow. However, the longnose is more aggressive, regularly feeding on juvenile fishes. The horseface loach's native substrate is one of sand or gravel, wherein it will characteristically burrow itself. These loaches spend much of their time buried in the substrate, leaving only their eyes uncovered. Due to this incessant burrowing, any live plants should be potted to avoid uprooting. The use of floating plants is recommended, as these loaches prefer subdued lighting. Horseface loaches are not picky eaters, but live food (such as

tubifex ''Tubifex'' is a cosmopolitan genus of tubificid annelids that inhabits the sediments of lakes, rivers and occasionally sewer lines. At least 13 species of ''Tubifex'' have been identified, with the exact number not certain, as the species are ...

) is relished. The horseface loach is most active at night and mostly keeps to itself. It attains a maximum size of in length, but is considered mature from . , it had not been bred in captivity. It was first imported into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 1929 by Edmund Riechers of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Local names

* Laotian: ອິດ * th, ปลารากกล้วย .

References

Bibliography

* Baensch, Hans A., and Riehl, Rudiger. (1997). ''Baensch Aquarium Atlas'', Vol. 1. (6th ed.), p. 366. Microcosm Ltd.; Shelburne, Vermont. * *

External links

Oijen, M.J.P. van & G.M.P. Loots, An illustrated translation of Bleeker’s Fishes of the Indian Archipelago Part II Cyprini; Zoologische Mededelingen, 86 (May 2012)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1501220 Cobitidae Fish of the Mekong Basin Fish of Myanmar Fish of Cambodia Freshwater fish of India Freshwater fish of Indonesia Fish of Laos Freshwater fish of Malaysia Fish of Thailand Fish of Vietnam Freshwater fish of Asia Fish of Southeast Asia Fish described in 1823 Brackish water organisms Taxa named by Johan Conrad van Hasselt