''Leptobotia elongata'', the imperial flower loach, elongate loach or royal clown loach, is a species of botiid fish found in flowing water in the upper and middle

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

basin in China.SeriouslyFish
Leptobotia elongata
Retrieved 10 March 2017.Loaches Online
Leptobotia elongata
Retrieved 10 March 2017. It is the largest species in the family, reaching up to in length and in weight.Li, L.; Q. Wei Wei; J. Ming Wu; H. Zhang; Y. Liu; & X. Xie (2015). Diet of Leptobotia elongata revealed by stomach content analysis and inferred from stable isotope signatures. Environ Biol Fish 98: 1965–1978. . Formerly common, the numbers of this vulnerable species have declined because of overfishing, dams (limiting its breeding

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

), habitat loss and pollution. The species is bred in captivity and a

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparen ...

project has been in place since 2010.Yang, K.; Zeng, R.; Gan, W.; Deng, L.; and Song, Z. (2016). Otolith fluorescent and thermal marking of elongate loach (Leptobotia elongata) at early life stages. Environ Biol Fish 99: 8–9. . It is sometimes kept in

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

s, but require a very large tank. Adults migrate upstream to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

between March to May. They have been recorded feeding on fish, shrimp,

gammarids Gammaridae is a family of amphipods. In North America they are included among the folk taxonomic category of " scuds", and otherwise gammarids is usually used as a common name. They have a wide distribution, centered on Eurasia, and are eury ...

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

invertebrates, aquatic insect larvae,

mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

and

phytodetritus In oceanography, phytodetritus is the organic particulate matter resulting from phytoplankton and other organic material in surface waters falling to the seabed. This process takes place almost continuously as a "marine snow" of descending particles ...

. The feeding preference depends on size: Individuals less than long mainly take benthic invertebrates and aquatic insect larvae, while larger individuals mainly feed on fish and shrimp.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5891516 Botiidae Freshwater fish of China Fish described in 1870