Mottled Loach

The mottled loach (Acanthocobitis botia) is one of several native high trophic level demersal (fish living on or near the bottom) fish species present in the Indus River and its tributaries. Major tributaries of the Indus rise in the Himalayan Mountains and the Hindu Kush; these influent rivers include the Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej. The Indus mainstem rises on the Tibetan Plateau and flows generally westward. Main reaches inhabited by the mottled loach are the middle and upper sections where waters flow fast and relatively clear. The Green Revolution has exacerbated water pollution by considerable additions of nitrate to promote crop growth. Other aggravating factors have included increasing amounts of herbicides and pesticides, as pressures to increase crop production expand. Flow of the perennial Indus is dominated by: (a) meltwaters from the Tibetan ice field, the third largest ice sheet formation in the world; (b) snowfall and snowmelt from higher elevation of the watershed; and (c) episodic monsoonal rains that lead to periodic flooding in the basin. Other large demersal fish associates in the Indus Basin are the 244 centimeter (cm) giant devil catfish (Bagarius yarrelli), silond catfish (Silonia silondia), the 180 cm Long-whiskered catfish (Sperata aor), the 150 cm giant river-catfish (Sperata seenghala) and the 150 cm near threatened clown knifefish (Chitala chitala),

Distinguished from its congeners by the absence of a suborbital flap in male, the flap being replaced by a suborbital groove; lateral line reaches at least to anus (Ref. 39226).

About 100-150 eggs.

Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 17; Analsoft rays: 8

Inhabits clear water, swift flowing streams with rocky, pebbly and sandy bottoms (Ref. 1479).

Adults inhabit clear water, swift flowing streams with rocky, pebbly and sandy bottoms (Ref. 1479).

fisheries: of no interest

Acanthocobitis (Paracanthocobitis) botia also known as the mottled zipper loach is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus, or subgenus, Paracanthocobitis. This species is known from the mainstem, and possibly tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, in Assam, India.