Dario Botia Loach

<p>This loach has a beautiful golden coloration with vertical black striping the length of its body and onto its tail. As this fish reaches maturity the stripes widen and the number of stripes increases, the overall coloration also becomes more subdued. They also have 4 barbels coming from the mouth  and small scales embedded in the skin, giving them the appearance of having a scaleless skin. They can reach 6 inches long. To keep these fish in captivity, there should be good water movement, also, water should be well oxygenated, its temperature should range from 72ºF to 86ºF and its pH should be between 6.0 and 7.5. The tank should have a sandy or fine gravel substrate, rocks and hiding places. <em>Botia dario</em> can be kept in community aquariums, however, slow-moving and long-finned species should be avoided.  They can be kept singly, however, that makes them aggressive or extremely shy so they should be kept in groups, a group of 5 is the minimum recommended.  A 30 gallon tank is the minimum recommended to keep groups.</p>

<p>This species is omnivorous. In the wild they feed on insects, worms and pant matters. In captivity they can be fed with dried foods and live or frozen foods.</p>

<p>Females are rounder and wider than males.</p>

<p>Botiids are very susceptible to a disease called “skinny diseases” which is characterized by weight loss. It is thought to be caused by the flagellate genus Spironucleus.</p>

<p>This species originated in northern India and Bangladesh.</p>

<p>The water in which these fish are packaged is different from the water in the tank, since these fish are extremely sensitive to water conditions the acclimation process is very important. This process should never be rushed. Aquarium lights should be off for at least the first 4 hours of the fish in the new tank and it should not be fed in the first 24h. There are two acclimation methods: Floating Method and the Drip Method.</p> <p>Floating method -  the aquarium lights should be off and lights in the room should be dim, the bag in which the fish is should be placed in the surface of the water to float for about 15 minutes, this allows the water in the bag to adjust to the water in the tank. The bag should then be cut under the knot and the top edge of the bag should be rolled down one inch, then ¼ cup of the aquarium water should be added to the bag, this step should be repeated every 4 minutes until the bag is full, then half the water of the bag should be discarded and the bag should be put to float again and ¼ cup of the aquarium water should be added to the bag every 4 minutes until the bag is full. Afterwards, the Discus can be moved into the aquarium.</p> <p>Drip method – the aquarium lights should be off and lights in the room should be dim, the bag in which the fish is should be placed in the surface of the water to float for about 15 minutes, this allows the water in the bag to adjust to the water in the tank. The bag contents should be poured into a 1 gallon bucket that has never been cleaned with any chemicals, the fish should be enterally submerged. A siphon, using airline tubing, should be set up and a drip line should run from the main aquarium to the bucket. Several loose knots should be tied in the airline tubing to regulate flow. Sucking the end of the airline tube that goes to the bucket will begin a siphon, the flow should be regulated to 2 to 4 drips per second. Once the water in the buckets doubles, half should be discarded and the process should be repeated until it doubles again. Afterwards, the fish can be moved to the aquarium.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p>

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