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It seems that the Loach fans are going to have some new fishes to enjoy soon ... and, wait for it, all of the new species I'm going to cover here are blind cave loaches ... !!!

[i}Practical Fishkeeping magazine has been coming up trumps with news reports on new fishes of late, and this is no exception ...

First of all, Oreonectes translucens is a new blind cave loach from China. It differs from the otherwise similar Oreonectes furocaudatus in having the vestigial eyes of a true long-term cave dwelling fish. It differs from Oreonectes anophthalmus, another Chinese cave loach with vestigial eyes, in having prominent dorsal and ventral crests.

Next, there is Schistura papullifera, from a cave system in India (another discovery by Maurice Kottelat, the Asian fish specialist) and is the first true cave dwelling loach from India. This is a Balitorid loach, and thus would require cooler than usual water even if it were not a cave dweller ... it was found in the Synrang Pamiang cave, which is India's deepest (it extends horizontally for 14,157 m and in places takes the explorer to something like 400 m below the surface) ...

So, anyone who fancies blind cave loaches, you now have quite a choice ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002