Bony fish · Cypriniformes · Botiidae

Clown Loach

Chromobotia macracanthus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The clown loach is an orange bottom-dwelling fish with three broad vertical black bands, native to the rivers of Borneo and Sumatra. It lives in groups in moderate currents and roots among stones and leaf litter for invertebrates and snails. In the wild it grows far larger than it does in aquariums.

Size

15 cm – 30 cm

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterOmnivore Nocturnal Colonial Fish Freshwater

13countries

Fun facts

GeneralIt makes audible clicks and will sometimes lie on its side as though dead.
It has an erectile spine below each eye that it raises in defence and that can snag in nets; it should be handled with care.
It is one of the most heavily exported species in the ornamental fish trade and is still taken almost entirely from the wild, because breeding it in captivity is very difficult.
It lives twenty years or more and reaches 30 cm, a far cry from the few centimetres at which it is sold in shops.
It has an erectile spine beneath each eye that it deploys when it feels threatened; it can snag in nets and must be handled with care.
It makes audible clicking sounds when feeding or when interacting with others of its kind.
It is genuinely gregarious: kept alone it becomes timid and stops eating, and it needs groups of at least five.
Almost all the specimens in the trade are still wild-caught in Indonesia, because breeding it in captivity is difficult and depends on hormonal induction.