Clown Loach
Botia macracanthus
This popular loach comes from south east Asia where it lives in both flowing and standing water. It is very active even during the day, and does not usually have any problems with other tank mates. It loves live and frozen foods, particularly blood worms brine shrimp and mosquito larvae, but also eats flake food, and a little algae, and is good at ridding an aquarium of unwanted snails.
The Clown Loach likes a water temperature of about 25 to 30 C ( 77 to 86 F )
In the wild it can grow to about a foot in length ( 30 cm ) but in an aquarium it seldom gets larger than 6 1/2 inches ( 16 cm ). It is considered a food fish in its native waters and is becoming quite rare. Thankfully it is now being bred in aquariums.