Plecos or loaches?

[JHudson]

Hi
I was at my LFS and they had what I thought were loaches(zipper/eye-spot or
some Acanthocobitis member) but they were labeled as plecos. Are there any
catfish that look like those loaches or is their supplier just giving them
names for these fish?
Here is the zipper loach
http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/acanthocobitis_botia.html The main
difference between these the fish at the LFS was the LFS's were more
spotty(dark areas more seperate, but about the same amount of dark areas)
and their was almost a dark line down the side of the fish(close spots)
They almost look like
http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/acanthocobitis_zonalternans.html
Anybody have any ideas?
--
JHudson
Sure. Fine. Whatever. -Syzygy
I have. I did. It's done. -Fight the Future
Duct tape is like the Force, it has a dark side and a light side and it
holds the universe together.
I'm completely normal, just the rest of the world is nuts...
There are lies, damn lies and statistics!

[NetMax]

"JHudson" > wrote in message
news:wIvEb.112573$bC.88765@clgrps13...
> Hi
> I was at my LFS and they had what I thought were
loaches(zipper/eye-spot or
> some Acanthocobitis member) but they were labeled as plecos. Are there
any
> catfish that look like those loaches or is their supplier just giving
them
> names for these fish?
> Here is the zipper loach
> http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/acanthocobitis_botia.html The
main
> difference between these the fish at the LFS was the LFS's were more
> spotty(dark areas more seperate, but about the same amount of dark
areas)
> and their was almost a dark line down the side of the fish(close spots)
> They almost look like
> http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/acanthocobitis_zonalternans.html
> Anybody have any ideas?
> --
> JHudson

The most rudimentary method of distiquishing, is that a pleco has a wide
mouth designed for rasping, and a loach has a thinner mouth designed for
digging. Plecos are typically flatter, armoured and herbivorous, while
loaches are typically thinner, scaleless and omnivorous. Colour patterns
for identification can be misleading.

NetMax

[JHudson]

>
> The most rudimentary method of distiquishing, is that a pleco has a wide
> mouth designed for rasping, and a loach has a thinner mouth designed for
> digging. Plecos are typically flatter, armoured and herbivorous, while
> loaches are typically thinner, scaleless and omnivorous. Colour patterns
> for identification can be misleading.
>
> NetMax
>
>
Hi
These guys don't have a typical sucker-mouth, but they were darting around
sucking/chewing on the glass and ornaments for algae(I presume). The
loaches of those links look very similar in shape and color which is why I
think loach. The LFS fish may be pointer/flatter heads, but basically the
same. So I think that they are probably Nemacheilus pallidus,
Acanthocobitis botia or zonalternans. But that is just an educated guess.
JHudson