# raspberry botias



## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Anyone heard of these before? There were two or three bags of these at our local auction this weekend. The fish were 2 1/2 inches in length and were a pinkish color. They had bodies similar to clown loaches. 

I didn't buy them because I suspected that they were dyed.  Poor fish!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Wow, I've never heard of them either. I sure hope they aren't dying them too... Sigh.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Did you get any pics?


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

There have been reports of people dying botias, the Red tailed botia (Yasuhikotakia modesta) has been seen dyed in British shops. Here's a link showing some dyed ones down at the bottom of the page, http://www.loaches.com/species-index/yasuhikotakia-modesta


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Thanks for the link Ed! Those were the fish i saw at the auction, but i am not certain that they were dyed. They look just like the fish pictured in the second to last picture which I think is natural. It wasn't a bright fake-y pink like the loach in the last picture. However, the fish could have been dyed and begun to fade, thus motivating the seller to unload them. 

I am continually disgusted by the numbers of dyed fish sold in stores!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Kelley said:


> I am continually disgusted by the numbers of dyed fish sold in stores!


Me too. And I'm even more disgusted by the number of people buying them....


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

Most botias are not attractive and the less then scrupulous vendors will dye them to improve the presentation.

Skunk botias (reddish sides and a black stripe across the top) have been dyed and sold as their true name because of the striking color. 

FYI, Be careful with many of the botias because they are VERY territorial and many have HORRIBLE attitude issues with seemingly random fish. (my skunk HATES flagfish but likes to school with Rainbows).

Cool part of them is that some of them audibly click and you can hear it away from the tank. At one point i had a pair of skunks, they would chase each other around the tank and it took me a good 20 minutes to figure out that the random clicking noise was from them.


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## Gilraen Took (Apr 19, 2007)

> If artificial color enhancing foods are used, the fish will revert to normal unless fed this continuously.


Huh? Anyone want to play translator. . ? It'll revert to its normal colour if fed that food if it is not fed that food is what it looks like to me >_>

I hate dyed fish. It seems that most of the people who buy them are the ones who don't research their purchases. And unfortunately the ONLY privately owned store around here who doesn't/won't sell dyed fish(though I suspect they've had some dyed corals, though when I jokingly mentioned that it looked dyed the guy freaked out at me and I was the only person there. Still looked dyed.) lost my business after ripping me off for over $300 >.< Which leaves petco/petsmart. Who are worse than ANY m+p store for giving bad advise. And don't try to tell a customer that the employee is wrong. . . Around here anyway. You can show a person that every book in that store says that what they want will not work out and they cuss you and say the employee is right and you are dumb.

Heck, right now I've got a little cichlid that I rescued because some idiot thought he'd be a cute(well, he IS adorable <3 He's only an inch long ^_^) tankmate for her guppies and afterwards another store told her that the cichlid she was planning on getting as a tankmate of the same species as she had(and the one she currently had) would eat all of her guppies. Duh. African cichlid+guppies? It even says on the tag at the store that the fish is aggressive. She was threatening to flush him down the store's toilet because their policy says they can't take them back if they've been in someone else's tank unless it died since there is the extra disease risk. C'mon. . . All it'd have taken was a simple GLANCE at the tag to read a few lines.


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

Gilraen Took said:


> Huh? Anyone want to play translator. . ? It'll revert to its normal colour if fed that food if it is not fed that food is what it looks like to me >_>


If you only eat carrots your skin will take on an orange tint.

If you stop eating the carrots exclusively, the tint will go away.

Make more sense now?

I have been kicked out of more Petco(smart)/Best buys and similar due to my correcting an obvious error being told by the salesperson.

A few days ago I was in the LFS(known to hire ANYONE with a pulse, horrible service, but closest to me), I had to jump in when the salesperson told this customer that the Python runs off batteries, that the 5 gallon tank could take more fish (already had multiple cories, and tetras) and that he only needs to suck out the waste not actually change the water.

The sales guy wasnt happy with me correcting the info or directing the guy to the local fish club website but he didnt argue with me.


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## Gilraen Took (Apr 19, 2007)

Got it  Thanks.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Isn't it amazing if you stand around some of the different fish departments or stores and just listen for a while? I try my best to be quiet, but sometimes I just can't stand it, and always get that dirty look, or statement like "what do you know? the guy who works here just told me different". Ugh....


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## Jman17H (Nov 9, 2006)

Too many fish stores do not want knowledgable employees. They want employees who just sell everything to anyone who walks in the door. It's sort of sad that many new fish keepers believe the store employee knows what they are talking about. I have killed several sales to unknowledable customers because I interupted sales pitches. When a fish store employee is trying to sell a common pleco for a newly setup 10 gallon tank, someone needs to step in.


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

Best one I heard yesterday:

"These are pygmy angelfish, they wont get bigger then this size and you can put more then one in a ten gallon with no problems."

*boggle*


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