The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 202 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or (in Germany) "flossensaugers". Many of the species are popular for aquaria, species in the genus '' Sewellia'' are most commonly sold in the aquaria trade. They have a number of similarities with the Cobitidae, their sibling family of " loaches", such as multiple barbels around the mouth. They should not be confused with the loricariids, which look similar but are a family of catfish. Most species are rheophilic, living in swift, clear and well-oxygenated streams. Several species of the family live in fast-flowing

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s or torrents and have modified ventral fins used for clinging to rocks. The

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Nemacheilinae has recently been separated as a distinct family, Nemacheilidae (stone loaches) and several genera have been separated into the family Gastromyzontidae.

References

Cypriniformes Freshwater fish of Asia {{Balitoridae-stub