When two of my customers informed me that they were participating in the writing of a book about loaches I have to admit that I felt a tiny bit proud, actually enormously proud of them.  Wow!  My customers have become experts!  I have just finished reading their book “Loaches Natural History and Aquarium Care” and what a pleasure it was to read.  No longer will I have to wonder if my supplier gave me the right information about the loaches I ordered or even if the name was correct.  There is detailed information of four separate families of loaches and over 60 different species.  I look forward to increasing my selection of loaches for sale in my store now that I know so much more about them. Did you know that clown loaches have retractable weapons hidden in a pouch between their eyes?  How cool is that!  I will no longer be stumped by any questions my customers will ask me about loaches. No, they are not all scale less and yes, they can breathe oxygen through their skin and their stomachs.  This book will be a permanent fixture in the reference section of my aquarium store for my staff to access as well as for customers to purchase. I find it totally fascinating that this book was created by loach enthusiasts from around the world thanks to email and the Web and that 100% of the proceeds from the book are to be donated to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Mekong Initiative.  It is immensely important to protect the environments of tropical fish and other living creatures from around the world and learn as much as possible about their natural environments so that if they do become extinct they can at least be bred in captivity.