Young Varicorhinus alticorpus move about in shallow waters and feed on benthic algae. Most mature fish inhabit wider and deep water regions, and dozens of them are often seen living together in rivers. To adapt to the changes in water level of different seasons, the Varicorhinus alticorpus swims upwards in the summer and autumn, and in winter it migrates downwards to the middle reaches of the river. It inhabits only in Taiwan’s southern and eastern regions on the upper and middle reaches ofrivers. The Varicorhinus alticorpus had been consumed as food, but over-fishing has drastically reduced their population. 

National Tsing Hua University- Digital Archives on the Freshwater Organisms of Taiwan