Dwarf horseface loach

Care at a glance

Overview

The dwarf horseface loach is a sociable little sand-diver for the bottom of a calm community tank. It asks a little more than a beginner fish.

Caring for the dwarf horseface loach

A group of dwarf horseface loaches settles well in 14 gal (54 L) or more. Give them a shallow, soft sand bed, since they bury themselves in it to rest. Coarse gravel scratches their skin and stresses them, so keep the substrate fine.

Keep the water clean and well oxygenated, with a gentle current and subdued lighting. A temperature of 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5 suit them.

The dwarf horseface loach patrols the open floor with its long snout, sifting fine sand for tiny invertebrates. Feed sinking dried foods along with frozen or live bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp.

Keep a group of six or more, since single fish stay hidden and nervous. It is entirely peaceful and ignores its tank mates. Match it with small, calm upper-water fish such as little rasboras or danios, not anything pushy. No aquarium breeding has been recorded.

Good to know

The dwarf horseface loach, Acanthopsoides robertsi, is a small member of the loach family Cobitidae. It resembles the true horseface loaches in miniature, at roughly a quarter of their length. A dark triangular mark on the tail, unique in its genus, makes it easy to tell apart. The name honors the American ichthyologist Tyson Roberts, who led the Kapuas River surveys that turned it up.

In the wild

The dwarf horseface loach lives in Sundaland rivers of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. It is best known from the Kapuas basin of Borneo and nearby drainages, in clear, flowing channels over sand and fine gravel.

Common questions

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