Gold pygmy horseface loach

Kottelatlimia pristes

Also known as Pygmy horseface loach

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 5.0–7.0
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 14 gal (54 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Peat swamps of Borneo and Sumatra
Family: Cobitidae

Overview

One of the smallest loaches in the hobby, a slender golden fish best kept in a group of five or six in a mature, soft-water tank. Rather than open sand it works its way through leaf litter and peat, rooting for microscopic prey, so a deep botanical layer matters as much as the substrate. It is gentle and shy, suited only to tiny, calm companions such as Boraras and small rasboras. Feed the finest sinking foods, microworm, and frozen cyclops, and let a settled tank grow the small life it grazes on. A group lives happily in around 54 liters.

In the wild

The gold pygmy horseface loach lives in the tea-dark peat swamps and shaded forest streams of Borneo and Sumatra, among soaked leaves and soft peat rather than clean sand. Recreate that with a bed of sand topped by deep leaf litter, driftwood, tannin-stained water, and low light. Hold it at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius in soft, acidic water ranging from pH 5.0 to 7.0. It is a fish for a quiet, mature blackwater tank.

Good to know

Kottelatlimia pristes is a dwarf loach of the family Cobitidae, reaching only about 4 centimeters. Its name comes from the Greek for saw, a reference to the serrated pectoral-fin rays the males carry. It is the most widespread of its small genus, ranging across the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. There are no records of it breeding in aquaria.

Did you know

Male gold pygmy horseface loaches carry a row of tiny teeth along the hardened rays of their pectoral fins, and that saw-like edge is what earned the species its name, pristes, from the Greek word for a sawyer.

Tank mates

Gold pygmy horseface loach is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.