TankBud

Green Borneo sucker

Gastromyzon lepidogaster

Also known as Scale-bellied Borneo sucker, Green laser Borneo sucker loach

FreshwaterFish

Green Borneo sucker (Gastromyzon lepidogaster)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–77°F
20–25°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Gastromyzontidae
Origin
Northern Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia

Overview

The green Borneo sucker is a large, peaceful hillstream loach that grazes the rocks of a roomy river tank with strong flow. It is hard to keep and best left to experienced keepers.

Did you know

Most Borneo suckers would sit comfortably on a bottle cap, but the green Borneo sucker spans an adult's palm. Even at that size, it keeps the same limpet-tight grip on rock.

Caring for the green Borneo sucker

Give green Borneo suckers a long tank of 29 gal (110 L) or more to match their size and appetite. Build generous rockwork from boulders and big, smooth, algae-covered stones over sand and gravel. Let the tank mature first, so there is always biofilm for them to work.

Hold the water at 68 to 77°F (20 to 25°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, mildly acidic to neutral. Run strong flow, and keep oxygen high with heavy surface movement.

Supplement the biofilm with algae wafers and fine sinking pellets. This big species also needs slightly meatier sinking foods than the little Borneo suckers require.

Keep a small group of five or so. They are calm and slow to spook, holding station on the front glass and rock faces in the current. Good tank mates are other peaceful fish that enjoy strong flow and will not nip. As far as records show, the species has not been bred in an aquarium.

Good to know

The green Borneo sucker, Gastromyzon lepidogaster, is a hillstream loach in the family Gastromyzontidae. Tyson Roberts described it in 1982. The name lepidogaster means scale-belly, for the small scales that partly cover its underside, where most of its kin are bare.

In the wild

The green Borneo sucker comes from northern Borneo, in the Malaysian state of Sabah. It lives there in cool, fast mountain torrents.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The green Borneo sucker is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a green Borneo sucker need?

A green Borneo sucker needs at least 29 gal (110 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a green Borneo sucker need?

A green Borneo sucker is comfortable at 68–77°F (20–25°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a green Borneo sucker eat?

A green Borneo sucker grazes biofilm in a mature tank. Supplement it with algae wafers, fine sinking pellets and slightly meatier sinking foods than the little Borneo suckers need.

How big does a green Borneo sucker get?

An adult green Borneo sucker reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

Related species