TankBud

Hidden Borneo sucker

Hypergastromyzon abditus

Also known as Abditus Borneo sucker

FreshwaterFish

Hidden Borneo sucker (Hypergastromyzon abditus)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
1.8 in
4.5 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Gastromyzontidae
Origin
Borneo, Indonesia

Overview

The hidden Borneo sucker is a tiny, heavily camouflaged loach for an experienced keeper's river tank. This rarity is at home only in strong, warm, oxygen-rich flow.

Did you know

The hidden Borneo sucker's colors match algae-streaked stone almost exactly. In the wild, finding one can mean feeling for it by hand rather than spotting it by eye.

Caring for the hidden Borneo sucker

Give hidden Borneo suckers a river tank of 20 gal (75 L) or more, with serious flow and plenty of grazing stone. Build the layout from smooth, water-worn rocks carrying a film of algae, over a base of sand and fine gravel.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Oxygen should stay near saturation.

Its diet is mostly grazed biofilm, so it needs a mature tank with steady algae growth. Back that up with the finest sinking foods it can manage.

Keep a small, peaceful group of five or six. It blends so well against wet stone that you should do a fin count at feeding time rather than trust a glance. Choose small, gentle tank mates that like fast, warm water and will not compete at the floor. Its breeding remains undocumented.

Good to know

The hidden Borneo sucker belongs to the genus Hypergastromyzon, in the family Gastromyzontidae. The genus name means beyond Gastromyzon, for paired fins even larger than those of the ordinary Borneo suckers. It was described in 2021, and abditus is Latin for hidden, a name chosen for camouflage that erases the fish against wet rock.

In the wild

The hidden Borneo sucker clings to current-swept stone in rivers of Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo. These rivers are warm equatorial torrents.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The hidden 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 hidden Borneo sucker need?

A hidden Borneo sucker needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a hidden Borneo sucker need?

A hidden Borneo sucker is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a hidden Borneo sucker eat?

A hidden Borneo sucker lives mostly on biofilm it grazes from stone, so it needs a mature tank with steady algae growth. Back this up with the finest sinking foods it can manage.

How big does a hidden Borneo sucker get?

An adult hidden Borneo sucker reaches about 1.8 in (4.5 cm).

Related species