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
Origin: Borneo, Indonesia
Family: Gastromyzontidae

Overview

A tiny, intensely camouflaged Borneo sucker for an experienced keeper's river tank, at home only in strong, warm, oxygen-rich flow. Keep a small peaceful group of five or six, and because it blends so well against wet stone, do a fin count at feeding time rather than trusting a glance. Its diet is mostly grazed biofilm, so it needs a mature tank with steady algae growth, backed up by the finest sinking foods it can manage. Choose small, gentle tankmates that share its taste for fast, warm water and will not compete at the floor. A tank of around 75 liters with serious flow and plenty of grazing stone keeps this rarity going.

In the wild

Hypergastromyzon abditus clings to current-swept stone in rivers of Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo. These are warm equatorial torrents, so aim for 22 to 26 C with strong flow and oxygen kept near saturation. Build a layout of smooth, water-worn rocks carrying a film of algae, use a sand and fine gravel base, and hold pH between 6.5 and 7.5.

Good to know

This little loach, only about 4.5 centimeters, 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 the epithet abditus is Latin for hidden, chosen for camouflage that erases the fish against wet rock. Its breeding remains undocumented.

Did you know

It was named hidden for good reason: its colours match the algae-streaked stone so closely that finding one in the wild can mean feeling for it by hand rather than spotting it by eye.