Malayan lizard loach

Homaloptera parclitella

Also known as Orange lizard loach, Red lizard hillstream loach

FreshwaterFish

Malayan lizard loach (Homaloptera parclitella) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 70–79°F (21–26°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 3.9 in (10 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Malay Peninsula
Family: Balitoridae

Overview

One of the larger lizard loaches, this fish needs a roomy hillstream tank with space to move between the stones and wood it perches on. Keep several together; they are social and peaceful, and share a tank only with fish that also want strong, cool, oxygenated water. It works the bottom, grazing the film on rock and taking meaty sinking foods, so offer sinking pellets and frozen bloodworm or daphnia in addition to the biofilm it grazes. It leaves other fish alone entirely. Because of its size and current needs, give it about 110 liters or more with strong flow.

In the wild

Homaloptera parclitella lives in clear, forested mountain streams of the Malay Peninsula, including parts of southern Thailand, clinging to rock in steady current. Recreate that with a hillstream layout: strong flow, high oxygen, smooth stones and driftwood, cool water at 21 to 26 degrees Celsius, and pH about 6.0 to 7.5. Good light encourages the surface film these loaches graze.

Good to know

Homaloptera parclitella is a boldly marked river loach in the family Balitoridae, patterned with leopard-like spots and two dark saddles across the back. It is one of the larger lizard loaches, reaching around 10 centimeters. It is separated from the similar saddle-back loach, Homaloptera orthogoniata, by that saddle count, since orthogoniata carries three. Aquarium breeding is not recorded.

Did you know

The name parclitella points to its two-saddle back pattern, which is the quick way to tell it from the three-saddle saddle-back loach it often arrives mixed with. Counting saddles is a small rite of passage for hillstream keepers.