TankBud

Tamang Borneo sucker

Hypergastromyzon humilis

Also known as Flat Borneo sucker

FreshwaterFish

Tamang Borneo sucker (Hypergastromyzon humilis)
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
4.6 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
Kapuas basin, Kalimantan, Indonesia

Overview

The Tamang Borneo sucker is a tiny, rarely seen hillstream loach built for gripping stone in hard, warm current. It needs an experienced keeper.

Did you know

The Tamang Borneo sucker's species name, humilis, means low or close to the ground. It marks a fish flattened even further than the already pancake-flat Borneo suckers.

Caring for the Tamang Borneo sucker

Tamang Borneo suckers need a mature river tank with real flow, since still water does not suit them at all. A tank of 20 gal (75 L) or more with plenty of grazing stone keeps them in good order. Use smooth, water-worn stones carrying algae over a fine sand and gravel base.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Run strong flow, and hold oxygen near saturation with heavy surface movement.

Its food is mostly the biofilm it rasps from rock, so an algae-rich tank matters most. Back that up with the finest sinking foods it will take.

Keep a peaceful group of five or six. Choose small, gentle tank mates that share its taste for fast, warm, clean water. Its breeding is unrecorded.

Good to know

The Tamang Borneo sucker is the type species of Hypergastromyzon, a genus in the hillstream loach family Gastromyzontidae. The genus name means beyond Gastromyzon, for paired fins even larger than those of the ordinary Borneo suckers. Tyson Roberts described it in 1989 from the Kapuas basin.

In the wild

The Tamang Borneo sucker lives in the Kapuas river system of Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo. It presses itself to stone in warm, rushing water.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Tamang 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 Tamang Borneo sucker need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Tamang Borneo sucker need?

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

What does a Tamang Borneo sucker eat?

A Tamang Borneo sucker lives mostly on the biofilm it rasps from rock. Back that up with the finest sinking foods it will take, in a mature, algae-rich tank.

How big does a Tamang Borneo sucker get?

An adult Tamang Borneo sucker reaches about 1.8 in (4.6 cm).

Related species