Twin-stripe lizard loach

Homaloptera bilineata

Also known as Two-lined lizard loach, Double line lizard loach

FreshwaterFish

Twin-stripe lizard loach (Homaloptera bilineata) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–79°F (20–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 3.1 in (8 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Myanmar
Family: Balitoridae

Overview

Keep this rock-dwelling loach as a small group in a mature, flow-heavy tank with no compromise on temperature. It holds station on stones along the bottom, grazing the biofilm that coats them and taking small sinking foods between times, so combine well-grown surfaces with sinking pellets and frozen daphnia or bloodworm. It is peaceful and belongs with tankmates that also want cool, fast, oxygen-rich water, such as other hillstream loaches. Give it about 90 liters with strong flow and plenty of smooth stone to graze and perch on.

In the wild

The twin-stripe lizard loach comes from clear, flowing streams in Myanmar, over stone kept clean by the current. Match that with the hillstream standard: strong flow, high oxygen, a cool 20 to 26 degrees Celsius, smooth rock surfaces, and pH around 6.5 to 7.5. Bright light over mature stone grows the film it grazes, and a tight-fitting lid guards against fish leaving the water in fast flow.

Good to know

Homaloptera bilineata is a river loach in the family Balitoridae, described by Edward Blyth in 1860, reaching about 8 centimeters. Its name means two-lined: a narrow stripe runs from the snout through the eye and continues as a broad, ragged, zig-zag band, with a fainter second band lower on the body. Breeding in aquariums has not been recorded.

Did you know

Lizard loaches barely swim in the ordinary sense. This one moves across the stones in short scuttling hops, its stiff paired fins catching the rock like the soles of climbing shoes.

Tank mates

Twin-stripe lizard loach is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.