borneo sucker fish?

joeswife112099 · Post by **joeswife112099** » 01 Feb 2003, 01:05

I am sorry but I don't have a picture of this fish, but I bought it tonight and it is called a bourneo suckerfish. it is about the size of a quarter right now and it looks like a flat, flounder-like pleco. I was wondering if anyone has any info on this fish and could kelp me out. Oh, I am new to this forum by the way so HI!!

my name is wendy!!!

Post by **Rusty** » 01 Feb 2003, 01:54

Gastromyzon sp. are sold under that common name. Actually not a catfish, but a type of loach. Check out the Loaches.com species index for more info.

Rusty

joeswife112099 · Post by **joeswife112099** » 01 Feb 2003, 02:39

yep that's it! I would have never guessed that it's a loach though. I didn't notice any information that site. did I overlook it?

Post by **Rusty** » 01 Feb 2003, 02:45

The list I gave you is sorted by scientific name. Just scroll down until you find the stuff on Gastromyzon. Other closely related genera include Sinogastromyzon, Pseudogastromyzon and Neogastromyzon. Yours may be any of those.

Rusty

joeswife112099 · Post by **joeswife112099** » 01 Feb 2003, 02:48

I found the pics just not any info. I hear they only get 2 inches long is that true?

Post by **Dinyar** » 01 Feb 2003, 03:00

Sounds about right. A cool but somewhat fragile group of fish. They need fast flowing, cool water and a neutral pH. Sounds pretty simple, but they don't live very long in most people's tanks, because it's not easy to provide these conditions on a stable basis long term.

Dinyar

joeswife112099 · Post by **joeswife112099** » 01 Feb 2003, 03:02

I keep my tank at around 82f. is that going to be a problem?

Post by **Dinyar** » 01 Feb 2003, 03:08

If you have plenty of water movement (eg, power head, internal filter, etc.), it may not be a problem.

Dinyar

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Feb 2003, 03:34

I have managed to keep <i>Gastromyzon</i> for a considerable length of time, and the only problem is that they are strict algae eaters, so you have to provide plenty of algae for them to graze on.
Unlike plecs, they will not eat cucumbers, lettuce or any other greens.

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 01 Feb 2003, 03:48

Just curious. If it looks like a pleco, and eats algae like a pleco, why is it not a pleco?

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Feb 2003, 04:02

Actually, lots of fishes living in fast-flowing streams look like plecs. The flattened disc-shaped body, along with the enlarged paired fins is apparently the best way of producing a suction to hold the fish against strong currents.
Loaches such as gastromyzontines and catfishes like glyptosternines all have this shape and look almost identical to each other at first glance.
But, they all come from Asia and are in no way closely related to plecs.
Not all flattened disc-shaped, algae-eating fish are plecs.