Scooter Loach

About

Found in shaded forest streams and quiet backwaters on the Malay Peninsula and in western Borneo, Barbucca diabolica belongs to its own small family, Barbuccidae, and is unlike most loaches you've kept before. It's a dedicated bottom-dweller that keeps its belly pressed to solid surfaces almost continuously, and will readily crawl along plants, wood, and glass in inverted or even vertical orientations. Hobbyists often call these fish 'scooter' loaches for exactly that reason. They scoot rather than swim. In the aquarium it grazes on algae and organic matter, picking over hard surfaces much as a hillstream loach would. Adults are tiny, compact fish with a blunt snout, large oval eyes that flash red at certain angles, distinctive body striping, and rows of pronounced tubercles along the lower flanks. Despite being tagged as aggressive, the territorial behavior is fairly low-key. Short chasing bursts to defend a foraging patch, with no serious pursuit or biting. A group of at least six is strongly recommended, as these fish genuinely seem to settle better in company. Good tankmates include small schooling cyprinids like Boraras or Microdevario, Neocaridina shrimp, and appropriately sized hillstream loaches. No breeding records exist in the hobby as yet, and the species turns up only occasionally in the trade.