fish · Cobitidae
Borneo loach
Pangio shelfordii
Wild range: Sundaland: Peninsular Malaysia (Terengganu, Pahang, Johor) and Singapore, Sumatra (Riau, Jambi, Bangka) and Borneo (Sarawak; Kapuas and Mahakam basins, Kalimantan) (FishBase; Seriously Fish). (Asia)
At a glance: Borneo loach care
Compiled reference information. Review the care notes and original sources below.
What temperature is listed for Borneo loach?
The compiled profile lists 22.0–26.0 °C for Borneo loach (Pangio shelfordii). Check the original sources below for context and differing recommendations.
What tank size is listed for Borneo loach?
The profile lists a minimum tank volume of 15.9 US gallons (60.0 liters). Volume alone does not establish suitability; consider dimensions, group size and other inhabitants alongside the full care notes.
What pH is listed for Borneo loach?
The compiled profile lists a pH of 5.5–6.5. Review the cited care sources alongside the other water parameters in this profile.
Natural habitat
A mottled kuhli loach from the blackwater forest streams and peat swamps of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Instead of the orange-and-black bands of the common kuhli loach, it has brown blotches and saddles on a pale pinkish-tan body and a dark bar at the base of the tail. It is a shy, peaceful, sand-burrowing loach that is mostly active after dark and does best in a group in a soft-water tank full of leaf litter. It is imported now and then, often mixed in with shipments of other kuhlis.
Where they are found
Pangio shelfordii (Popta, 1903) is valid in ITIS (TSN 640117), GBIF (2367941, accepted), FishBase and Catalog of Fishes. Original combination: Acanthophthalmus shelfordii Popta, 1903 (also spelled Acanthophthalmus shelfordi / Acantophthalmus shelfordii). Kottelat (1987) showed Acanthophthalmus is a synonym of Cobitis and replaced it with Pangio. Type locality: Sarawak River near Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. As currently understood the species is an assemblage that probably contains several unidentified taxa, and colour pattern varies a lot between populations (Kottelat & Lim 1993; Tan & Kottelat 2009; Bohlen et al. 2011; Kottelat 2012, per Seriously Fish). Singapore and Johor fish may be Pangio muraeniformis (de Beaufort, 1933), which is a valid separate species (Loaches Online lists Acanthophthalmus muraeniformis as a synonym, so it is noted here rather than aliased). Some Sumatran and Bornean populations look like P. piperata, which often lives alongside it; P. piperata is plainer, has fewer vertebrae (mode 47 vs 50) and males have longer pectoral fins. It belongs to the P. shelfordii group (lower-lip barbels, a dark bar at the tail base, a spotted tail), which is distinct from the banded P. kuhlii / P. semicincta / P. myersi kuhlis (see our Kuhli loach and Giant kuhli loach pages). Max length 8 cm TL (FishBase) / 70-80 mm SL (Seriously Fish). IUCN: Least Concern (assessed 2019, per FishBase and Aquarist Atlas).
Aquarium care
A tank of at least about 60 L (60 x 30 cm footprint, about 15 US gal) suits a small group (Seriously Fish; Riverpark Aquatics; Aquarist Atlas). Use soft, fine sand, because it burrows and can injure itself or stop feeding on coarse gravel. Add driftwood, caves, dense planting and dried leaf litter under fairly dim light (Seriously Fish; Aquarist Atlas; Riverpark Aquatics). Keep it at 22-26°C. Loaches Online notes that it is one of the cooler-water kuhlis and becomes stressed above about 26°C. Water should be soft and acidic: pH 5.5-6.5 (wild habitats go much lower, and it tolerates up to about pH 7) and up to about 5 dGH (Seriously Fish; FishBase; Loaches Online; Riverpark Aquatics). Use gentle filtration with no strong current, guard filter intakes, and fit a tight lid because loaches jump (Seriously Fish; Riverpark Aquatics). Add it only to a mature, cycled tank (Loaches Online; Riverpark Aquatics). Like other kuhlis it has very small scales and is sensitive to copper and full-strength medications, so use half doses or copper-free treatments (Aquarist Atlas).
Feeding
A bottom-sifting micropredator that strains small insect larvae and crustaceans from the substrate. Feed sinking pellets, granules or wafers as a base, and offer frozen or live Daphnia, brine shrimp, bloodworm, mysis, microworm and grindal worm regularly (Seriously Fish; Loaches Online; Riverpark Aquatics; Aquarist Atlas). Drop food after lights-out so this shy, nocturnal fish gets its share before bolder tankmates eat it all (Aquarist Atlas).
Compatibility
Peaceful with its own kind and with other fish, though it may eat eggs or fry. It is gregarious and packs into shared hiding places, so keep at least 5-6 (Seriously Fish; Riverpark Aquatics; Aquarist Atlas). Loaches Online gives three as the absolute minimum. Good tankmates are small, calm soft-water fish such as Boraras, small Rasbora, Sundadanio, Trichopsis, Sphaerichthys, pencilfish and small tetras (Seriously Fish; Riverpark Aquatics). Avoid large, boisterous or predatory fish (Riverpark Aquatics; Aquarist Atlas).
Breeding
Not bred in aquaria (Seriously Fish; Loaches Online). Ripe females are plumper and a little larger than males, and in mature males the first pectoral-fin ray is visibly branched and thickened (Seriously Fish).
Sources
Compiled from multiple independent care sheets — not copied from a single site.