Can anyone ID this hillstream loach please?

[Eika]

Hi all,

I promised myself that no more loaches would be coming home until I set up my big tank, but this wee fella was just too pretty and unusual...
https://twitter.com/EricaRowlands/statu ... to/1/large
So, home he came and I've had no luck ID-ing him. He seems to be a gastromyzon of some sort, maybe he could be a G. viriosus with colour-faded fins from stress, but his head is definitely not speckled. The stripes along his body continue onto the head with no real change in pattern. Better pics soon hopefully but he's really shy and really fast! So please, any suggestions offered would be really appreciated. If it helps at all, most of the 'Borneo Suckers' sold around here (New Zealand) are of Sarawak origin. Thanks in advance

[Jim Powers]

WOw!! That's a beautiful fish!
Looking in Dr. Tan's book the fish that looks most like this is Gastromyzon auronigrus. I'm not sure if that species has been imported yet, though.

[ch.koenig]

G. zebrinus, Jim. Have a look at the pattern of the paired fins in G. auronigrus.
Cheers Charles

[Jim Powers]

I see now, Charles. The fins are different. I have never seen a zebrinus with a pattern like this. Is it a young fish?

[plaalye]

Beautiful! So many variations of g. zebrinus.

[Eika]

Sorry for the late reply, my laptop broke and I've been away from the internet for almost a week! A week!
I considered G. zebrinus initially but thought they all have speckly heads, having looked more into them on your suggestion it seems you're both quite right He/she is less than 3cm Jim, so probably quite a young fish, though I don't know much about their growth rates. It's a feisty little thing, seems quite happy to take on my adult ocellatus for a place on their favourite rock Thanks again for the advice!