Dwarf suckermouth catfish a.k.a oto cat
otocinclus affinis

It belongs to the family Loricariidae

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Origin:
Southeast Brazil

Description:
A slender catfish with a suckermouth. A fairly high dorsal fin, but no adipose fins. About 1 ½ inches in length (4cm).

Color:
A base color that is light greenish gray to a muddy yellow. The fins have no color, or in some cases a light green.

Sexual distinction:
Mature females will be much bulkier.

Tank conditions:
Needs a current of some kind. So you can’t just have one in a bowl that doesn’t have a filter current, or current from a bubble curtain. Temperature 68-73 degrees Fahrenheit (20-23 Celsius). The ph and hardness ratings are not that important. The tank should be well planted with lots of hiding places.

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And don’t worry about the plants, the oto cat a.k.a dwarf suckermouth catfish will eat the algae that grows on them. That brings me to my next subject.

Food:
Will mainly eat vegetation, will also eat very small worms. Most people often buy the oto cat a.k.a dwarf suckermouth catfish to eat the algae growing in their tank, which it will earn it’s keep by doing.

Behavior:
Usually remains under cover during the day, most active at dusk and during the night, which is it’s normal feeding time. Will attach it self to the sides of vertical slabs of rock, plant leaves and stems or the side of the glass.

Sexual reproduction:
A difficult fish to breed, but what I’ve learned is that they breed similar to Corydoras. The eggs hatch after 2-3 days. The fry should be feed baby brine shrimp (artemia nauplii) micro worms or egg yolk powdered very very fine.

Compatibility:
Somewhat territorial but harmless. They will be just fine in a mixed aquarium when enough room is given.

Bronze Cory
corydoras aeneus

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Cost: The Bronze Cory is one of the cheapest and most readily available Corydoras available these days. Most Bronze Cory’s can be purchased for $5-10.

Short Bio: The Bronze Cory is originally described from the island of Trinidad, but now a days this very popular Cory is distributed by farmers in the Far East to all over the world, and is very rarely imported from the wild anymore. There are many different forms available, more popular forms are the albino and long-finned types. These two particular forms were actually produced in the aquarium, the latter is man-made and not a natural form.
Cordoras Aeneus is cheap, hardy, and a great Cory for the first time Corydoras breeder.

Origin:
First described from the clear streams in western Trinidad. So-called variations are found in most of South America.

Sexual distinctions:

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Female Bronze Corys will be broader in the body, and will grow to a longer length then the males. The males will also have longer , more pointed pelvic fins.

Tank conditions:
The tank measurements should be at least 24 x 12 x 12 inches (60 x 30 x 30 cm).
The temperature should be between 64-68 degrees Fahrenheit ( 18-26 Celsius). Water quality is not that important, the Bronze Cory can live in water that is soft/acid to moderately hard/alkaline. Just do normal water changes, other then that the Bronze Cory will be fine.

The tank should have a substrate that is of smooth-grained sand, should be well-planted. There should also be some bogwood for hiding places, some nice smooth stones, and some floating plants that will help create subdued lighting.
You can keep up to 6 in one tank.
The Bronze Cory is a bottom-dweller that will forage amongst the plants, occasionally you can see the Bronze Cory dart to the surface to take a quick breath of air.

Food:
In the wild the Bronze Cory will eat insect larvae, shrimps, worms, and crustaceans. But in a controlled environment such as an aquarium, the Bronze Cory will readily accept flake food, tablets and granular.

Behavior:
The Bronze Cory behaves very peacefully and is a great addition to any aquarium.

Breeding:
The Bronze Cory is one of the easiest Corydoras species to breed. Cory pairs will come together and form the classic “T” mating clinch, after a spell of group courtship, the female will lay her eggs on plants, rock, and usually the aquarium sides. The eggs are very small, only measuring 1.7 millimeters in diameter.
Feed the Bronze Cory live daphnia, bloodworm and tubifex to help get the Bronze Cory into breeding condition.
A ratio of 2 males to 1 female will be the best if trying to breed.

Pictus Catfish
pimelodus pictus

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Cost: $10-45, the price really depends on where you live and how far the Pictus Catfish had to be imported. Most buyers should be able to find the Pictus Catfish for sale at the cheaper end of the price range.

Short Bio: The Pictus Catfish with its silver body, elegant lines, and black dots is a truly striking species. To see this fish at its best be sure to provide plenty of swimming space. When ever handling the Pictus Catfish be sure to avoid the pectoral fins. The pectoral fins are very sharp and serrated and will easily get snagged in nets, and can easily prick your skin, which is a short, but painful experience.

Moving the Pictus Catfish to your tank, or another tank:
Normally I don’t need to explain how to transfer a fish, but when dealing with the Pictus Catfish there is a little extra work that must be done to ensure the fishes safety as well as yours.
When your try to catch the Pictus Catfish don’t use a net. As mentioned before the pectoral fins will get snagged in the net. So what you do is take a jar, large bowl, or Tupperware of some kind and try to scoop up the Pictus Catfish. This helps to avoid the fins getting snagged and will give you a better chance of not getting poked.
They are fast, so have fun try to catch them I know that I always do .

Origin:
Peru and Columbia.

Size:
Both males and females will roughly reach the length of 5.3 inches (13.5 cm).

Sexual distinctions:

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The only method that I know of is venting, because there is not way to determined a Pictus Catfish’s gender by just looking at one.

Tank conditions:
The minimum tank measurements should be 36 x 12 x 12 inches ( 90 x 30 x 30 cm).
Temperature 71-79 degrees Fahrenheit (22-26 Celsius). The water should be of good quality, soft to medium hard, with a Ph reading of 5.6—7.0, which is slight acid to neutral.
The tank should be decorated with plants, and have many hiding places. To create some hiding places try using trees roots, and be sure to have plenty of open areas.
You should only keep around 4 in a single tank (that has the dimensions mentioned earlier).
The Pictus Catfish tends to utilize the entire tank, and so it’s not a bottom dweller or surface fish, it’s a fish that uses all areas of the tank.

Food:
In the wild will eat smaller fish, and insect larvae. In the aquarium will eat a wide range of foods. You can feed the Pictus Catfish fish pieces, frozen foods, tablets, flakes, and even small strips of beef.

Behavior:
If the Pictus Catfish is kept with tankmates that are at least half its size there is usually not problem and the Pictus Catfish is generalized as a peaceful fish. As mentioned before the Pictus Catfish will eat small fish in the wild, so just don’t have small fish species such as Characins as tankmates.

Click here to learn more about the smaller fish that are of the Characins species and that shouldn’t be kept with the Pictus Catfish.

Breeding:
No known records of captive breeding. I once saw a documentary that showed wild Pictus Catfish breeding, and what the Pictus Catfish were doing was while a mouthbrooding cichlid was trying to scoop up eggs into its mouth the Pictus Catfish would fight a little bit with the cichlid while it layed its own eggs. Then the Pictus would swim away and the mouthbrooding cichlid would suck up the Pictus eggs, where they would hatch later on and eat the smaller cichlid fry that were hatching at the same time. Finally after eating all of the cichlid fry the Pictus babies would raise their dorsal, which would poke the mouthbrooder in the mouth and the Pitcus babies would swim out and start their own lives. Usually own 2-4 Pictus Catfish are born at a time.
If you have any information on the breeding the Pictus Catfish, please, feel free to leave a comment. You don’t need to join the site to leave a comment.

Striped Suckermouth Catfish
hemiancistrus vittatus

It belongs to the family Loricariidae.

Description:
Looks like most common Plecostomus, large low-set sucking mouth that is surrounded by fleshy lips.
Broad and flat pectoral and pelvic fins. Long, high, banner like dorsal fin. The mouth has barbels. The striped suckermouth catfish will get up to 4” in length.

Color:
Light green base, with black dots and yellow and black stripes on it’s fins.

Sexual distinctions:
The males will probably have whisker-like appendages on it’s head.

Tank conditions:
Temperature 70-77 degrees Fahrenheit (21-25 Celsius) Ph should be a neutral to slightly acidic rating. Soft to medium hard. The tank should have medium to hard lighting with a sandy bottom with plenty of hiding place among roots and other various decorations.

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Heavily planted with plants that are not too feathery, strong plants that can take a beating.

Food:
Here I can not say enough that no matter how many plants you have in your tank to please feed the striped suckermouth catfish at least 2 algae discs or wafers a week. They will get food from the tank but they need this extra. But on with the food. The striped suckermouth catfish eats algae and other vegetable matter. Will adjust to commercial food well, but plenty of plant matter is recommended.

Behavior:
Will mainly stay on the bottom of the tank that has running water. Is territorial, and aggressive with other members of its species. With age can become even more aggressive.

Compatibility:
Will work well with other species and gentle around even the smallest of fish.

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Sailfin Pleco a.k.a Common Pleco
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps

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Cost: Up to $10, cheaper when smaller.

Short Bio:
A truly beautiful fish when fully grown with its dark, and rich-brown color pattern. But it really a magnificent site when it holds its sail like dorsal fin erect. This fish sadly though, encounters a lot of problems when it’s smaller. The sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco is sold when it’s 3 inches usually, as the ideal “algae eater” for any size fish tank. The sailfin pleco a.ka common pleco will get up to 20 inches (50cm) in length when fully grown. So when thinking of purchasing a sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco, make sure to take it’s size into account.

Origin:

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Brazil, Rio Negro, Amazonas States.

Size:
Both, males and females, will get up to about 20 inches (50cm).

Sexual distinctions:
There are not physical features that you can look at but through examination of the genital papillae you will be able to tell it’s a females if it’s rounded and a males will be elongated. So males have a elongates genital papillae and a female will have a rounded genital papillae.

Tank conditions:
First the tank size should be 48 x 18 x 18 inches (120 x 45 x 45 cm).Temperature 71-81 degrees Fahrenheit (22-27 Celsius). The water should be of good quality and well filtered but other then that the parameters are not critical. The tank should have plenty of dense hiding spots amongst bogwood for the sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco, to take cover in. And if you want to, or planning on having plants in the tank then only the most robust of species should be used, and should be planted in pots to avoid being uprooted by the sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco.

Food:
In the wild will graze on algae, insect larvae, shrimps and small crustaceans. But in a controlled environment the pleco will need a diet that consists of algae wafers of tablets, and will eat any type of frozen food. And it will eat the algae on your glass so don’t over feed or it will just wait for the food rather then eating the algae off the glass. But please remember to give the sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco at least 1 algae wafer a every third day.

Behavior:
Even with it’s massive size, the sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco, is a very peaceful community fish. The only time that you may see a conflict between the sailfin pleco a.k.a common pleco and another fish is if it wants the space that another fish is in, but it’s still not a fight for it will just muscle its way into whatever spot it wants.

Breeding:
No known breeding methods.

Likely the most popular catfish in the hobby today belongs to Cordoradinae group, also known as Corys. In this group there are at the moment 170 different species with more being discovered almost daily. What makes them so popular is their color patterns, intriguing habits, and their relatively ease of breeding.
Sizes for these guys range from less then an inch (2.5 cm) and go up to almost 4 inches (10 cm). A large majority of them are well-suited for aquarium life.

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Now the Loricariidae group is another popular group that vary in size, color and form. The popularity of this group is due to the magnificent color patterns seen in many species. If you want a bizzare looking catfish then I recommend the small anchor catfish (Hara jerdoni), or try to Banjo catfish (Dysichthys coracoideus).

With so many species available, there is no doubt that you can maintain a lifelong interest is catfish as a whole.

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