Astroblepids are closely related
to the Loricariids, and in fact one genus of fish
(Lithogenes Eigenman, 1909) seems intermediate
between the two families, having the shape and form
of an Astroblepid, but some plates on the body and
other morphological characters closer to Loricariids.
At the time of writing, Lithogenes is currently
placed in Loricariidae. Description:
This species is distinguished by the following characters:
adipose fin have well-developed membrane, without
spine; maxillary wattle reaching beyond the oral disk;
first pectoral radius larger than head longitude;
soft branching radii 6-7; first radius of pelvic fin
reaching beyond the anus; premaxillary has 0-19 bicuspid
teeth and 1-10 conical teeth in the external row;
first simple radii of caudal fin have a short extension;
fifth ceratobrachial bone with 8 teeth in the anterior
region; free vertebrae 27. Habitat:
Fishes of the family Astroblepidae are found in freshwaters
streams (between 200 to 13,400 feet above sea level)
of the tropical Andes from Panama to Bolivia, and
occur in both the western Pacific and eastern Amazonian
slope drainage systems in South and Central America.
Aquarium Care: Not an easy family
of catfishes to keep so they would have to have a
large tank with rocks and some appropriate vegetation.
The water would need to be fast flowing and provided
with extra oxygen via an air tube fed into the powerhead
flow. The tank should be set up with rocks so as to
provide an area where the water current will be slower.
Diet:Invertebrates,
insect larvae, spirulina tablets or paste, algae based
foods and live bloodworm would probably be the staple
diet but you may wish to try glassworm and blackworm
(although these won’t tend to stay on the substrate
unless the current takes them there). Etymology:
The specific name curitiensis: –ensis,
suffix denoting place: Municipio de Curiti, “land
of mists and beautiful sunsets” (translation),
Departamento de Santander, Colombia, type locality.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Astroblepidae
Distribution:
South America:Municipio de Curiti, Dept. de Santander,
Colombia.
Size:
12.0cm (4¾ins)
Temp:
15-20°c (57-67°f.)
p.H.
-
Reference:
Ardila
Rodríguez,
Carlos A.; Five New Species of Astroblepus
Fish for Colombian Andes. Universidad Metropolitana,
Barranquilla, Colombia. Vol. 1, Núm. 27 (2015). Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2023.
FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org,
( 06/2023 ). Ochoa LE, Melo BF, García-Melo JE, Maldonado-Ocampo
JA, Souza CS, Albornoz-Garzón JG, Conde-Saldaña
CC, Villa-Navarro F, Ortega-Lara A, Oliveira C.
Species delimitation reveals an underestimated diversity
of Andean catfishes of the family Astroblepidae (Teleostei:
Siluriformes). Neotrop Ichthyol. 2020; 18(4).
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