Ancistrus ranunculus
Muller, Rapp Py-Daniel & Zuanon, 1994
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his Ancistrus species is typified by its unusually broad
head flattened body and its black body colour. The
common name of "Tadpole Bristlenose Catfish" points to
this trait of its unusually flat head. The males head bristles are
very thick and not branched at the end, unlike most of this genera.
The image below shows the unbranched
and thorn shaped head bristles, or tentacles, in this male.
Both sexes have fleshy 'tentacles' but
the males are bushier and longer as typified in the picture
of a female below. Inhabits clear running water, to a depth
of 3 meters during dry season. Prefers narrow cracks of submerged
rocks, small passages between superimposed rocks, or lives below
flat rocks on the bottom.
In the aquarium you can provide
pipe work, flat and rounded stones in a river type setup on
a sandy substrate where they will happily reside under as long
as the stones are not too heavy. You will also need to provide
a good current in the water as they do prefer this and will
not do well without it.
A similar species exists, Ancistrus
sp.
(L255),
which also has spots when young but this species holds on to
this trait into adulthood whereas A.ranunculus does
not.
A broad head and flattened body.
Fewer teeth than your average Ancistrus.
Black body colouration with paler white blotches
to the body.
No problem with other fishes in
the aquarium but due to its liking for a water current you would
need to investigate further any species that would be compatable
with these conditions.
Unreported in the aquarium as A.ranunculus
is not one of the easiest species of Ancistrus to spawn.
Should be as per typical of this genera.
(See breeding Articles
on ScotCat.)
| Sexual
differences |
As with other members
of this genus the male sports bristles to the head area, the
male having the larger and more impressive tentacles and the
female may have shorter bristles.
|
| Feeding |
Likes a meaty diet which is somewhat different
from most members of the Ancistrinae.
Feed frozen foods such as bloodworm and pellet, tablet and pre-soaked
flake.
| References |
Ferraris, C.J.
Jr., 2007. Checklist
of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes),
and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Muller, S., L.H. Rapp Py-Daniel and J. Zuanon 1994
Ancistrus ranunculus, a new species of loricariidae fish (Siluriformes:
Loricariidae) from the Xingu and Tocantins rivers, Brazil.
Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 5(4):289-296.
Seidel, Ingo; Back to Nature guide to L-catfishes
208 p
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| Etymology |
Ancistrus:
With barbed hooks,
( hooked spines)
ranunculus: Meaning
"Tadpole" and referring to its unusually flat
head.
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| Synonyms:
|
| None |
| Common
Name: |
| Tadpole
Bristlenose Catfish, L034. |
| Family: |
| Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: |
Ancistrinae |
| Distribution: |
Brazil:
Xingu and Tocantins River basins. Type locality:
Brazil, Pará, Rio Xingú, furo do Tucum Seco, near
Arroz Cru. |
| Size: |
| 14.0cm. ( 5½ins) |
| Temp: |
| 26-30°c (79-87°f.) |
| pH.: |
| 6.0-7.0. |
| Hardness: |
| 0-15ºdGH. |
| Donation: |
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