Ancistrus triradiatus
Eigenmann, 1918
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f you would like to venture into the breeding of the family Loricariidae
here is a species which you can get your teeth into and start
you off and hopefully take you on a journey to the more fancier
L-numbers of the Panaque, Peckoltia and Hypancistrus
genera's. Along with the various
Rineloricaria and Loricaria the genus Ancistrus
is one of the easiest to begin with
and the many species in this genera have been bred for many years,
and one of them is this months (June 2012) factsheet subject,
the Three ray bristlenose catfish, Ancistrus triradiatus.
Why the "Three ray bristlenose catfish"?. This is brought
about by the three soft rays in the anal fin peculiar to this
species, ie: triradiatus, meaning three rays.
Below is an image of the orange eggs in
pipework. Unlike the Rineloricaria/Loricaria genera who
like an open pipe or cave at both ends the Ancistrus
males prefer to have one end blocked off although this does not
stop a determined pair if it is an open cave, but it does give
better options for spawning.
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Orange eggs
of Ancistrus triradiatus |
For your tank set up you can provide a sand substrate with driftwood
and pipwork with closed ends. Water circulation for oxygen intake
is a benefit.
Males possess large bushy tentacles to the
mouth area, the females are very much smaller. Three rays to the
anal fins.
Variations on mottled brown with the fins
sporting brown banding/lines. The juveniles lack the light caudal
fin edging that is found in a lot of aquarium bred species of
Ancistrus.
As with most of this genus it will do well
in an aquarium where it will wipe out any algae. You can house with
most of the Tropical fish species that are found in the hobby today.
Try not to put too many bottom living species with them as this
limits there tendancy to concentrate on producing fry.
Relatively easy to breed where the female
will deposit her eggs, up to 100, in a confined space such as pipe
work. The juveniles can be raied on tablet and vegetable foods.
| Sexual
differences |
Males have, as in this
genera, bushy tentacles to the mouth area and the females
have them very small.
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| Diet |
Feed vegetable foods such as lettuce, cucumber
and courgette (zucchini). Will eat most aquarium fare.
| Etymology |
Ancistrus:
With barbed hooks, ( hooked spines).
triradiatus:
three rays.
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| References |
Baensch, H.A.
and R. Riehl 1995
Aquarien Atlas. Band 4. Mergus Verlag GmbH, Verlag für
Natur- und Heimtierkunde, Melle, Germany. 864 p.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of
catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes),
and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Seidel, I. 2008. Back to Nature guide to
L-catfishes, Ettlingen, Germany 208 p
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| Glossary
of Terms |
Anal fin: The
fin forward from the anal cavity.
Caudal fin: The tail.
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© Shane
Linder
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