Farlowella
acus (Kner, 1853) |
he common name of "Twig Catfish" certainly sums up this
member of the Loricariidae family as one look at the picture shows
an animal reassembling a twig or stick and it is now sadly a forgotten
"pleco" with the onslaught of the L-numbers in the last
10 years or so relegating this once sought after catfish to the
memories of yesteryear.
The genus name of Farlowella is named
in honour of William Gibson Farlow the famous American botanist
of the last century, and the beginning of the 21st, who's main work
was actually working with algae plants which brings us to the one
of the most favourite foods of this slender catfish "algae".
It is quite difficult to get a right balance in feeding this species
as greens are predominately its main food and they do not do all
that great on meaty foods such as bloodworm, frozen or live, or
any other types of worm food, algae wafers are another good possibility.
Water quality is another issue as Farowella do not take kindly
either to large wholesale water changes as they quickly succumb
to the shock of such an action. A better idea is to make two or
three small water changes per week with aged water so as not to
upset their equilibrium.
There are at present 36 species of Farlowella with F.acus,
F.vittata and F.gracillis being the most commonly
exported varieties. There is slight differences between the different
types which sometimes can lead to confusion in the hobby not to
mention the headaches that the Judges on the show circuits have
to put up with (so I won't mention it :-)) One very important I.D.
is the ventral scutes on these species and it is one way of differentiating
between them. Below are two line drawings of such a scenario.
Also in the line drawing above you can see the differences between
the elongated snouts of the two species with F.gracilis being
the longer and slimmer and also the threadlike appendages adorning
the caudal fin.
To sex out this species is comparatively
easy as the male (in breeding condition anyway) has
a broader snout (rostrum) from the female and is adorned with short
bristles. Sometimes it is hard in young specimens to tell
this difference but I have always found a sure fire method by running
your fingers along the snout of a captured specimen and you can
feel the slight roughness of the male compared to the female.
The photograph above was captioned as a pair
but I am sure with the differences in the ventral scutes and the
bristles on both of the rostrums, that we have a male F.acutus
on the left and a male F.gracilis on the right of the picture.
Farlowella acus is a native of Venezuela and some records show
catchment areas of Colombia and Brazil but they may have been specimens
of other species of Farowella such as F.gracilis or
F.gladiola.
D1/6; A1-5; P1/5-6; V1/4-5; 33-34 bony scutes
in a lateral series. On the belly the rows of of lateral scutes
are closely aproximated. Snout 4-4½ times in the distance
from its tip to the anus (snout tip to front of mouth).
Olive-green to yellow-brown, underside yellowish.
A very distict irregular dark band, often beset with blotches, extends
from the head to the root of the tail. Fins transparent, the rays
with dark spots. Each caudal lobe with a dark band.
An easy catfish to keep? no I don't think
so as there have been many unexplained deaths attributed to this
species (myself included) and as such would need dedicated care
from an experienced catfish keeper who has worked with this species
or its close cousin from the Sturisoma genera. As this is
a very timid species, if housed with other inhabitants you would
be better keeping away from boisterous fish such as some of the
Barb species (such as tigers) and definately Cichlids. Better companions
would be the unobstrusive Corydoras species and small Characins
or Rasboras.
In the aquarium the male will clean a hard
surface usually the aquarium wall and the female lays its eggs last
thing at night or early morning with upwards of 60-80 laid. The
male mouths and fans the eggs with his pectoral fins and they hatch
in 6-10 days depending on the temperature, thereafter the problems
start as you will have to feed them more or less right away on the
right foods.
This is where a well matured and planted aquarium would be beneficial
as the fry can feed of the established plant material and the micro
bacteria in the tank and also be supplemented with lettuce, corgette
(zucchini) and cucumber but it will not be an easy task as high
losses are reported in the first few weeks of life until they can
get a foothold on life. A good method of feeding which has had a
good success rate, is green peas squeezed out of the shell and crushed
into a paste which you can then sprinkle at the front of the tank
so you can see at the end of the day what has been left over, and
then subsequently siphon the waste out and replace again. This should
be done every day.
In their natural habitat they spawn from between November and March
but can be induced at any time (if in good condition) in captivity.
They are mostly vegetarian with algae being
their number one source of food for adults and young fry so the
above mentioned foods along with vegetable laden tablets should
suffice.
| Etymology |
Farlowella:
Named in honour of W.G.Farlow of Harvard University.
acus; Pointed;
a neadle or spine.
|
| References |
Sterba,
Gunther; Sterba's Freshwater Fishes
of the World 2
Baench; Aquarium Atlas 1
Catfish Association of Great Britain; Vol.1
| Factsheet
Request |
Nia Vermeulen
|
| Photo
Credits |
Top & Bottom Pictures: Sam
Storry.
Line Drawing: Sterba,
Gunther; Sterba's Freshwater Fishes of the World 2 |
|
|
| Synonyms:
|
| Acestra
acus |
| Common
Name: |
| Twig Catfish |
| Family: |
| Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: |
| Loricariinae |
| Distribution: |
Venezuela. Lake Valencia and Torito River. |
| Size: |
| 18.0cm. (7ins) |
| Temp: |
| 24-26ºC
( 75-79°f) |
| pH.: |
| 6.0-7.0 |
| Donation: |
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