SCOTCAT.COM  

his month (May, 2009) we stay with the Loricariidae family and concentrate on a cooler water Pleco in the "Bristly whiptail catfish" Rineloricaria latirostris.

Rineloricaria latirostris

In 1862 Bleeker in his description of Rineloricaria also mentioned Hemiloricaria and it is now ascertained that the latter occur in the warmer climes of South America and Rineloricaria hail from the southeastern and southern half of South America. Alongside the Ancistrus spp. this genus is another that needs a complete revision to sort them out. The problems have been that a lot of the Rineloricaira spp. were described in the last century and only loose locations were assigned to each species.

This species is very good at camouflage and the bottom image shows you the cryptic colours that it can take on to merge with the substrate and surroundings.

Showing its cryptic colouration

They live in the flowing mountain streams of the rain forrest so temperatures in the low end of the tropical scale would be better, especially for breeding purposes. The species that has been bred more often under this name is Rineloricaria sp. aff. latirostris which occurs near the city of Rio de Janeiro and as such is easier to export.

Bristly whiptail catfish

Loricaria latirostris, Loricaria paulina, Rineloricaria paulina

Loricariinae

South America: Upper Paraná River basin.: Type locality: Southern Brazil, Province São Paulo, Mogy-guassu River about 250 miles inland of Santos.

20.0cm. (8ins)

18-22°c (63-71°f)

Dorsal fin opposite to the base of the pectoral fins. Papillae and a protrusion of the lips. Bicuspd teeth with pointed tips.

Very peaceful inhabitant of a community tank with cooler temperatures.

If you are thinking of spawning them a separate tank kitted out with PVC pipes (not too large) for the placement of eggs would be a better option than a community tank, although growing on a few in the main tank from youngsters would suffice as they can be difficult to sex out when young and only when they get sexually mature that you tell the sexes apart. Articles on the breeding of Rineloricaria spp. can be found in the breeding article section of ScotCat and can be viewed here and here.

Difficult when young but sexually mature males take on small bristles to the cheeks and head area. The female is devoid of this.

Omnivorous species but likes a good bit of vegetable fare in their diet.

Bicuspd teeth: Ending in two points; a tooth with two cusps or points.
Cryptic: Hidden, obscure, little seen.
Dorsal fin:The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Omnivorous: Pertaining to both vegetable and flesh diet.
Papillae: A small fleshy projection, plural papillae.

Rineloricaria: Rhine = file; loricara = harness.
latriostris: latus, wide; rostris, snout, referring to its rounded snout, measuring half the length of its head.

Evers, H.-G. & Seidel, I: Mergus, Baensch Catfish Atlas Volume 1, 1st English edn., 2005. Pp.944.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Photo Credits

© Hans-Georg Evers