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Johnny Jensen's  Photographic Library (3) Haakon Haagensen (1) Donald Taphorn (1) Mark Henry Sabaj (1)

Adult males sport long tentacles on the anterior of the head which is unique to this family. Females usually have short tentacles around the mouth. Colouration: Dorsum dark gray, small cream to yellowish dots on plateless area of snout, top of head, tentacles and entire length of body. Dots on head more numerous, smaller and closer together on top of head than on dorsum of body. Sides of head of body dark grey with white dots to caudal fin. Ventrum of head and body white. Oral disk and adjacent area on chest light. Spines, rays and fin membranes grey with white dots. Caudal-fin spine, rays and fin membrane light grey with no dots (Souza, LS de. et al). Aquarium Care: The Ancistrus genera make good community fish where they do not grow too big for the aquarium. Some species have different requirements in the aquarium so best to read up on the species you have whereas if they need higher oxygen requirements or not, or if they prefer cooler waters if they originate from the southern parts of South America against the species from further up north. Diet: Vegetable foods such as cucumber and courgette and also tablet and meaty foods. Breeding: Lay their eggs in caves as a cluster and the first signs of the breeding process is a few tiny fry darting around the community tank.

LDA074

Xenocara macrophthalma

Loricariidae

Venezuela: upper Orinoco River system from the río Cinaruco and further upstream to the río Casiquiare. Type locality: l’Orénoque, Venezuela.

12.0cm. (4¾ins)

25-29°c (77-85°f.)

6.0-7.5.

Seidel, Ingo; Back to Nature guide to L-catfishes 208 p
Souza, LS de; Taphorn, DC & Armbruster, JW, 2019 "Review of Ancistrus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the northwestern Guiana Shield, Orinoco Andes, and adjacent basins with description of six new species" (abstract) (Zootaxa, Vol. 4552 No. 1).