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Allan James (3) Ivan Sokol (2) Danny Blundell (1)

Similar looking to Dianema longibarbus but D. longibarbus has much larger eyes. Aquarium Care: This is a peaceful midwater to bottom swimmer that will do better if kept in a group of at least 4 as individuals on their own tend to sulk and never seem to progress too well. Try to resist placing them in an aquarium with aggressive species such as some Cichlids, they will do better with the usual community type fish and of course along with Corydoras sp. Diet: Omnivorous, taking most foods but preferring live and frozen such as daphnia, worms, white and grindal, and bloodworms. Will also accept good quality flake and tablet foods. Key to species: Interopercle covered by skin, not visible externally; caudal peduncle shallower (14.3-17.2% of standard length in specimens larger that 55.0 mm SL). Etymology: The specific name punctatum: Latin for spotted, referring to small, roundish black spots on entire body (except upper surface of head and dorsal region) and on dorsal and caudal-fin rays. Remarks: Hoplosternum punctatum is only found in the Río Atrato basin in Colombia and in the Pacific coastal drainages of Panamá, in southern Central America and is near threatened because it nearly meets all subcriteria for classification under a threatened category using criterion B1ab(iii), (IUCN 2020).

Spotted hoplo

None

Callichthyidae

South America: Pacific coastal drainages of Panama and Atrato River basin, Colombia. Type locality: Rio Marte Arnade, 6 miles east of Panama City, Panama.

8.0cm (3¼ins)

18-26°C (64-79°F)

6.0-8.0.

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Reis, Roberto E. 1996. Hoplosternum Gill 1858. Version 29 April 1996.