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Aquarium Care: Even although this species is termed, along with other members of this family, as parasitic catfishes it is well behaved in the aquarium but is seldom seen until feeding time. Provide caves/pipes for this species. Diet: They will sometimes feed in daylight hours but to make sure they are getting adequately fed, you should add some food after lights out. They will eat bloodworm, tubifex, and earthworms chopped into small pieces (Grant, S. 2003). Etymology: The specific name metae: From the River (Rio) Meta, South America (Colombia). Remarks: It is not known whether this species feeds on the flesh or the blood of the living animals that it parasitises. It possesses opercule hooks that allows it to cling onto and then burry tunnels into its prey’s flesh (De Pínna and Wosiacki, 2003).

Leopard Candiru

Pygidium metae, Trichomycterus metae

Trichomycteridae

South America: Rio Meta. Type locality: Barrigona, Colombia.

8.0cm. (3¼ins)

25-28°c (77-83°f.)

6.0-7.0.

de Pínna, M.C.C. and W. Wosiacki, 2003. Trichomycteridae (pencil or parasitic catfishes). p. 270-290. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
DoNascimiento, CD, Herrera-Collazos, E.E., Mojica, J.I., Rodríguez-Olarte, D., Taphorn, D.C. & Usma, S. 2022. Ituglanis metae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Evers, H.-G. & I.Seidel: Mergus, Baensch Catfish Atlas Volume 1, 1st English edn., 2005. Pp.944.
Grant, Steven. ScotCat Factsheet no. 201. March 2013.