10. Catfishes (707)

  • Panaque from Colombia: L190, L191, L330

    15. March 2024

    We can currently offer all three striped Panaque from Colombia, namely L330 Panaque nigrolineatus laurafabianae (Colombia: upper Rio Guaviare drainage), L190 Panaque nigrolineatus nigrolineatus (Colombia/Venezuela: Rio Meta and lower drainage of the Rio Guaviare) and L191 Panaque cf. titan (Colombia: Rio Caguán, drainage of the Rio Caqueta). We have comparable sizes of all three forms […]

  • Batrochoglanis sp. I

    15. March 2024

    From two different suppliers, one from Peru and one from Colombia, we have received a catfish of the genus Batrochoglanis, whose identification to species level is not possible according to the publications to date.  Representatives of the genus Batrochoglanis are not difficult to recognize as such; typical of the genus is the shape of the […]

  • Rita rita

    8. March 2024

    The Rita catfish, Rita rita, is one of the most sought-after food fish in the Ganges-Brahmaputra system in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although the species has a large distribution area and is classified as “least concern” overall, certain local populations are apparently overfished. This species, which reaches a length of up to 150 cm, is […]

  • Calophysus macropterus

    29. February 2024

    The predatory catfish Calophysus macropterus belongs to the medium-sized species of the Pimelodidae (antenna catfish), the largest representatives of which can reach a length of around 2 meters. The largest Calophysus measured to date (there is only one accepted species, C. macropterus) is said to have been approx. 60 cm long, but animals as long […]

  • Rineloricaria sp. Jacareacanga

    28. February 2024

    We have received a small number of these new, really unusually marked Rineloricaria sp. Jacareacanga – named after the place where they were found on the Rio Tapajós. Many thanks to Ingo Seidel for the information on the origin of these catfish! Our largest animals are about 15 cm long. They are real beauties, who […]

  • Planiloricaria cryptodon

    24. January 2024

    Currently we have wonderful flounder whiptail catfish from Peru in stock. They are currently 10-13 cm long. These sizes give only the body length, as in Planiloricaria there is a filament on the upper lobe of the caudal fin that is as long as the body! Maximum length given in literature is 35 cm. Nevertheless, […]

  • Batasio fasciolatus

    5. January 2024

    For the first time ever we obtained a species of Batasio from North Bengal in India. They belong to the species Batasio fasciolatus, which was described scientifically only in 2006. One can see that the determination of species of Batasio is not that easy keeping in mind that B. fasciolatus was already subject of an […]

  • Corydoras seussi

    18. December 2023

    In the huge variety of species of Corydoras, four species stand out in particular due to their bright orange pectoral and dorsal fin spines: Corydoras sterbai, the associated long-snouted C. haraldschultzi, C. gossei and its long-snouted counterpart C. seussi. We aquarists are naturally delighted by this sight, but we should not forget that these are […]

  • Pseudancistrus genisetiger

    15. December 2023

    This beautiful loricariid catfish was already scientifically described in 1941. The type locality is the drainage of the Rio Jaguaribe in the Brazilian state of Ceará in the north-east of the country. The maximum length published to date is around 13 cm (10 cm without caudal fin). The Rio Jaguaribe is notorious for its erratic […]

  • Spatuloricaria sp. „Black-White Peru“

    8. December 2023

    The genus Spatuloricaria comprises currently 11 accepted species. Members of this genus are large, splendid whiptail cats. There is probably no species that stays smaller than 30 cm in length, some become definitely larger. This means that the fish have to be kept in large aquaria. Spatuloricaria are sensitive against poor water quality. Thus a […]

  • L90a Panaque bathyphilus

    6. December 2023

    The large, wood-eating Panaque species have their loyal fans. Although these animals only reach us in relatively small numbers, they have been on offer from exporters for decades. This includes L90, the variably colored Panaque bathyphilus from Peru, which can easily reach a body length of 60 cm in old age. We have reported on […]

  • Corydoras sarareensis ( = C23)

    4. December 2023

    It has been almost 20 years since we were able to offer this beautiful armored catfish from Brazil. Corydoras sarareensis, which was given its species name after the Rio Sarare from which it originates, was only scientifically described in 1995. Prior to this, the species was known as “C23” in the hobby. The Rio Sarare […]

  • Brachyplatystoma tigrinum (formerly: Merodontotus tigrinus)

    1. December 2023

    It’s hard to believe, but this striking and large catfish – the species reaches a final length of approx. 85 cm – which is also widely distributed in Amazonia (Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil) was only discovered in 1981! It was described in the genus Merodontotus, which was created especially for it, but is now […]

  • Corydoras sychri

    22. November 2023

    The beautiful Corydoras sychri from Peru – it lives in the Rio Nanay – is unfortunately only occasionally available. We currently have very nice, large specimens in stock. There are some species that can be confused with C. sychri. The best known is C. atropersonatus, which also comes to us from the Rio Nanay. C. […]

  • Corydoras sp. aff. aeneus “CW26”

    3. November 2023

    The Bronze Corydoras, Corydoras aeneus, is – this may be surprising – very poorly researched. We know armored catfishes that roughly correspond in appearance to C. aeneus from practically all of South America, we also know the appearance of animals from Trinidad (the place from which C. aeneus was scientifically described). We know that Bronze […]

  • Scobinancistrus raonii L82 ( = “Scobinancistrus sp. Orange Spot”)

    3. November 2023

    The beautiful L82 originates from the lower Rio Xingu in Brazil (around Altamira). The species is very variable in terms of spot size and shape. Wild-caught specimens also often have a yellowish-orange spot coloration or shiny green-blue spots (“Opal-Pleco”). A few days ago (on October 30, 2023), the species, which received its L-number back in […]

  • Rineloricaria lanceolata “Albino“

    31. October 2023

    Albinism, i.e. the complete or partial absence of black color pigments in the body cells, occurs widely as a mutation in the animal kingdom. While albinos rarely survive in the wild because of their striking light color, they are particularly popular in commonly bred animals. On many people albinos seem very attractive. The species Rineloricaria […]

  • Squaliforma cf. emarginata L11

    11. October 2023

    Among the loricariid catfishes that are known by scientists for a very long time already is this species. It has been described initially 1840 under the name of Hypostomus emarginatus. Since then it has been placed in different genera, in 2001 in Squaliforma and in 2016 in Aphanotorulus, when Squaliforma has been considered to be […]

  • Goeldiella eques

    9. October 2023

    From Peru we could import this interesting catfish, which is only rarely available, although the species has a very wide distribution in South America. The up to 30-35 cm long fish has already been reported from the whole Amazon region and from the Guyana countries. Zoologically Goeldiella eques belongs to the family Heptapteridae; there are […]

  • Corydoras axelrodi (“deckeri”)

    7. October 2023

    Since many decades Corydoras catfishes are sold from Colombia under the fancy name “Corydoras deckeri”. Where this name comes from is not documented, probably there was once an exporter named Decker, but nobody knows about him today. The “Corydoras deckeri” come from the Rio Meta. Behind the name there are four different Corydoras species: Corydoras […]

  • Chaetostoma dorsale (L147, L443)

    2. October 2023

    The bristlemouth catfish (Chaetostoma) are an exceptionally diverse genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. According to Fishbase (2023), 47 species are currently considered valid. From Colombia, more precisely from the surroundings of the city of Villavicencio, the capital of the department of Meta, Chaetostoma have been exported for decades as common “bread-and-butter fish”. However, it was […]

  • Myoglanis koepckei

    20. September 2023

    This small catfish, unique in its combination of characteristics, originates from Peru. There it was collected (scientifically) for the first time in 1984 in a small tributary of the Rio Nanay, which had sandy bottom covered with debris (probably dead wood, dead leaves etc). The scientific description was then in 1999 as Myoglanis koepckei. In […]

  • Peckoltia sp. L265/LDA84

    15. September 2023

    There are three forms of orange fringed plecos among L catfishes, namely L76 (tributaries of Rio do Pará, Brazil), L99 (also tributaries of Rio do Pará, Brazil), and L265 (Rio Tajajós and its tributary Rio Jamanxin, Brazil). Thus, all sites are located within the state of Pará. L265 has also received LDA number 84 after […]

  • Brochis splendens “Peru“

    13. September 2023

    From the upper Amazonas drainage in Peru we regularly receive the beautiful emerald catfish, Brochis splendens. From this region no less than four synonyms of this armored catfish, distributed in three genera (Brochis, Chaenothorax and Corydoras) were described by the famous biologist Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897)! This shows very clearly how different the fish can […]

  • Corydoras ortegai (CW31)

    8. September 2023

    This cute corydoras is relatively new. It was scientifically described only in 2007. In the hobby it was known a bit longer as “Loreto Panda”, “New Panda” and under the code number CW31. The CW-numbers are assigned on the homepage of Ian Fuller (https://www.corydorasworld.com/). The complete distribution of the pretty species is not yet known. […]

  • Corydoras loretoensis

    1. September 2023

    The extremely great popularity of the Corydoras in aquaristics is certainly due to the combination of peacefulness, usefulness and nice appearance that these fish combine. They all have these characteristics, and so you really can’t go far wrong when it comes to deciding which species to choose for your aquarium. But there are subtle differences […]

  • Brachyplatystoma capapretum

    16. August 2023

    The genus Brachyplatystoma is called “Goliath Catfishes” in English, because some of its species belong to the largest freshwater fishes at all: up to 3.6 m length are given in literature! In South America they are ubiquitous and important food fish, of which more than 30,000 tons are consumed annually. Nevertheless, distinguishing the species is […]

  • Corydoras sp. CW 89/CW 106

    4. August 2023

    The Rio Vaupés – so the Spanish spelling – or Rio Uaupes – that is the Portuguese one – is a “small” right tributary of the Rio Negro. After all, the “little one” has a length of 1,375 km! It rises in Colombia in the foothills of the Andes and forms the state border with […]

  • Baryancistrus xanthellus L81c Sao Felix

    21. July 2023

    The great hype surrounding L catfish has long since given way to normal handling of these beautiful and interesting fish. One of the enduringly popular species is Baryancistrus xanthellus, which entered the hobby under L numbers L18, L81 and L177. The species is common and frequent in the Rio Xingu and its tributaries. Nevertheless, it […]

  • Corydoras virginiae

    28. June 2023

    At the moment we have one of the most beautiful corydoras from Peru in our stock, which contributed with the number “C4” more than 25 years ago to create a real corydoras boom. The species is one of the distinct schooling fishes within the genus Corydoras. In addition, C. virginiae is a very lively species, […]

  • Ancistrus sp. L 267 Pozuzo

    2. June 2023

    The “four-striped Ancistrus” L267 is still a somewhat mysterious species. Even if the first specimen became known already in 1996, this Ancistrus always remained a top rarity in the trade and was not available at all for years. Even the origin remained unknown until now. We get the fish from an exporter in Peru, who […]

  • Corydoras hastatus

    26. May 2023

    Now is the season for the southern dwarf cory Corydoras hastatus. We get this cute Corydoras, which grows to about 2-3 cm long, from Paraguay. In contrast to most other Corydoras, C. hastatus is less bottom bound. He swims just as gladly in the free water. Often schools of C. hastatus are mixed with several […]

  • Pseudolaguvia muricata

    22. May 2023

    In recent years many highly interesting catfish species ideally suited for aquaristics have been discovered from Asia and imported for aquarists. The first species of the genus Pseudolaguvia were described already in 1927, but only recently it was recognized that this is a very species-rich genus of dwarf catfishes, which usually grow only about 2-3 […]

  • Corydoras sp. aff. aeneus Neon Goldstripe Albino

    15. May 2023

    Albinos occur in all animal species, including humans. Due to a mutation they lack the ability to form black pigments completely or partially. In nature, albinos are extremely rare, because they are too conspicuous and thus quickly become the victim of predators, in human care albinos occur sooner or later in all animal species. Since […]

  • Cetopsorhamdia molinae

    12. May 2023

    For the first time we could import this cute dwarf catfish from Peru. In the scientific literature the maximum size is given as 3,6 cm (without caudal fin). It is absolutely incomprehensible, why this attractively striped fish (however, there are numerous individual colour morphs from banded to almost completely black, some animals are also of […]

  • Pseudolithoxus nicoi

    21. April 2023

    We could import some specimens of the pretty white fringed flying catfish Pseudolithoxus nicoi from Venezuela. This very rarely available species grows to a length of about 12 cm. P. nicoi originates from the Rio Casiquiare, which connects the Rio Negro with the Orinoco. There is great similarity to P. anthrax (L235), which is why […]

  • Loricaria luciae

    31. March 2023

    From Paraguay we received a nice shipment of mouthbrooding whiptail catfishes (Loricaria). Because of the known difficulties to identify species in Loricaria exactly, we first named them provisionally as L. simillima, the aquaristic best known species of the genus, which also occurs in Paraguay. Now that the animals are somewhat acclimated and also the latest […]

  • Lamontichthys filamentosus

    24. March 2023

    From Peru we could import some Lamontichthys filamentosus. This graceful, beautiful species reaches a body length of about 20 cm, the fin filaments can become even that long.  Lamontichthys are very sensitive fish, which need optimal water conditions. In addition, the fish are often difficult to bring to the food. Obviously they are very shy […]

  • Batrochoglanis villosus

    20. March 2023

    From the Rio Xingu in Brazil we have received frog catfishes, which are assigned to the species Batrochoglanis villosus. Batrochoglanis was previously placed with Pseudopimelodus. More recent work has divided the frog catfishes into a whole series of genera, which makes it difficult to see through, especially since many species from different genera look darn […]

  • Corydoras sp. CW113

    15. March 2023

    Just as indeterminate sucker catfishes (Loricaridae) receive L and LDA numbers, indeterminate armored catfishes (Corydoras) receive C and CW numbers. The very first C-number assigned was given in 1992 by Werner Seuß to a Corydoras from the upper Rio Negro (Rio Icana). This fish is remarkable in many ways, but the most striking is: there […]

  • Hassar orestis

    10. March 2023

    From Venezuela we could import this pretty and lively thorny catfish. The species is widespread in South America and reaches a length of about 18 cm. In behavior these diurnal catfishes resemble the Corydoras species; however, they are much more active swimmers and constantly on the move in the aquarium.  They are peaceful, sociable animals. […]

  • Hemidoras boulengeri

    10. March 2023

    For a long time there were very different ideas among ichthyologists about the generic classification of the thorny catfishes. Aquaristically mainly the genera Doras, Hassar, Hemidoras, Leptodoras, Tenellus and Anduzedoras cause classification problems due to their similar appearance and relatively few useful color characteristics. Fortunately, this has little practical impact because they are all fairly […]

  • Corydoras sp. “punctatus Nanay”

    3. March 2023

    From the Rio Nanay in Peru comes this beautiful spotted armored catfish, which probably belongs to a scientifically undescribed species. It was first mentioned and pictured in aquaristic literature as Corydoras punctatus in the 1930s, but C. punctatus is a completely different species that looks similar to C. julii. Later, the “Nanay” was sometimes assigned […]

  • Pseudeutropius moolenburghae

    20. February 2023

    From Indonesia we received the interesting catfish Pseudeutropius moolenburghae. This shoaling fish, which grows to a maximum length of 10 cm, is very similar in behavior to the well-known glass catfish Kryptopterus vitreolus (formerly known as K. bicirrhis), but is slimmer, livelier and above all has eight long barbels, while the glass catfish has only […]

  • Corydoras treitlii

    8. February 2023

    The long-nosed Corydoras treitlii from the lower Amazon – specimens caught for export mostly come from the Belem area – is one of the real rarities in the trade, although the species is one of the longest known armored catfishes. It was scientifically described already in 1906. With over 7 cm maximum length C. treitlii […]

  • Panaque sp. L191

    27. January 2023

    The large wood-eating Panaque of the relationship around P. nigrolineatus are fantastic fishes. Juveniles are almost splendidly colored, so also L191, a species which is still not described scientifically. L191 originates from Colombia. According to the available information the native area is the Rio Caguán in Caquetá. Particularly splendid is with young L191 the green […]

  • Corydoras sterbai WILD

    25. January 2023

    The splendid Corydoras sterbai probably knows every aquarist child. As one of the most beautiful corydoras at all it belongs to the standard offer of the pet trade and is bred in large quantities; there is also an albino breeding form, which does not occur in the wild. Wild Corydoras sterbai from the Rio Guaporé […]

  • Sturisomatichthys sp. Colombia II

    20. January 2023

    The whiptail catfishes belong to the popular and well breedable loricariids. For example, the Real Royal Farlowella (Sturisomatichthys festivus) has been in continuous breeding for almost 50 years, wild catches of this species are very rare. For other species, wild catches and offspring coexist in the hobby.  In former times Sturisomatichthys was considered to mainly […]

  • Corydoras condiscipulus

    18. January 2023

    Only very rarely this beautiful, long-snouted Corydoras reaches us, because the catch areas are far away from the usual routes. The species was scientifically described only in 1980, but it is known much longer. Because already in 1972 during the examination of the Corydoras material of the species Corydoras oiapoquensis it was noticed that beside round-nosed animals (these are the “real” Corydoras oiapoquensis) there are also long-nosed fish. At first it was thought at that time that this was the natural variability, but in 1980 it was decided to separate the long-nosed as a separate species Corydoras condiscipulus.

    These two armored catfishes occur together in the Rio Oyapock in French Guyana; the species name condiscipulus means „schoolmate” because the two species swim together. There are hardly any ornamental fish exports from French Guyana; it is usually too expensive. But fortunately the Oyapock also flows in neighboring Brazil (state of Amapa) and so specimens from there come to us from time to time. By the way: we also received C. oiapoquensis, maybe more about that later…

    For our customers: the animals have code 226105 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

    Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

  • Soon available: Rineloricaria aurata

    13. January 2023

    From Paraguay we regularly receive shipments of the small whiptail catfishes of the genus Rineloricaria. No less than 65 species are currently recognized, which makes identification in many cases almost impossible without knowledge of the origin. But in the case of Paraguay, there is a recent revision of the species known from this river system […]

  • Pimelodus pictus

    9. January 2023

    Among the large antenna catfishes (Pimelodidae) Pimelodus pictus belongs to the dwarfs. Scientifically proven are 11-12 cm length, but in the aquarium, where these fish can become very old, also 25 cm are said to have occurred. In nature these fishes probably do not live longer than 2-3 years, the keeping record in the aquarium […]

  • Ancistomus cf. sabaji L75 offspring

    6. January 2023

    We have received very nice offsprings of L75, which are currently 6-8 cm (26480-L 075x-2) and 10-12 cm (26480-L 075x-4) long. Here the report of the breeder, for which we thank very much:

    Breeding report Ancistomus cf. sabaji L75

    Until breeding L75 was a long way. I tried it for seven years with two groups. It turned out: patience is always the key to success with difficult plecos.

    L75 is a pleco that has fascinated me for some time, so I was happy when I got three adults (two males and one female) in 2014. I had no success with this group, but six years later, in 2020, I bought seven more. Things went very quickly with this group. Several of the males showed interest in the caves, and I was happy to soon find one on a large clutch. The fight for the cave with other males stressed the brooding animal quite a bit, and after 3 days he threw the clutch out of the cave. 

    I managed to recover about fifty eggs, but because of a fungus, only six hatched, all of which fortunately survived. Later I removed four adults, so I ended up with the breeding male and two presumed females. Further reproduction now went very well, with the male mating with both females and taking care of the eggs and young, this time without disturbance.

    The adults are 20-25 cm and are fed an insect-based diet with some fresh fish and mussels. Soft, neutral water, 28-30 degrees Celsius. The number of eggs per clutch was 150-250, depending on the size of the female. The fry grow very well on a varied diet under the same conditions, are gray at first and get the leopard pattern at about 3 cm. All in all, due to its more active behavior compared to other plecos, L75 is a very entertaining species whose care and breeding can only be recommended. 

    Knut Hatteland Sømme 

  • Parotocinclus bahiensis and P. cearensis

    6. January 2023

    The genus Parotocinclus currently exists in a kind of shadowy existence in aquaristics. In contrast to their cousins of the genus Otocinclus, hardly anyone knows these equally small loricariids, which are, however, equally zealous algae exterminators. We have received from the Northeast region (Região Nordeste), more precisely from the states of Cereá and Bahia of […]

  • Corydoras kanei

    4. January 2023

    This pretty, at most 5 cm long corydoras wandered for many years under different names through the aquariums, until it was finally described in 1997 by Steven Grant as an independent species: Corydoras kanei. Unfortunately the description is flawed by the fact that the type specimens came from the trade and therefore the type locality […]

  • Corydoras “punctatus” Nanay

    21. December 2022

    There is a saying: “The Internet forgets nothing”. This may be true, but books are even more durable, especially if errors have been printed in them. These are often so stubborn that one could almost despair. This is what happened to a very pretty armored catfish that occurs in huge numbers in the tri-border area […]

  • Tetranematichthys wallacei

    16. December 2022

    At present three species of the strange genus Tetranematichthys are distinguished. None of them comes more frequently or even regularly into the trade, because their hidden way of life makes their catch a pure matter of luck. So we were particularly pleased to be able to import the species T. wallacei from Colombia. We are […]

  • Ancistrus sp. Bushmouth LDA 72

    9. December 2022

    Ancistrus species belonged to aquaristics long before one even thought of the term L or LDA number. Unfortunately, the systematics of the group is complex, there have been and still are misidentifications and – this is especially unfortunate – the species can apparently often be crossed, so that aquarium hybrids have been created unintentionally. Such […]

  • Corydoras sodalis (incorrect as agassizii).

    30. November 2022

    There are four species of beautiful corydoras, which are practically without exception available as wild collected specimens from Brazil, because even experienced breeders have a hard time with them. In addition, these species occur in masses and can therefore be offered in large numbers and very cheaply, so there is little incentive to breed them. […]

  • Astroblepus from Colombia

    25. November 2022

    The L-catfishes or Loricariidae from South America belong to the most popular and most desired catfishes for the aquarium. However, even experienced aquarists have hardly ever had the opportunity to see a living representative of the genus Astroblepus. It is the only genus of the family Astroblepidae, the closest relatives of the Loricariidae, distinguished from […]

  • Aspidoras raimundi “Ceará”

    18. November 2022

    The representatives of the genus Aspidoras are popularly also called loach armored catfishes, which is quite a good description. Because the animals are slimmer and more scurrying, than one is generally used to from Corydoras. With 25 species recognized so far, the genus is quite species rich. Their identification is difficult for non-specialists, because species […]

  • Pseudacanthicus sp. L600

    4. November 2022

    We have received fantastic leopard cactus plecos L600. They are german bred ones. One specimen is as beautiful and flawless as the other! We are extremely enthusiastic about the quality of the animals. They are currently 6-8 cm long. For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 600-2 on our stocklist. Please note that we […]

  • Parancistrus sp. Rio Araguaia L56n / LDA46

    2. November 2022

    The genus Parancistrus includes only two scientifically accepted species, the Golden Parancistrus (P. aurantiacus), which was erroneously also assigned L-number 56 (this is incorrect) and P. nudiventris, which was assigned L-numbers 31 and 176; this is a black catfish with very fine white spots. In addition, we know L258 from Rio Iriri, a black catfish […]

  • Hypostomus sertanejo

    26. October 2022

    For the first time we can offer this very nice Hypostomus from the Rio Jaguaribe (Cerea State, Brazil). It is a species that was described scientifically only in 2017, although 19 specimens of this species were found in the scientific collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, U.S.A., which had been collected and […]

  • Corydoras cf. brevirostris CW 27 Highfin

    12. October 2022

    We received a limited number of this extraordinary Corydoras from Colombia. The overall appearance is very much alike Corydoras brevirostris (formerly known as Corydoras melanistius brevirostris), but CW 27 has a much much higher dorsal fin and the “glowspot” on the nape is much brighter. For our customers: the animals have code 224954 on our […]

  • Physopyxis lyra

    7. October 2022

    Although this dwarf among the thorny catfishes – it only grows to about 3 cm in length – was scientifically described as early as 1872, it was completely unknown to aquarists until a few years ago. This is a pity, because they are droll, very interesting small catfishes, which are also suitable for small and […]

  • Rineloricaria teffeana

    24. September 2022

    The small remaining whiptail catfishes of the genus Rineloricaria enjoy great popularity among aquarists. They have a whimsical appearance, are peaceful, have no high space requirements and can usually be bred quite well. Some species have even really fancy pattern. The most beautiful is certainly R. teffeana. It has no bright colors, but a really […]

  • Parotocinclus jumbo LDA25, now available as German bred!

    24. September 2022

    The cute Parotocinclus jumbo, also known as Pitbull Pleco or LDA25, is a very popular aquarium fish. Unfortunately imports take place only very irregularly and can hardly be planned. Therefore we are happy to be able to offer this nice little fish as offspring now. More information about the species can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/lda25-parotocinclus-jumbo-2/ […]

  • Hara hara/Erethistes pusillus

    19. September 2022

    In India live two species of moth catfishes, which are practically impossible to distinguish in living condition. They are nevertheless sometimes even assigned to two different genera: Hara and Erethistes. The difference between the two genera lies in the structure of the vertebral body, that is, of something invisible in the living animal; according to […]

  • Corydoras melanotaenia

    9. September 2022

    Because of its bright yellow fins Corydoras melanotaenia surely belongs to the most beautiful armored catfishes at all. It is, so to speak, the long snout to the bronze cory type, which can be found throughout South America. In contrast to its ubiquitous cousin, C. melanotaenia is an endemic of Colombia, i.e. it occurs exclusively there.

    The origin of C. melanotaenia, which was already scientifically described in 1912, was unclear for a long time. It is said that the animals on which the first description was based were caught in the Rio Magdalena basin, where later expeditions searched for them in vain. Already in 1922 it was assumed that the type specimens were sent to London via Honda (this place is located at the Rio Magdalena), but in reality they came from the Rio Meta basin. In fact, to date, not a single species of Corydoras has been reported from the Rio Magdalena and it is generally agreed that C. melanotaenia comes from the Rio Meta basin.

    This Corydoras grows to about 5 cm and has all the positive characteristics that make Corydoras so popular in the aquarium: a lively and completely peaceful nature and uncomplicated keeping.

    For our customers: C. melanotaenia has code 235503 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

    Text & photos; Frank Schäfer

  • Corydoras leucomelas

    2. September 2022

    Corydoras leucomelas belongs to the frequently imported species of its genus. Typical characteristics of the round-nosed species are a strongly pronounced eye band, the coloration of the dorsal fin in connection with the black dorsal spot located at the beginning of the dorsal fin, a vertical black band at the end of the caudal peduncle […]

  • Hoplomyzon sexpapilostoma

    26. August 2022

    Within the banjo catfish family (Aspredinidae), there is a group of dwarfish small species (called the tribus Hoplomyzontini) divided into four genera: Ernstichthys, Hoplomyzon, Dupouyichthys and Micromyzon. They grow only 2-3 cm long. In nature they live buried in fine sand (at least during the day). Most species prefer the deepest channels of medium to […]

  • Bagrichthys macracanthus

    26. August 2022

    Bagrichthys macracanthus is a very interesting catfish from Southeast Asia (East Sumatra). This catfish reaches a maximum length of about 20 cm. In nature it lives in calm river sections. Among themselves, especially the males are quite incompatible, in pairs or in groups of a male with a surplus of females maintained, however, the species […]

  • Tatia intermedia

    12. August 2022

    From Peru a larger number of Tatia reached us thanks to this import we can now solve an more than 10 year old puzzle. In 2011 we received from this country monochrome Tatia, which could not be assigned to any known species (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/tatia_sp_tahuayo_river_en/). Now it is clear: it is a monochrome color variant of T. […]

  • Corydoras loxozonus

    11. August 2022

    This Corydoras belongs to the most attractive and at the same time easy to keep species of the large genus Corydoras. One should only consider that C. loxozonus – it originates from the Orinoco and its tributaries – likes it warm; below 24°C the temperature of the water should not sink in the long run. […]

  • Corydoras narcissus and Corydoras bethanea (= C. sp. “Narcissus II”; CW6)

    29. July 2022

    The changed export regulations in Brazil, which have been valid for some time, have now made it possible to import Corydoras narcissus again after a long time. Corydoras narcissus is a beautiful, relatively large armored catfish. The maximum length is given with 10 cm. The species comes from Brazil, more precisely from the drainage of […]

  • Chandramara chandramara

    25. July 2022

    In 1822, the most comprehensive book on the fish life of the Ganges River in India to date was published. The author was the Scottish physician Francis Hamilton, who was in the service of the East Indian Company. Hamilton had detailed drawings made of all the fish species he found in the Ganges. His draftsman […]

  • Corydoras desana

    22. July 2022

    There are still Corydoras species which are imported so rarely and in such small numbers that they belong to the unfulfilled dreams of armored catfish lovers. One of the most attractive species of this group is certainly the “Tukano Longnose”, as it was first named, then it received the code CW011 and finally the species […]

  • L90a Panaque bathyphilus

    8. July 2022

    The large-growing, magnificent Panaque bathyphilus is very variable in coloration. We have at present quite splendid 16-20 cm long animals in stock. With this they are about half grown, as maximum length for P. bathyphilus about 60 cm are given. It goes without saying that these large fish should only be kept in large aquariums. […]

  • Oxydoras niger

    29. June 2022

    With a maximum length of 1 meter Oxydoras niger belongs to the largest species of thorny catfishes. Nevertheless it is a very peaceful species and therefore quite attractive for owners of very large aquariums, show aquariums and zoos. Fully grown these fishes are uniformly black (this is exactly what the species name “niger” = black […]

  • Corydoras pulcher

    28. June 2022

    The species name pulcher means “the beautiful one”. And that actually says it all. We can currently offer this really beautiful armored catfish, which, along with a whole range of species with which it can easily be confused, comes from the Rio Purus drainage in Brazil. Corydoras pulcher grows to about 6-7 cm in length. […]

  • Corydoras armatus

    17. June 2022

    In the last years we reported more often about Corydoras imports, which are similar to Corydoras armatus (= sp. aff. armatus or cf. armatus), but not identical. Now we received again the “real” C. armatus from Peru. The enormously high dorsal fin is really an eye-catcher. In addition it is always carried tautly upright, which […]

  • Platysilurus mucosus

    15. June 2022

    Predatory catfishes exude a special fascination to many a catfish lover. Unfortunately, many species simply become too large for permanent care in a normal sized home aquarium. However, there are also species that grow to only 20-30 cm in length and for which it is therefore not necessary to flood the entire basement to meet […]

  • Glyptoperichthys parnaibae

    25. May 2022

    For the first time ever we can offer Glyptoperichthys parnaibae, so far known exclusively from the Rio Parnaiba in Brazil. The Rio Parnaiba is located in the northeast of Brazil and has a high proportion of endemic, i.e. only there occurring fish species, because there is no connection to other river systems. The juveniles of […]

  • Platydoras armatulus

    20. May 2022

    The snarling zebra catfish – this is how Platydoras armatulus could be popularly called. However, it is actually called the striped raphael catfish. All spiny catfish can make distinct growling or croaking sounds when taken out of the water. They vibrate their whole body. Presumably this serves as a defense against enemies. But even without […]

  • Corydoras sp. CW 51

    18. May 2022

    The “New Pandas” from Colombia belong to the most attractive and at the same time easy to keep and breed corydoras of the last years. There are two forms/species, CW 49 and CW 51, which differ clearly in the shape of the black saddle spot. For CW 49 please see here: https://www.facebook.com/page/119893808211837/search/?q=cw49, for origin etc. […]

  • L129 var Hypancistrus debilittera

    16. May 2022

    The small remaining, nicely marked Hypancistrus debilittera from the Rio Bita (a tributary to the Rio Meta, Colombia, Orinoco drainage) enjoys a great popularity since years. Already with 7 cm length the males become sexually active, the maximum length is given with about 12 cm. We import this species regularly. Recently we received a “Hypancistrus […]

  • Acanthicus adonis

    6. May 2022

    Now it is season again for one of the most beautiful of all loricariid catfishes: Acanthicus adonis. The species name “adonis”, which is reminiscent of the ancient god of beauty and vegetation, Adonis, is aptly chosen. For like the god described as a beautiful youth, the Adonis catfish is such a beauty only when young. […]

  • Ameiurus melas

    6. May 2022

    Among the aquarium fishes that have been kept already in the 1890ies belong the two species of bullhead catfish Ameiurus melas and A. nebulosus. Both species are very similar to each other and even specialists have problems to tell them apart. Initially bullhead catfish were brought to Europe as foodfish in the 1880ies from the […]

  • Corydoras sodalis Colombia

    22. April 2022

    Widespread species often show coloration differences in the different parts of the distribution area. So also the beautiful Corydoras sodalis, which is reported from Peru, Brazil and Colombia. From Colombia we could now import C. sodalis, which differ quite clearly in color and figure from e.g. animals imported from Brazil (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras-sodalis-2/). For our customers: […]

  • Rhinelepis cf. strigosa

    14. April 2022

    The two species of the genus Rhinelepis – R. aspera and R. strigosa – belong with over 60 cm attainable final size to the largest armored catfishes at all and are therefore predestined as show objects in zoos, public aquariums and of course also for owners of gigantic private aquariums. Color-wise they have nothing to […]

  • Corydoras robustus

    8. April 2022

    This Corydoras belongs with 9-11 cm of total-length to the biggest and most splendid species of the genus at all. Both sexes develop, when they are sexually active, long dorsal fins. The males can be recognized by the additional long ventral fins. At the moment we have wonderful, fully grown, well settled animals in stock. […]

  • L92/L194 Lasiancistrus tentaculatus

    7. April 2022

    There seems to be a consensus among armored catfish enthusiasts that L92, which is very widespread in the Orinoco drainage of Colombia and Venezuela and later received another L-number, namely L194, is identical to Lasiancistrus tentaculatus, which was described in 2005. However, L. tentaculatus is described as more or less monochromatic brown, while L92 is […]

  • Hypoptopoma sp. Ucayali

    4. April 2022

    From Peru we could import very nice Hypoptopoma. Most of the import consisted of H. gulare (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/hypoptopoma-gulare/), but there were some specimens with very conspicuous, broad bands in the dorsal fin and contrasting caudal fins. Unfortunately the identification attempt based on the current revision of the genus (Aquino & Schaefer, 2010) did not give […]

  • Batrochoglanis sp. Venezuela

    28. March 2022

    Something is happening with the South American bumblebee and frog catfishes! In former times they were assigned to the long-whiskered catfishes (Pimelodidae), today they are placed in an own family, the Pseudopimelodidae. Often in the trade are the striking yellow-black marked, only 3-8 cm large South American bumblebee catfishes (Microglanis, 23 species), and the similarly […]

  • Corydoras sp. “Ogawae” CW86 (cf. armatus)

    25. March 2022

    Corydoras armatus is a rather distinctive cory from Peru. We have also received this beautiful species, which is notable for its particularly high dorsal fin, from Venezuela from time to time (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/corydoras_armatus_venezuela_de/). Geographically this all fits together well, the catching regions both belong to the upper drainage of the Amazon.  However, there is a […]

  • Tatia musaica/ Centromochlus musaicus

    23. March 2022

    When the first black and white “Tatia” appeared in the ornamental fish trade some years ago, they were celebrated as a sensation. (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/centromochlus_sp_ninja_en/ and https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/tatia_musaica_en/). We identified these fish, which originated in Brazil, as Tatia musaica. In 2017, a team of scientists published a study on Centromochlus species and described the species previously known […]

  • Ancistrus sp. L184 (= L107)

    18. March 2022

    One of the most attractive Ancistrus species is this so far not scientifically identified species from the middle Rio Negro in Brazil. There the beautiful fish is not rare, in some places even very common, but the species apparently prefers biotopes which are avoided by the local fishermen; otherwise it can hardly be explained why […]

  • Rineloricaria lanceolata “Red Dun“

    11. March 2022

    For the first time we can offer the breeding form “Red Dun” of the Chocolate Whiptail Catfish. This new breeding form goes back to a wild-caught male that we were able to import from Paraguay in November 2015 (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/rineloricaria_lanceolata_en/). We gave it, together with some normal females of the same import, to our breeder […]

  • Hypancistrus contradens L201a Big Spots

    4. March 2022

    From the lower Rio Ventuari in Venezuela – the largest tributary of the Orinoco – as well as from the Orinoco itself in the Ventuari estuary comes a beautiful Hypancistrus. It has large, bright spots on a deep black ground. The coloration of the spots is varying between shy white and orange-pink. There is a […]

  • Synodontis polli “White”

    25. February 2022

    Some time ago a small Synodontis appeared in the hobby, which is called “White Polli”. But the “White” has little in common with the actual Synodontis polli. The dorsal fin spine of “White” is bicolor, black in the lower half, white in the upper half. This species is distributed in the hobby almost exclusively as […]