Chaetostoma formosae • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Close-up of head
Video
Female - ventral view
Female - dorsal view
Male - ventral view
Male - close-up of ventral view
Dorsal view
Ventral view of upper body
Close-up of mouth
Eggs
Fry
Habitat : Rio Tulumayo
Habitat : Rio Tulumayo river bed
Video - Moment of egg hatching
Video - Five week old fry

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Chaetostoma formosae** Ballen, 2011
Common Name(s)	Blonde Bulldog Pleco, Blonde Rubber Pleco, Blonde Rubbernose Pleco, L187b, L444, Striped Bulldog Pleco, Striped Rubber Pleco, Striped Rubbernose Pleco
Type Locality	Colombia: Departamento de Boyacá, San Luis de Gaceno,caño Chuy affluent of río Upía, Boyacá – Casanareborder, upper río Meta basin, Orinoco drainage
Pronunciation	KATE oh STOW mah
Etymology	Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, stoma = mouth This species is named formosae, an adjective in genitive case derived from the latin formosa. The name honours my sister, Laura María Ballen, in recognition of her unconditional love and support to me.
Species Information
Size	103mm (4.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	The genus Chaetostoma is not straight-forward to identify, but as a general rule, the species has spines behind the gill-cover (interopercular odontodes), no plates on the abdomen, and aside from C. platyrhynchus also lack plates on the snout edge. Different from Ancistrus by not having fleshy tentacles on the snout. This particular species has spots only on the head. All fins are clear and each body armour plate is lined in black. The basic colouration is pale olive green. Aqualog shows this fish as L146/L146a and L187b. The real L146 (introduced in DATZ) is a rather unusually shaped but plainly coloured ancistrine loricariid also from Colombia. L187b is an Aqualog invention and only used here for reference/link back to the old Aqualog literature. Variously and incorrectly labelled as C. thomsoni and others. Some sources consider L444 the same as C. tachiraense. This may stem from a confusion about the Rio Tachira in the Rio Meta drainage, and the namesake river in the Maracaibo basin.
Sexing	The males have however a somewhat larger and broader head, slimmer ventral sides and disproportionately large pelvic fins. Perhaps the over-sized pelvic fins play a large role in the fertilization of the eggs. By inverting these over the clutch of eggs, they prevent the sperm cells being carried away too fast in the current.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Currently known from western piedmont tributaries of the upper río Meta and Guaviare basins, in departments of Meta and Casanare, Eastern Colombia, Orinoco drainage.
pH	6.8 - 7.8
Temperature	20.0-23.0°C or 68-73.4°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	Has more stringent demands on water quality than many plecos and requires highly oxygenated water. Medium hard water is also beneficial.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Omnivore. Will eat algae and small live or frozen food. Some individuals can be weaned onto pellet food although this usually takes some effort and trial and error on the part of the aquarist.
Furniture	Worn smooth rounded or slightly flat fist sized rocks on a fine sand substrate.
Compatibility	A peaceful fish which can sometimes be a little territorial with its own species.
Breeding	See Shane's World Article
Further Information
References	Pap. Avulsos Zool. (São Paulo) vol.51 no.26 São Paulo 2011
Registered Keepers	(1) xingumike, (2) walkinjay81, (3) Silurus, (4) amergim, (5) Sandtiger, (6) VirgoWolf, (7) FishGeek, (8) Matien (k: 3), (9) ani-mal-lvr, (10) Deb (k: 3), who also notes: "Will fight with C. dorsale.", (11) bluenewt, (12) nuth88, (13) Walter, (14) johnny1073, (15) NHL, (16) Martin S, who also notes: "Very skittish when approaching the tank, but is very quick to attach itself to tablet/pellet food and/or vegetables placed in the tank.", (17) Joetee, (18) fivespeed302, (19) Ill (k: 2), (20) ChileRelleno, (21) SoCalDiscus, (22) AU Chief (p: 2), (23) tash, (24) Crel (k: 2), (25) fleahound (k: 4), (26) JimHitchiner, (27) ali12345, (28) pmbooper, who also notes: "4 inch rubbernose in 40 gal.", (29) vman, (30) jha61, (31) andywoolloo (k: 2), (32) Camaroahopp, (33) Lakatu, (34) andy75, (35) storch31, (36) ronalddevries, (37) abaigael04, (38) ayrtoninst, (39) Timberwolf (k: 2), (40) marangmic, (41) Riv (k: 3), (42) hoody47, (43) jefflamb, (44) NC24, (45) TerryCherry (k: 2), (46) bongthecgb, (47) mike h, (48) snakelover, (49) ChanggyChinggy, (50) jimlaroche83 (p: 2, k: 4), (51) Quo, (52) Ecrevince, (53) Mata Negra (k: 2), (54) tropical (p: 2), (55) Terrycherry, (56) dolgolev (k: 2), (57) xakkan, (58) flipperfeet, (59) tomr (k: 3), (60) chriscarnivorous, (61) bslindgren (k: 2), who also notes: "This, like my other rubber noses, is an absolutely delightful fish. It is out much of the time and is quite attractive. Extremely good at cleaning algae. A little bit territorial, but mainly the other Chaetostoma.", (62) donpetty (k: 4). Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- Shane's World Reproduction A Chance Spawning of Chaetostoma sp. (L444) - CotM 2012 February - Search Planet Catfish for more on Chaetostoma formosae - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Chaetostoma formosae on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Chaetostoma formosae on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	32148 hits.
Last Update	2012 Jan 09 14:21 (species record created: 2001 May 05 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Chaetostoma formosae Ballen, 2011

Blonde Bulldog Pleco, Blonde Rubber Pleco, Blonde Rubbernose Pleco, L187b, L444, Striped Bulldog Pleco, Striped Rubber Pleco, Striped Rubbernose Pleco

Type Locality

Colombia: Departamento de Boyacá, San Luis de Gaceno,caño Chuy affluent of río Upía, Boyacá – Casanareborder, upper río Meta basin, Orinoco drainage

Pronunciation

KATE oh STOW mah

Etymology

Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, stoma = mouth This species is named formosae, an adjective in genitive case derived from the latin formosa. The name honours my sister, Laura María Ballen, in recognition of her unconditional love and support to me.

Species Information

Size

103mm (4.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

The genus Chaetostoma is not straight-forward to identify, but as a general rule, the species has spines behind the gill-cover (interopercular odontodes), no plates on the abdomen, and aside from C. platyrhynchus also lack plates on the snout edge. Different from Ancistrus by not having fleshy tentacles on the snout.

This particular species has spots only on the head. All fins are clear and each body armour plate is lined in black. The basic colouration is pale olive green. Aqualog shows this fish as L146/L146a and L187b. The real L146 (introduced in DATZ) is a rather unusually shaped but plainly coloured ancistrine loricariid also from Colombia. L187b is an Aqualog invention and only used here for reference/link back to the old Aqualog literature.
Variously and incorrectly labelled as C. thomsoni and others.
Some sources consider L444 the same as C. tachiraense. This may stem from a confusion about the Rio Tachira in the Rio Meta drainage, and the namesake river in the Maracaibo basin.

Sexing

The males have however a somewhat larger and broader head, slimmer ventral sides and disproportionately large pelvic fins. Perhaps the over-sized pelvic fins play a large role in the fertilization of the eggs. By inverting these over the clutch of eggs, they prevent the sperm cells being carried away too fast in the current.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Currently known from western piedmont tributaries of the upper río Meta and Guaviare basins, in departments of Meta and Casanare, Eastern Colombia, Orinoco drainage.

6.8 - 7.8

Temperature

20.0-23.0°C or 68-73.4°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

Has more stringent demands on water quality than many plecos and requires highly oxygenated water. Medium hard water is also beneficial.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Omnivore. Will eat algae and small live or frozen food. Some individuals can be weaned onto pellet food although this usually takes some effort and trial and error on the part of the aquarist.

Furniture

Worn smooth rounded or slightly flat fist sized rocks on a fine sand substrate.

Compatibility

A peaceful fish which can sometimes be a little territorial with its own species.

Breeding

See Shane's World Article

Further Information

References

Pap. Avulsos Zool. (São Paulo) vol.51 no.26 São Paulo 2011

Registered Keepers

(1) xingumike, (2) walkinjay81, (3) Silurus, (4) amergim, (5) Sandtiger, (6) VirgoWolf, (7) FishGeek, (8) Matien (k: 3), (9) ani-mal-lvr, (10) Deb (k: 3), who also notes: "Will fight with C. dorsale.", (11) bluenewt, (12) nuth88, (13) Walter, (14) johnny1073, (15) NHL, (16) Martin S, who also notes: "Very skittish when approaching the tank, but is very quick to attach itself to tablet/pellet food and/or vegetables placed in the tank.", (17) Joetee, (18) fivespeed302, (19) Ill (k: 2), (20) ChileRelleno, (21) SoCalDiscus, (22) AU Chief (p: 2), (23) tash, (24) Crel (k: 2), (25) fleahound (k: 4), (26) JimHitchiner, (27) ali12345, (28) pmbooper, who also notes: "4 inch rubbernose in 40 gal.", (29) vman, (30) jha61, (31) andywoolloo (k: 2), (32) Camaroahopp, (33) Lakatu, (34) andy75, (35) storch31, (36) ronalddevries, (37) abaigael04, (38) ayrtoninst, (39) Timberwolf (k: 2), (40) marangmic, (41) Riv (k: 3), (42) hoody47, (43) jefflamb, (44) NC24, (45) TerryCherry (k: 2), (46) bongthecgb, (47) mike h, (48) snakelover, (49) ChanggyChinggy, (50) jimlaroche83 (p: 2, k: 4), (51) Quo, (52) Ecrevince, (53) Mata Negra (k: 2), (54) tropical (p: 2), (55) Terrycherry, (56) dolgolev (k: 2), (57) xakkan, (58) flipperfeet, (59) tomr (k: 3), (60) chriscarnivorous, (61) bslindgren (k: 2), who also notes: "This, like my other rubber noses, is an absolutely delightful fish. It is out much of the time and is quite attractive. Extremely good at cleaning algae. A little bit territorial, but mainly the other Chaetostoma.", (62) donpetty (k: 4).

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Add this species to your My Cats species list

Add this species to your "my cats" page.

Breeding Reports

None.

More Resources

- Shane's World

Reproduction

A Chance Spawning of Chaetostoma sp. (L444)
Article

- CotM

2012

February

- Search Planet Catfish for more on Chaetostoma formosae
Link

- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Look up AquaticRepublic.com

- Look up Chaetostoma formosae on AquaticRepublic.com
Look up Fishbase

- Look up Chaetostoma formosae on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
Link

- URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)

Hits

32148 hits.

Last Update

2012 Jan 09 14:21 (species record created: 2001 May 05 00:00)

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