PlanetCatfish.com

At work we've got a nice aquarium to look at when we need a break from our usual workday activities. We've got this nice little (~12 cm long) fellow there, and I haven't got a clue as to what it is - I think it's some kind of Loricariidae, but that's as close as I can get on my own...

catfish.jpg

Sorry if it's a bit sluggish, the image is hosted on the wrong end of a DSL line, and to make matters worse, it's rather large (and thus provides plenty of detail).

We used to have a Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps as well, but it outgrew the tank (no surprise in that) and was sent back to the store it was bought from.

That's not a catfish...it's a Chinese algae eater (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri).

And a fairly big subadult at that.

big CAE's are the bullyboys in the tropical fishkeeping world.

they often have a bad attitude!


watch the other fish closely. if they're developing scrape-marks, rips, nips and suckermarks; remove it asap.

sometimes they turn into really bad serial killers.....

Well, so much for my ability to find the right genus and species

We've had a few unexplained deaths among the smaller fish, so I guess it's time to really keep an eye on what happens...

I'd love to see it go anyway, and be replaced by something with an L-number