Habitat:
Unlike all other genera of subfamily Callichthyinae,
the species of Lepthoplosternum are absent
in the northern portion of the South American continent,
north of the Rio Amazonas. The species are found in
the upper Rio Amazonas in Peru (L.
altamazonicum),
middle Rio Madeira and the Madre de Dios, Peru (L.
beni), Rio Paraguay (L.
pectorale), and in the laguna dos Patos
drainage (L.
tordilho) in southern Brazil (Roberto
E.Reis). Aquarium Care: Peaceful
species which will do well in a planted tank with
free swimming place. They can be quite easily housed
in your planted community tank as they don't grow
as large as thoracata or littorale and
don't show any aggressive tendencies. Reproduction:
This small species is a bubble-nester, where the female
deposits her eggs in floating plant material or a
floating polystyrene lid. Will attempt to spawn in
a community setup, but if they do it would be a good
idea to move the pair to their own breeding tank to
make sure that the spawning is successful, in that
the fry will survive the attentions of the rest of
the tank inmates. Males have thicker pectoral spnes.
To read a report on breeding this genera you can go
to the breeding article
section for an indepth look at "how to do it".
Diet: As with most "Hoplo's" a
good varied diet of frozen, live and a good quality
flake food. It will eat most things given and of course
keeping up the water changes.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Callichthyidae
Distribution:
South America:
Madeira River basin in the Beni region of Bolivia
and Peru. Type locality: Peru: Madre
de Dios: Tambopata Reserve (12º15'S, 69º17'W).
Size:
5.0cm (2ins)
Temp:
23-25°C (73-77°F)
p.H.
6.5-8.0.
Reference:
Ferraris, C.J. Jr.,
2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes:
Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary
types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628. Reis, R.E., 1998. Systematics, biogeography,
and the fossil record of the Callichthyidae: a review
of the available data. p. 351-362. In L.R. Malabarba,
R.E. Reis, R.P. Vari, Z.M.S. Lucena and C.A.S. Lucena
(eds.) Phylogeny and classification of neotropical
fishes. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. Reis, R.E. and C.C. Kaefer, 2005.
Two new species of the neotropical catfish genus Lepthoplosternum
(Ostariophysi: Siluriformes: Callichthyidae). Copeia
2005(4):724-731.
Lepthoplosternum
beni
From the Madre de Dios, Tambopata Reserve, Peru
Lepthoplosternum
beni Head view - From the
Madre de Dios, Tambopata Reserve, Peru
Lepthoplosternum
beni
Dorsal and caudal view - From the Madre de Dios, Tambopata Reserve,
Peru
Lepthoplosternum
beni In aquarium
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