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ne of the earliest kept Loracariids (pleco's) along with the various Ancistrus species and the common Plecostomus was this slim-like fish and its compatriots in the Rineloricaria genus such as R. filamentosa, R. lanceolata and R. microlepidogaster, and in Gunther Sterba's two volumes of the "Freshwater Fishes of the World (1973)" there is line drawings of all four of these species showing tail filament's and an excellent drawing of the ventral plates on each of them. The fish we once knew for many years as Rineloricaria parva and then Hemiloricaria parva has now undergone a name change again to Rineloricaria parva. On some online searches the synoynm of Hemiloricaria parva still appears.

Rineloricaria parva

This in my opinion is one of the most difficult whiptail species to identify with any great certainty as being easy to breed they are abundant in show and club auctions and are just sold as Rineloricaria, they could be anyone of half a dozen species or even crosses between two close species as a few of them have the cross banding on the body area but in the main R. parva should have double extensions to the caudal lobes.

There are plenty of articles in the various aquatic magazines on the breeding of this species and ScotCat has also an in-depth piece from the late and much missed Helen Burns titled appropriately enough "Rineloricaria parva, The Whiptail Catfish".

A member of our club, Greenock & D.A.S., has also bred this species but the unusual aspect of this spawning was that the female laid her eggs in a pipe that was floating on the water surface. Below is a thumbnail gallery of this spawning. Click on the thumbnails for a larger picture.

Remarks: This species is still listed in Fishbase and Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes as Rineloricaria parva but the name is sometimes seen in some quarters as Hemiloricaria parva. Issbrücker (Issbrücker in Issbrücker et al, 2001) declared the synonymity of Rineloricaria and Hemiloricaria as no longer valid, and the latter again as an independent genus. The differences between the two genera are based on the positions of the males bristles and the top caudal filament on adult Hemiloricaria which is absent on Rinelolricaria.

	Male guarding eggs in plastic pipe on surface of water (1)
	Male guarding eggs in plastic pipe on surface of water (2)
	Fry at the age of one week
	Fry at the age of two weeks
	Individual fry at two weeks
	Fry feeding at two weeks

Ventral Views

L to R
  R. parva, R. microlepidogaster, R. lanceolata, R. filamentosa

Common Whiptail Catfish

Loricaria parva, Hemiloricaria parva

Loricariinae

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay: Paraguay River basin. Type locality: Descalvados, Matto Grosso Brazil.

12.5cm (5ins)

20-25ºC ( 67-77°f)

Dorsal: 1/7, Anal: 1/5, Pectorals: 1/5, Ventrals: 1/4 29 bony scutes in a lateral series. The pectoral fin-spine reaches to the second quarter of the ventral fin-spine when both are laid back. Upper and lower rays of caudal fin have long filaments. On the hinder part of the belly there are 3-4 rows of ventral scutes between the lateral ones; on the anterior part are numerous small scutes.

They are easy to keep and breed and do well in a community tank as long as there is species that are not too aggressive kept alongside them.

Provide caves or pipework where the females will lay their eggs as in the wild they are laid in hollow logs or branches. The male takes over the guarding of the green coloured eggs and they hatch, depending on water temperature, between 3 and 10 days.

Provide a good vegetable diet for the adults such as cucumber, courgette (zucchini) and also sinking tablet food. Fry can be reared on the same foods after a start on brine shrimp and blanched lettuce leaves.

Adipose fin: Fleshy finlike projection without rays, behind the rayed dorsal fin.
Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Melanophores: The pigment cells that permit colour change, and the concentration of pigment granules within these cells determine the type of colour that is produced.
Pectoral fin: The paired fins just behind the head.
Vomerine teeth: Teeth present on the vomer which is the anterior bone in the mid-line of the roof of the mouth.

Photo Credits

Allan James @
Bottom Drawing: Gunther Sterba; Freshwater Fishes of the World (1973) Vol 2.