Description:
Species of Acestridium Haseman, 1911 are
highly distinctive, small sized, specialized loricariid
catfishes, which have very narrow body, snout prolonged
with a distinctive anterior spatulate projection,
and usually green colour in life. Acestridium
was diagnosed by Schaefer (1991) based on the following
characters: ten principal caudal-fin rays; plates
at anterior snout margin forming conspicuous spatulate
projection; head and body very slender, depressed;
dorsal surface of head and trunk with longitudinal
ridges; dorsal fin placed posteriorly, well beyond
pelvic fin and just anterior to anal-fin origin; adipose
fin absent; dermal plates anterior to first dorsal-fin
proximal radial expanded, bearing ventromedial keel
contacting the dorsal margin of the neural arches
of the vertebrae six through twelve; and ridge of
bone on the ventral surface of the lateral ethmoid
contacting the metapterygoid channel reflected mesially.
Currently, seven species of Acestridium are
described: A. discus Haseman, 1911, A.
dichromum Retzer,
Nico & Provenzano, 1999, A. martini Retzer,
Nico & Provenzano, 1999. A. triplax,
Rodriguez & Reis, 2007, A. gymnogaster
Reis & Lehmann, 2009, A. scutatum Reis
& Lehmann A., 2009, and A.
colombiense Retzer, 2005. Aquarium
Care: will need a fairly strong current in
the aquarium. Not the easiest to care for so really
a catfish for the more experienced Loricariid keeper,
so would be better in a species tank on their own.
Diet: Fine Vegetarian foods especially
algae and small meaty foods such as brine shrimp nauplii.
They rarely sit on the substrate but on leaf stalks
and branches so they are especially difficult to feed.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Loricariidae
Distribution:
South America:
Lower Negro River basin, Brazil. Type locality:
Igarapé de Cachoeira Grande, near Manaos, Brazil.
Size:
6.5cm. (2½ins)
Temp:
25-29°c (77-85°f.)
p.H.
6.5-7.2.
Reference:
Froese, R. and D. Pauly.
Editors. 2014. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic
publication. www.fishbase.org, (01/2015). Rodriguez, Monica S.;
Reis Roberto E. ;
A new species of Acestridium Haseman, 1911 (Loricariidae:
Hypoptopomatinae) from the Eastern Amazon basin, Brazil.
Neotrop. ichthyol. vol.5 no.4 Porto Alegre Oct./Dec.
2007. Schlüter, Michael; Acestridium
dichromum. Quick introduction. Amazonas magazine
12. July/August 2007.
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