Golden Antenna Catfish - Ancistrus albino

The Golden Antenna Catfish (Ancistrus sp. "Gold") is the albino version of the Brown Antenna Catfish Ancistrus sp. from South America. These beautiful catfish lack the dark brown body color and are golden to orange-yellow with red eyes. Affectionately referred to as a windshield sucker or windshield cleaner, this herbivore is a member of the loricariid catfish family and is also known as L144.

With the typical underdeveloped sucking mouth the Golden Antenna Catfish rasps tirelessly algae coatings from hard surfaces and keeps the aquarium panes free of algae.

The Golden Antenna Catfish is rather nocturnal. It reaches a body length of approx. 14 cm and should therefore only be kept in aquariums with an edge length of 80 cm or more. The useful algae eater can live up to 19 years in the aquarium.

The sex differentiation is very easy with the Golden Antenna Catfish from a certain size, the males have antenna-like appendages on the head, which are branched like antlers. From these appendages the Antennae Catfish also gets its name. In the females they are much smaller and less pronounced, or absent altogether. The Goldancistrus is not a schooling fish, pair keeping is recommended, but single keeping is also possible without problems. The males are territorial and form territories, which are defended against conspecifics.

The Golden Antenna Catfish is quite easy to breed in the aquarium. The albino form is inherited recessively, so the golden form should be mated with another golden Ancistrus for pure breeding. A brown partner leads to brown offspring. In the following generation a small number of albinos will come out.

Golden Antenna Catfish lay their clutches in caves, they are cave breeders. There the male guards the clutch until the young hatch. The golden hatchlings are somewhat more vulnerable than the brown ones, for breeding they should be placed in a separate aquarium. Here it is best to relocate the whole cave with the clutch including the male already before hatching and catch the male out when the fry have left the cave. In addition to plant food, the fry also like to take Artemia nauplii.

Ancistras are very productive. Keeping two of the same sex would definitely be preferable here, or keeping them singly if you don't have a sure buyer for the offspring.

As bottom dwellers the nocturnal Golden Antenna Catfish do not swim much, but they need hiding places. For this purpose, you can provide roots or special catfish burrows made of clay. The disc cleaners are very undemanding in terms of water values, they can cope with soft to very hard water. For the Golden Antennae Catfish the temperature should be somewhat higher than for the Brown Ancistrus, between 22-28 °C.

Ancistrus sp. "Gold" is a practically pure herbivore. It rasps algae coverings and biofilms from hard surfaces. In addition, the loricariid catfish must be supplied with fibers. They get this by rasping off real wood (for example bog roots) or brown autumn leaves. An aquarium for Antennae Catfish needs real aquarium roots made of wood! Furthermore, Golden Antenna Catfish eat green food and vegetables (peeled and scalded or dried: zucchini, peppers, pumpkin, dandelion, tomato, peas, spinach, nettle, ...), tablet food for bottom-dwelling fish that quickly sinks to the bottom, and occasionally some protein in the form of frozen food. If Golden Ancistras do not find enough plant food, they may eat the plants. Especially Echinodorus leaves are readily eaten, the feeding damage looks typical: The leaf tissue is missing, the skeleton remains. With sufficient green food and fresh food one can prevent something and protect the plants.

Since Ancistrus sp. "Gold" is a very peaceful herbivore, it goes well with shrimp and with snails in the aquarium. Socialization with crayfish is a little more difficult, as it occupies the same niche (burrows on the bottom).

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic Catfishfeed for all aufwuchs feeding sucking catfish in the aquarium is a balanced tablet food, which does not cloud the water and the fish like to eat. The catfish tablets also contain NatureHolic active ingredient complexes, which provide the sucking catfish with everything they need for a strong immune system, healthy growth and great, contrasting coloration. As a snack, supplementary food or vacation food we recommend the CatfishPlates.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.

Size: 3-4 cm