L038 - Banded dwarf catfish - Peckoltia spec.

The very peaceful small Banded Dwarf Catfish Peckoltia sp. (L 38) from the Rio Tocantins in Brazil stands out due to its beautiful pattern. Here a dark brown line pattern meanders on a reddish to cream background - not as contrasting as other L-catfish, but still beautiful to look at. The males of the Banded Dwarf Catfish are heavily covered with bristly odontodes on the entire body, especially close to the caudal peduncle. The females lack this "hairiness". With a body length of up to 8-10 cm the Banded Dwarf Sign Catfish is a smaller armored catfish.

Important for the Banded Dwarf Shield Catfish is a lot of soft wood in the aquarium, which the animals constantly scrape off. They need the fibers for healthy digestion. For this reason, good and strong filtration must be installed in an aquarium for these L catfish.

This Peckoltia sp. (L 38) does not like excessively bright light. If you would like to illuminate your aquarium nevertheless brightly (for example, because the aquarium plants need much light), a varied arrangement with caves, stones and soft root wood contributes very much to the well-being of the Banded Dwarf Shield Catfish. Here the pretty little catfish find retreat possibilities, and the caves serve them as resting places and breeding dens. If there are not enough retreats in the form of roots , the catfish can become very rowdy among themselves.

A substrate of sand or fine gravel is well suited. An edge length of 80 cm or more is recommended for a small group of Peckoltia sp. L38. Plants can be nibbled, so here you should go for less palatable, firm and robust plants such as Anubias, Javafarn, Cryptocoryne and similar.

The breeding of Peckoltia sp. L 38 has been successful several times. The banded dwarf shield catfish is a cave spawner. The few, but relatively large fry eat directly everything that can be fed to the adult catfish when they leave the cave.

Care of Peckoltia sp. L 38 should be done in soft to medium hard water. A water temperature of about 25-29°C is ideal.
Apart from intra-species aggression if there are not enough hiding places, Peckoltia sp. L 38 is a peaceful fellow, which can be socialized very well with shrimps, snails, smaller tetras and also other catfishes.

Peckoltia sp. L 38 are omnivores. Since they live bottom-oriented, the food should sink directly. In addition to catfish food in tab or cookie form, Banded Dwarf Scale Catfish also take live or frozen food very readily. Feeding of vegetable food in addition to animal food should be included.

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 that provide sucking catfish with everything they need for a strong immune system, healthy growth and great, contrasting coloration. As a snack, supplemental food or vacation food, we recommend the CatfishPlates.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting 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.