Shield catfish 5-6 cm - Hypostomus plecostomus

The crepuscular shield catfish or suckermouth catfish (trade name: Hypostomus plecostomus, actual scientific name Liposarcus pardalis) originates from South America, where it is widespread. This catfish grows to a length of approx. 25-40 cm. Its extremely beautiful large fins and the shield-like scales on the body are striking. The shield catfish is light-dark patterned. Juveniles may have reddish fin coloration, but this fades with age. The rapid growth of the young animals is striking.

The Suckermouth Catfish is a fairly quiet and peaceful fish that can be kept in pairs or in groups in appropriately sized aquariums. The socialization with other fish is quite unproblematic due to the size of the catfish, also shrimps are good aquarium partners. Only with crayfish it can come to problems, they occupy the same habitats on the ground and thus it could come to disputes about the most beautiful and best cave.

In the aquarium, the shield catfish should be provided with plenty of soft wood to scrape off - bog pine wood is optimal here, for example. The intake of wood fibers is necessary for survival for these loricariid catfish! Caves or other hiding places are also necessary for these impressive fish to feel comfortable. We recommend keeping them in large aqu ariums with an edge length of 200-250 cm or more. In smaller tanks, Sign Catfish often suffer from stunted growth and die prematurely.

Males of the Shield Catfish are somewhat slimmer than females and their fins are larger. The Shield Catfish is not bred very often in the aquarium - the young are not easy to house because of their enormous final size. The female Shield Catfish lays up to 120 eggs in a burrow, the male guards the clutch and performs brood care until hatching. Juvenile mortality is high.

To the water in the aquarium have shield catfish no special requirements, from soft to hard everything is possible. The water temperature should be 25-30 °C. The aquarium should be well filtered, these giants have a very active metabolism.

In addition to algae and other growth, the omnivorous Sucker Catfish likes to eat green food, vegetables and autumn leaves, but also frozen food and of course special food for loricariid catfish is taken with pleasure.

The Suckermouth Catfish leaves plants largely alone, only the juicy broad leaves of Echinodorus are gnawed with pleasure. The damage can be kept within limits by feeding sufficient green food and vegetables.

Our feed recommendation: The NatureHolic Catfish Feed is a professionally formulated complete food especially for all sucking catfish. The food tabs contain important dietary fibers such as chitin and plant fibers, which are essential for the survival of catfish for a well-functioning digestion. With strong proteins from insect larvae as well as carbohydrate-rich vegetables NatureHolic Catfish Feed provides all sucking catfish optimally with all important building materials for a fast and healthy growth. The extra hard chips can be scraped off by the catfish close to nature - here they really have to do something for their food! An occupation like in nature.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria 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.

Dispensing size: 4-6cm