Scientific Name:
L244
Scientific Name:
Pseudolithoxus dumus (Armbruster & Provenzano, 2000)
Range:
South America: Rio Orinoco between Puerto Ayacucho and Río Casiquiare, Colombia and Venezuela.
Maximum size:
No more than 15cm. (6").
Aquarium:
This beautiful little catfish-species prefers a dimly lit tank with a good number of hiding places, preferably created with pebbles, rocks and slate (plants, drift wood and artificial caves are also suitable, but less in line with this species' natural habitat). To keep more than one specimen in the same tank, or together with other bottom dwelling fish, you need at least a 40x16" (100x40cm.) tank: like most Loricarids, the Yellow Seam Flounder Pleco can be quite territorial, and when suitable hiding places are lacking, it can be aggressive towards other bottom dwellers. When kept as only catfish in an aquarium, a tank size of 32x14" (80x35cm.) is sufficient.
Typical for South American catfish, this species does best in soft, slightly acidic to neutral water. It requires warm, heavily oxygenated water with a good amount of currents. It can however adapt to harder, more akaline water, but wheter it will reproduce under such conditions is very questionable.
Temperature:
pH:
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Diet:
Omnivore with a preference for vegetable matter: suitable food items include vegetables (cucumber, zucchini, egg plant, peas, lettuce, preboiled spinach), algae wafers, spirulina tablets, mosquito larvae, blood worms, tubifex and krill.
Other than that, this fish often feeds on the organic matter that forms on submerged surfaces (plants, rocks, wood, aquarium walls; also known as Aufwuchs) by rasping it off with its suckermouth. It will also take food remains left behind by tank mates, as well as soft wood.
Temperament:
Like most Loricarids, Pseudolithoxus dumus is peaceful against non-bottom dwelling fish, but competitors can be approached with certain hostility, especially under crowded conditions or during feeding time. Crucial when keeping this fish with other bottom dwellers (from the same or other species) is the availability of a sufficient number of hiding places, so all fish can establish a small territory.
Notes:
Little is known about this beautiful species, as it is apparantly imported very rarely.
