The needle suckers of the genus Farlowella are quite specious. To date 27 species are recognized as valid. As many species look very similar to each other the exact determination often proofs to be quite difficult. The 27th species has been described very recently from Colombia (it is the species Farlowella yarigui which has not been imported alive so far). The scientific description of that species is accompanied by a key to identify the 12 species of Farlowella known so far from Colombia. According to that key the most often imported species of Farlowella in the hobby is in fact Farlowella vittata. We currently have a good number of very healthy animals in stock. However, it will take without any doubt quite a long time until the correct name for that fish will be commonly used in the trade. Until now the Farlowella from Colombia has usually been called F. acus. F. acus really occurs in Colombia and is also very similar to F. vittata, but there is one easily recognizable difference between the two species: in F. acus the males develop breeding odontodes (a “beard”) on the snout which is missing in ripe males of F. vittata.
Keepig and even breeding of Farlowella vittata in the aquarium is not difficult. The perfect tank for Farlowella has a fine layer of algae growing on all sides of the tank except the front glass. These algae serve as basic food for the fish. But Farlowella also feed readily on all usual types of dried and frozen fishfood. One must only take care that the needle suckers get enough food, for they are very slow feeders. Plantation of the tank should preferably be composed of plants with broad leaves. F. vittata likes higher temperatures, so the water temperature should be between 26 and 30°C. Hardness and pH are of no meaning for the fish as long as extremes are avoided.
For our customers: the fish have code 253603 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
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| Herkunft | Kolumbien / Colombia |
