The genus Parotocinclus currently exists in a kind of shadowy existence in aquaristics. In contrast to their cousins of the genus Otocinclus, hardly anyone knows these equally small loricariids, which are, however, equally zealous algae exterminators. We have received from the Northeast region (Região Nordeste), more precisely from the states of Cereá and Bahia of Brazil two species of Parotocinclus, which have not come to us before, at least not recognized: Parotocinclus bahiensis and P. cearensis.
Honestly we have to admit that the species identification of these animals is extremely tricky and therefore we simply rely on the expert judgement of our supplier in this case. There are at least 30 species of Parotocinclus! The care of our new imports is without any problems. They behave as you would expect from small sucking catfish, they are lively and not very shy. The expected final size is 4-5 cm for the females, which are significantly larger and more plump than the males.
For our customers: The animals have code 276462 (P. bahiensis) and 276472 (P. cearensis) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
