PlanetCatfish.com

Hi

I have a breeding pair of farlowella acus and another breeding pair of whiptail parva. I want to keep them together in a 120l tank with hopefully enough hiding places. Will this lead to the males having territorial disputes, especially during breeding? If they do spawn, will one species feed on the other species eggs? Will one predate the others fry?

Please help. Thanks

To start at the back, I'm sure Farlowella will not eat Rineloricaria eggs or fry - the other way around, I'm not quite so sure about. Most Loricariidae do not eat healthy & alive babies of other Loricariidae, but it's not a GUARANTEE.

I doubt the males would fight over spawning site, as Farlowella lays eggs on the glass (or some other smooth & flat surface) and Rineloricaria are cave-breeders - so they will not seek the same breeding space.

I wouldn't think you'd have any problems with that setup.

Of course, being a pedant, I must point out that it is highly unlikely that you have - much more likely that it is .

--
Mats

Hi Mats

Thanks for the info and advice.

I was assured by the supplier that it was acestra acus. As I lack both species to compare them, as well as the 'eye' or experience to differentiate, I am in the dark. I will post a picture as soon as I get a decent camera so that you guys can lend a hand with the identification. Thanks again.

It is not based on "eye", but rather the fact that F. acus is not being exported, and they are not being bred in captivity either. So unless you traveled to Venezuela and the rivers just outside Caracas to catch it yourself and then illegally transport it out of Venezuela, then I very much doubt that is what you got.

However, almost all exporters/wholesalers still list their animals based on outdated literature/"knowledge", which means that they still call it F. acus, even tho' it isn't. It's not unusual that science and trade are not in agreement on which species it is that is for sale.

If you read the Cat-eLog entry for F. acus, you will see that it has fairly restricted distribution, and no fish are exported from Venezuela itself. Venezuelan species that are being exported are all caught at or near the border of Brazil or Columbia, and exported out those two countries. Of coruse, fish do not respect country borders, so they will swim on either side of the border in a big river that forms a border-line, for example.

--
Mats