Anyone keep these?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰
Wanna share some photos of these oddballs. Anyone keep farlowella twig catfish (the farlowella group particularly, but ill also count the sturistoma group AKA royal farlowella and kin)

@DwarfCichlidLvr i know you got one!

I have 2.

A female farlowella platorynchus
View attachment 104429
View attachment 104432
View attachment 104436


And a female farlowella vittata
View attachment 104433
View attachment 104434
View attachment 104435
View attachment 104431

I know theyre a difficult fish to keep, but wondering how many others keep them. I love these fish, so neat. I mean they dont do a whole lot, by day they sit on driftwood and look like a stick, but at night theyre always out cleaning my glass, hopping around from plant to plant and branch to branch. So fun trying to find them. And if they get annoyed with another fish or shrimp, they swat it with their long tails lol
These are so cool!
My LFS has "leaf fish." They look like leaves just floating there in the water.
 
Is the Farlowella Vittata difficult to keep?
They looked fragile to me but very unique.

Probably will consider them for my next project.
 
Is the Farlowella Vittata difficult to keep?
They looked fragile to me but very unique.

Probably will consider them for my next project.

Farlowella do not appreciate being moved, so if you get one or a group make sure you have the tank ready, established so it is biologically stable and mature, and don't move them once they are in the tank. They will graze plant leaves (can damage delicate plant leaves but not in my experience sturdier plants like large swords, Java Fern, Anubias), and wood and/or branches must be provided. Soft to very soft water, pH on the acidic side. They cannot be in with feisty or aggressive fish that are prone to nip their caudal fin thread. They do need some water movement. Those eggs in the photos of the spawning/eggs I posted previously were always laid in the direct and strongest flow from the canister filter.
 
While the conditione listed above are most cerinaly appreciated by the fish mine does just fine in hard alkaline water.
 
yes.
@NCaquatics keeps her in similar conditions too.

Expected average lifespan of Farlowella vitatta is fifteen years according to the majority of reliable sources. Miracles do happen I suppose, but it is unlikely this fish will live this long in hardish water. It simply cannot function properly, and calcium blockage of the kidneys is a major issue for soft water fish. We cannot change the fish's evolutionary DNA, though many think they can. :fish:
 
My gH is in the farlowella's range, actually @DwarfCichlidLvr

Im all good for my fish, except a little low for livebearers, so their tank is kept with some cichlid sand mixed in the play sand to up the hardness a bit.

As per seriously fish, their range is 3-10 dgh or 50-166.7 ppm hardness. My range for my locality is 90-150 as per our water supplier, and when i asked local people what their tests ran, we sit around the 140 mark most places.

So safe! :D
 
Really?
Expected average lifespan of Farlowella vitatta is fifteen years according to the majority of reliable sources. Miracles do happen I suppose, but it is unlikely this fish will live this long in hardish water. It simply cannot function properly, and calcium blockage of the kidneys is a major issue for soft water fish. We cannot change the fish's evolutionary DNA, though many think they can. :fish:
Im aware of that. I'll get an ro unit some time in the future.

Do you know of the site where you can find out what your cities water is like?
 
Do you know of the site where you can find out what your cities water is like?

Find out your supplier for water in your area, it should be listed on their website. You may have to ask whoever pays the bills if you dont yourself to know who
 
Some photos from tonight. My vittata was going to town on the IAL.

20200519_194844.jpg

20200519_195748.jpg
20200519_200525.jpg
20200519_200108.jpg
20200519_200058.jpg
 

Most reactions

trending

Back
Top