Blonde Rubber Lipped Plecostomus - Chaetostoma Formosae

[Paradise3]

Common name: Blonde Rubber Lipped Pleco, Blonde Rubbernose Pleco, Blonde Bulldog Pleco, Blonde Rubber Pleco, Striped Bulldog Pleco, Striped Rubber Pleco, Striped Rubbernose Pleco.

Scientific name: Chaetostoma formosae

Family: Loricariidae

Origin: Columbia

Maximum size: 10cm(4in)
 
Minimum Tank Size: 15Gal(68L) Bare Minimum but 20Gal(90L) is much more accepted.

Care: An easy to care for and small plecostomus. Sometimes known for being destructive, hence the name "bulldog", they prefer fast flow and cooler temperatures(25C - 77F). These plecostomus are shy and will hide at any given chance, if you are looking for a plecostomus that will be out all day then these are not the right plec's for you. They like caves and smooth rocks the sit under during the day. At night they will be all over the tank, taking up every level in their ventures. These small plecostomus can sometimes be mildly territorial, mainly with their own species.
Feeding: . Algae based foods such as Algae Wafers and Spirulina Tabs are widely accepted but this species does benefit from the addition of meaty foods such as bloodworm and brineshrimp in their diet as they are omnivorous.
 
Sexing: Supposedly the males have a somewhat larger and broader head, slimmer ventral sides and disproportionately large pelvic fins though this is disputed and these are not definitive tell tale signs.

Breeding: Unknown in captivity.
 
Extra Notes: Somehow these are often confused with Chaetostoma aff. milesi which look completely different in the fact that they are are spotted all over and blue-grey in colour. Unlike Chaetostoma formosae which are striped with small spots on the head only and are olive brown in colour.
 
Photograph(s): Here is my very own Chaetostoma formosae.
 
 

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I feel the need to comment on this new profile...
 
25C is too warm, keepers should be aiming to keep the temp in the 20-23C ballpark, lower temps increase oxygen levels in the water and keep the metabolism levels of this catfish at more normal levels.
 
These catfish are wild caught, they are used to finding "aufwuchs" (tiny critters) that live among the algae covered rocks/pebbles. Getting them (and other Chaetostoma spp.) to adapt to hobby prepared foods is not automatic, I've had the displeasure myself of having specimens starve to death (a C. formosae and a C. aff milesi). The widely accepted best route to take is to "paint" fodd onto pebbles using a small amount of egg white and then letting this set hard before adding to the tank, the catfish can then use their instinctive wild behaviour to eat and get accustomed to the taste of hobby food. During this introduction, quarantining the catfish is paramount, they need as little competition for food as possible.
Once the catfish are eating well for a few weeks and have nice plump bellies, adding them to a specialized community setup is possible, but it is important to see them eating in a community environment.
 
The setup for Chaetostoma is far beyond the average hobby fish, 20-23C with strong water current, especially water surface rippling. 10-20x real turnover should be the aim, very typical of conditions needed for "hillstream loach" and fish from the Malebo Pool area of the Zaire/Congo River such as Synodontis brichardi and Steatocranus casuarius.
 
Tank stocking, even with suitable fish, should be rather conservative. Keeping the water quality excellent is very important, they will not tolerate poor conditions for long before they will suffer illness or worse. 

 

[Paradise3]

I feel the need to comment on this new profile...
 
25C is too warm, keepers should be aiming to keep the temp in the 20-23C ballpark, lower temps increase oxygen levels in the water and keep the metabolism levels of this catfish at more normal levels.
 
These catfish are wild caught, they are used to finding "aufwuchs" (tiny critters) that live among the algae covered rocks/pebbles. Getting them (and other Chaetostoma spp.) to adapt to hobby prepared foods is not automatic, I've had the displeasure myself of having specimens starve to death (a C. formosae and a C. aff milesi). The widely accepted best route to take is to "paint" fodd onto pebbles using a small amount of egg white and then letting this set hard before adding to the tank, the catfish can then use their instinctive wild behaviour to eat and get accustomed to the taste of hobby food. During this introduction, quarantining the catfish is paramount, they need as little competition for food as possible.
Once the catfish are eating well for a few weeks and have nice plump bellies, adding them to a specialized community setup is possible, but it is important to see them eating in a community environment.
 
The setup for Chaetostoma is far beyond the average hobby fish, 20-23C with strong water current, especially water surface rippling. 10-20x real turnover should be the aim, very typical of conditions needed for "hillstream loach" and fish from the Malebo Pool area of the Zaire/Congo River such as Synodontis brichardi and Steatocranus casuarius.
 
Tank stocking, even with suitable fish, should be rather conservative. Keeping the water quality excellent is very important, they will not tolerate poor conditions for long before they will suffer illness or worse. 

 
Mine took to eating prepared foods like he'd been doing it his whole life, he's in a temp of 25c with fast flow and surface agitation. Mine has been eating well since going into my set-up which can be seen in my signature. He even eats Courgette, Bloodworm(frozen) and Brine Shrimp(Frozen) regularly.

 

[Paradise3]

Here is the picture that should be in the first post since for some reason it has messed up. I haven't moved or deleted it or anything but it says I have