Macrotocinclus affinis
| Golden Oto | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
|
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Genus: | Macrotocinclus Isbrücker & Seidel, 2001 |
| Species: | M. affinis |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrotocinclus affinis (Steindachner, 1877) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Otocinclus affinis Steindachner, 1877 |
|
The golden otocinclus (Macrotocinclus affinis, formerly Otocinclus affinis) is one of the smallest known suckermouth catfish, often called a 'dwarf oto'. Endemic to Southeast Brazil, this herbivorous, rheophilic, bottom-feeder only grows to around 4 cm (1.6 in) in length. These small fish are often used for the purpose of controlling algae in small home aquariums.
M. affinis is a Batesian mimic of Corydoras nattereri. Due to its narrow stripe, M. affinis resembles this Corydoras species more than it does Otocinclus species.[1]
M. affinis prefers an aquarium with fast moving water, sandy substrate, and plenty of hiding areas. Preferred pH is slightly acidic with a tank temperature of 21–27 °C (70–81 °F). This particular species is not as hardy as many of the other Otocinclus species.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Macrotocinclus affinis" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ Axenrot, Thomas E.; Kullander, Sven O. (October 2003). "Corydoras diphyes (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) and Otocinclus mimulus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), two new species of catfishes from Paraguay, a case of mimetic association" (PDF). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 14 (3): 249–272. http://www.ecology.su.se/pdfs/axenrot/fish.pdf.
[edit] External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Macrotocinclus affinis |
| Wikispecies has information related to: Macrotocinclus affinis |
| This Loricariidae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |