Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. In the aquarium hobby they are often referred to as bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and its allies and is often used as a catchall term for any loricariids remotely resembling that species.
Pseudoplatystoma is a genus of several South American catfish species of family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the main channels and tend to stay at maximum depth, but some species can also be seen in lakes, flooded forests, and other freshwater habitats. They have robust bodies, and are important food fish. Recently, their population size has been on the drastic decline due to a variety of factors including overfishing and habitat destruction due to the construction of hydroelectric dams.
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
The genus Panaque contains a small number of small to medium-sized South American suckermouth armoured catfishes that are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that feed extensively on wood. In addition, algae and aufwuchs are an important part of the diet, and they use their rasping teeth to scrape this from rocks. These fish are also popular aquarium fish, where the sound of scraping as these fish forage for food is easily audible.
Panaque nigrolineatus, the royal panaque, royal plec, or royal pleco, is an herbivorous freshwater armored catfish native to Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela where it occurs in the Orinoco and Amazon basins. It is known for being one of the few fish that digest wood. It grows to a length of 43.0 centimetres (16.9 in) and is a popular aquarium fish.
The redtail catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, is a pimelodid (long-whiskered) catfish. In Venezuela, it is known as cajaro, in Guyana, it is known as a banana catfish, and in Brazil, it is known as pirarara, stemming from the Tupi language words pirá and arara. It is the only extant species of the genus Phractocephalus. This fish is common in the aquarium trade, although its massive adult size makes it unsuitable for all but the largest aquariums. They feed on fish, crustaceans and fallen fruits. They are not evaluated by IUCN.
Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus, also known as the Gold spot pleco or the Marbled sailfin pleco, is a species of armored catfish. It is endemic to Brazil, occurring in the Tocantins River basin. It is often mistaken for Pterygoplichthys pardalis or Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps.
Sailfin catfish, Janitor fish can refer to any of:
Pterygoplichthys, sometimes collectively known as janitor fish, is a genus of South American armored catfishes. These fish are commonly known as sailfin armoured catfish or sailfin plecs, especially in the aquarium trade.
Acanthicus is a genus of large, South American suckermouth armored catfishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and possibly in Guyana. The name Acanthicus is derived from the Greek, akanthikos meaning thorny, spiny. Fish of this genus are known as lyre-tail plecos. These species are found in large rivers, primarily in areas with a rocky bottom and a moderate or strong current.
Hypancistrus is a genus of loricariid catfish originating from the Amazon basin in South America. Unlike many of the other Loricariids, however, some Hypancistrus species are more carnivorous and enjoy meat in their diet. Hypancistrus species are popular aquarium fish, including such popular fish as the zebra pleco and Queen Arabesque pleco.
Brachyplatystoma is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, B. filamentosum, which reaches up to the region of 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length. Brachyplatystoma are found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and other tropical freshwater and brackish habitats in South America. Some species are migratory. These fish are important as food fish and, to some extent, aquarium fish.
Leiarius is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America. Most of the genus' species are found in the aquarium hobby as ornamental fish.
Synodontis batensoda, the upside-down catfish, is a species of mochokid upside-down catfish. It is unevenly distributed in inland waters across Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, and is also known as a squeaker or giant upside-down catfish. It was originally described by Eduard Rüppell in 1832 in the paper "Continuation of the description and figure of several new fish, in the Nile. p1-14".
Synodontis alberti, the bigeye squeaker, Albert's syno, bigspotted squeaker, or high-fin synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish native to the Congo Basin of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It was originally described in 1891 by Belgian ichthyologist Louise Schilthuis after its discovery in the Malebo Pool of the Congo River.
The violet goby is a species of goby native to marine, fresh and brackish waters near the Atlantic coast of North and South America from South Carolina in the United States of America, to northern Brazil. It prefers bays, estuaries and river mouths with muddy substrates. It is often marketed as the dragon goby or dragon fish.
Pimelodus pictus, also known as the pictus cat or pictus catfish, is a small member of the catfish family Pimelodidae, native to the Amazon and Orinoco river basins and commonly kept as a pet in freshwater aquariums. Pictus catfish are sometimes mislabeled as Angelicus cats in the aquarium trade, but the latter name actually refers to an unrelated African catfish, the mochokid Synodontis angelica.
Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus is one of several tropical fish commonly known as Orinoco sailfin catfish, plecostomus. It belongs to the armored catfish family (Loricariidae). Named for its sail-like dorsal fin, the part of its scientific name multiradiatus means "many-rayed" and refers to the rays of the dorsal fin. P. multiradiatus is one of a number of species commonly referred to as the common pleco by aquarists.
Pterygoplichthys pardalis, the Amazon sailfin catfish, is a freshwater tropical fish in the armored catfish family (Loricariidae). It is one of a number of species commonly referred to as the common pleco or "leopard pleco" by aquarists.It can be called 豹紋翼甲鯰 in Mandarin Chinese.
Kryptopterus macrocephalus, the striped glass catfish, is a species of sheatfish native to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo in Southeast Asia. This species, large for its genus, grows to a length of 9.7 centimetres (3.8 in) SL.
