Caquetá whiptail

Spatuloricaria caquetae

Also known as Spatula whiptail, Caquetae whiptail

FreshwaterFish

Caquetá whiptail (Spatuloricaria caquetae) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.2
Adult size: 13.8 in (35 cm)
Minimum tank: 106 gal (400 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Caquetá basin, Colombia
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

This is a big river whiptail that needs a lot of floor space and does best with a few of its own kind where the tank is large enough to hold them. It sprawls on open sand and works the bottom for food, and it depends on strong current and high oxygen to stay healthy. It is peaceful, but its size and specialized needs make it a fish for experienced keepers with big tanks. Feed a mix of sinking pellets, frozen and live foods, and some vegetable matter, making sure enough reaches the floor. Plan on a long tank of at least 400 liters with strong flow.

In the wild

The Caqueta whiptail comes from Andean-fed rivers of the Caqueta basin in Colombia, holding position on sandy runs in fast, oxygen-rich water. A long tank with a deep, soft sand floor, some smooth wood and rock, and strong current recreates this. Keep the water soft to neutral, roughly pH 6.0 to 7.2, and warm at about 24 to 28 C. Steady flow and clean, well-oxygenated water matter more to this fish than any planting.

Good to know

Spatuloricaria caquetae is a large, robust whiptail in the family Loricariidae, reaching around 35 centimeters. Slim as it looks, it is solidly built compared with most whiptails and dressed in dirt-brown camouflage. In breeding condition males grow bristly odontodes along the snout and cheeks. It has been bred in aquaria with moderate difficulty, the male guarding the eggs after spawning.

Did you know

For all its whiptail slimness, this is a heavyweight of the group at about 35 centimeters, and breeding males sprout a scrub-brush of stiff bristles across the snout and cheeks.