Circular whiptail

Care at a glance

Overview

The circular whiptail is an odd, disc-headed catfish that is peaceful and can be kept with a few of its own kind where the floor is large and open. It barely swims, instead walking over the bottom on its fins and burying itself in sand, so a deep bed of soft, fine sand is essential. Keep it only with calm tankmates that will not compete for food on the floor. Feed sinking pellets and soft meaty foods such as frozen bloodworm, placed where it can find them on the sand. Give it a wide, low-traffic tank of at least 300 liters with gentle flow.

In the wild

Planiloricaria cryptodon lives over sandy beds in the main channels of large upper Amazon rivers in Peru and Bolivia. Its tank needs a broad expanse of soft, fine sand it can bury into without scraping its belly or barbels, with gentle current and subdued light. Keep the water soft to neutral, roughly pH 6.0 to 7.4, and warm at about 24 to 28 C. Clean, calm, well-oxygenated water over open sand is the whole recipe.

Good to know

Planiloricaria cryptodon is the only species in its genus, a member of Loricariidae reaching about 22 centimeters in the body, with a long tail filament trailing behind. Its head is broad and rounded rather than pointed, and the name cryptodon means hidden teeth, for its reduced, concealed dentition. It has occasionally been spawned in aquaria, though it remains an uncommon breeding project.

Did you know

Almost every whiptail has a long, pointed snout, but this one carries a wide, rounded, plate-like head, which is why the hobby knew it as the UFO or spoonface whiptail long before most keepers could name the species.

Tank mates

Circular whiptail is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.

• Chameleon whiptail

  Pseudohemiodon apithanos

  Freshwater

  6.7 in (17 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Giant river hatchetfish

  Triportheus rotundatus

  Freshwater

  9.8 in (25 cm)79 gal (300 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Rubber pleco

  Parancistrus aurantiacus

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Giant upside-down catfish

  Synodontis batensoda

  Freshwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)79 gal (300 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
• Brown pleco

  Hypostomus plecostomoides

  Freshwater

  10.2 in (26 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Golden vampire pleco

  Leporacanthicus heterodon

  Freshwater

  6.3 in (16 cm)79 gal (300 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Rubber pleco

  Parancistrus aurantiacus

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Ghost pleco

  Ancistomus snethlageae

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Peruvian royal whiptail

  Sturisoma nigrirostrum

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Tamana royal farlowella

  Sturisomatichthys tamanae

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Xingu peppermint pleco

  Parancistrus nudiventris

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)81–88°F (27–31°C)
• Llanero whiptail

  Lamontichthys llanero

  Freshwater

  9.1 in (23 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)