Dwarf giraffe cat

Care at a glance

Overview

The dwarf giraffe cat is a nocturnal African catfish that is calm toward fish too big to eat but territorial with its own kind, so keep just one per tank. It spends the day tucked in a cave or under wood and comes out at night to hunt, working the bottom for anything it can catch. Because it will eat small fish and is pushy with other bottom-dwellers, house it in a tank of around 300 liters with large, robust, open-water tankmates and give it a cave of its own. It is a heavy eater and a messy one, so use strong filtration. Feed meaty foods such as earthworms, prawn, mussel, and sinking pellets after dark, when it is active and confident.

In the wild

This catfish comes from the lower Congo region and the coastal rivers of Gabon, living in slow, dim water among submerged wood and leaf litter. It likes shade and cover. Give it warm water from about 23 to 28 C and a neutral pH between roughly 6.5 and 7.8. A soft sand floor protects its delicate barbels, and a layout of bogwood, rounded caves, and shaded corners lets it rest by day, while dim or blue night lighting brings it out to forage. Keep the water clean and well filtered, since it produces plenty of waste.

Good to know

Notoglanidium macrostoma is a claroteid catfish, one of the African bagrid-like families, and carries the blotched, netted markings that earn the giraffe-cat name on a flattened body of around 25 to 28 centimeters. It stays far smaller than the true giraffe catfish it resembles. Breeding is not recorded in the aquarium, so imported fish are wild caught. It is also known as the flatnose catfish for its broad, low head.

Did you know

It offers the look of a giraffe catfish, all pale patchwork and long barbels, in a body a fraction of the size, staying under 30 centimeters where the true giraffe cats can pass half a meter or more.

Common questions

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