Flagtail prochilodus

Care at a glance

Overview

These active grazers need a large tank of several hundred liters and do best in a small group, since lone fish can be nervy and squabbly. They are peaceful toward tankmates but constantly busy, working over rocks, wood, and glass for algae. Provide strong flow and clean, well oxygenated water to mimic their river home.

In the wild

Ranges through large rivers and floodplains, moving into flooded forest with the seasons. It grazes on algae, detritus, and the soft film that coats submerged surfaces. Big schools make long migrations to spawn.

Good to know

Semaprochilodus taeniurus has a distinctive fleshy, sucker like mouth built for rasping algae and detritus from surfaces. Its clearest feature is the boldly striped tail that gives it the flagtail name. Adults reach around 30 cm.

Did you know

In the wild these fish gather in vast shoals and swim upriver to spawn, one of the great seasonal migrations of the Amazon.

Related species

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  Kissing prochilodus

  Semaprochilodus insignis

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• 

  Streaked prochilodus

  Prochilodus lineatus

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• 

  African knifefish

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• 

  Red tail barracuda

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• 

  Silver tiger perch

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• 

  Banded leporinus

  Leporinus fasciatus

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