Pinocchio whiptail

Hemiodontichthys acipenserinus

Also known as Pinocchio whiptail catfish, Sturgeon whiptail

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.2
Adult size: 5.3 in (13.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 30 gal (112 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Sandy shallows across the Amazon and Guiana lowlands
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

The pinocchio whiptail is a slender sand-lying catfish with a comically long snout, best kept in a group of several rather than singly, as it is a sociable, shoaling fish with no set limit on how many you can keep together. It spends the day resting on or half-buried in fine sand, so a soft sand bed is essential. It is peaceful but shy and slow to feed, which makes tankmate choice critical: only small, calm, unhurried fish belong with it. Feed sinking foods it can find at leisure, such as frozen bloodworm, daphnia, chopped earthworm, and sinking pellets. Allow a tank of around 112 liters with a wide open sand floor.

In the wild

Hemiodontichthys acipenserinus ranges widely across sandy shallows of the Amazon and Guiana lowlands, where it lies still on open sand, nose raised, passing for a piece of debris. The tank needs a large expanse of soft, fine sand with only light decor, a few pieces of wood, and quiet corners. Keep the water warm at 23 to 28 C and soft and slightly acidic to neutral, roughly pH 5.5 to 7.2, clean and gently flowing. Fine sand is mandatory, both for its camouflage and to protect the long body.

Good to know

Hemiodontichthys acipenserinus is a whiptail catfish in Loricariidae, reaching about 13.5 centimeters. The species name likens its drawn-out, upturned snout to a sturgeon, and the genus stands alone with no close relatives. Like several whiptails it is a paternal lip brooder: the male carries the fertilised egg mass held on his lower lip and barbels, ventilating it with his mouth for around two weeks while still burrowing into sand. Aquarium spawning is only occasionally recorded.

Did you know

The male carries the whole clutch of eggs bundled on his lips and long barbels for about two weeks, so a brooding father looks as though he is sporting a pale moustache made of his own offspring.