Spotted dwarf giraffe cat

Care at a glance

Overview

The spotted dwarf giraffe cat is a small, peaceful, night-active catfish that is easy going with fish too large to swallow but happiest kept as a single specimen, since it can be territorial with others of its kind. It patrols the bottom after dark, nosing through leaf litter and sand for food, and hides during the day. Keep one in a tank of around 200 liters with soft substrate, wood, and caves, alongside calm tankmates that are not small enough to become prey. It is an unhurried, deliberate feeder, so offer sinking meaty foods in the evening, such as frozen bloodworm, chopped earthworm, and sinking pellets, and make sure enough reaches the floor.

In the wild

In the wild this catfish lives in the rivers of Cameroon and neighboring parts of west-central Africa, in slow, tannin-shaded streams over soft, leaf-strewn beds. It forages along the bottom in dim light. Recreate that with warm water from about 23 to 28 C and a slightly acidic to neutral pH between roughly 6.2 and 7.5. A soft sand base guards its barbels, and a cover of driftwood, dried leaves, and shaded caves gives it the security it needs. Subdued lighting and gentle, clean, steady flow round out a setup that keeps it out and feeding.

Good to know

Parauchenoglanis monkei is a claroteid catfish that stays around 15 centimeters, one of the smaller members of the African giraffe-catfish group. Its bronze body is scattered with dark spots rather than the bold patchwork of its larger relatives. The species was named after Dr. H. Monke, who collected the first specimens in Cameroon in the early twentieth century. It has no aquarium breeding record, and the fish reaches keepers as an occasional wild-caught import.

Did you know

The species name honors Dr. H. Monke, the collector who first brought back specimens from Cameroon, which is why the fish is sometimes sold as Monke's giraffe catfish.

Common questions

Related species

• Dwarf giraffe cat

  Notoglanidium macrostoma

  Freshwater

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

• 

  Polka-Dot Loach

  Botia kubotai

  Freshwater

  5.9 in (15 cm)42 gal (160 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
• Sucker-head garra

  Garra gotyla

  Freshwater

  5.9 in (15 cm)42 gal (160 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)
• Cheekband eartheater

  Geophagus taeniopareius

  Freshwater

  6.7 in (17 cm)106 gal (400 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Chilotes hap

  Paralabidochromis chilotes

  Freshwater

  6.7 in (17 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Owroewefi guianacara

  Guianacara owroewefi

  Freshwater

  5.1 in (13 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)