Hoplosternum Littorale Catfish

[Rokuzachi]

I'm in search of any info that could be provided on these. Here's a video of some adults if you don't recognize the name (I sure as heck didn't when I first saw it). Video isn't mine, and there's some kind of loud music, so you may want to mute it;

YouTube - Hoplosternum littorale

I've gleaned a lot from the internet already (most of it being the same thing repeated), but I'd greatly appreciate any tales of experience, even secondhand tales of it, with these fish. I've been to almost all the LFS in my area and inquired about them, but no one seems to have much info. There are 3 left (of 15 between two tanks) at one store, and my biggest observation about them is that when their numbers dropped significantly, so did their activity. Instead of constantly cruising the tank, they sort of laze around at the bottom and casually rifle the substrate once in a while.

If things go well, I'd eventually like to start breeding them to get more out to the public since they seem like pretty cool, but underrated fish. Thanks!

 

[Morgie]

I've never heard of this particular fish, but that's a niiiice looking hoplo. They look really active and cute from the video as well. If I had the chance I'd get a couple of them, or in your case three. They look like they're a pretty nice size as well. I'd just treat them like you would any other hoplo and see how it goes. I'm jealous though, wish I could find some stocked in my area.

 

[Rokuzachi]

I thought they wouldn't be hard to find, because they're not a rare fish in their natural environment (they're actually a food fish from what I understand) and I've read that they can now be found in Florida even though they aren't native.

I think there just isn't much info, or more importantly, demand for them. One of the LFS' knew exactly what they were but said they usually didn't order any because they don't sell well. The guy with the 3 left checked his supplier and they aren't available any more - he thought it was because they were an annual spawner.

If things look good by next week I'm going to have them hold the remaining ones for me and I'll throw some pics up once they're in their new home.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Today I picked up my three Hoplosternum Littorale cats, all between 3 and 4 inches in length.

I did the drip acclimation and they were active as soon as they hit the water. They explored like crazy and turned my fluorite gravel like a plow, which pretty well demolished my aquascaping. They couldn't care less about their tankmates, even the small ones, just as many report. Any intimidation thus far has been by, I think, disparity in size (the other fish are 2-3" shorter and much slimmer).

Aside from knocking plants loose with their size and movement, they leave my Wisteria, Anubias, Hornwort and Sword alone. One of them however, took a mighty bite out of my Java Moss. Don't think he liked it too much, he hasn't been back for seconds.

They are fairly active, especially with the light on. Any time food hits the water, they immediately perk up and go into a frenzied search if its anywhere near them. The fact that they will take floating food from the surface as well as sinking makes it much easier to reduce food waste (from picky eaters) since they'll grab anything they can get. When all traces of food are gone, they tend to settle down and sit in a huddled trio beneath the shelter of my Wisteria. If they come across any food in the substrate, they will shovel gravel like no one's business until they get it.

They've had a few traffic accidents with my snails, but neither of the involved parties seem to care.

I was lucky enough to get 2 females and 1 male in the trio. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future I can try to produce some.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Here we go, a short video of my 3 cats. Excuse the water, it's still a bit cloudy from re-scaping the thing in the Hoplo's aftermath. These guys take everything in stride! They swim around my hand when its in there, same for the siphon, and they seem to enjoy playing in the fresh water as it comes into the tank after a PWC.

YouTube - Hoplosternum littorale - brown hoplo cats

 

[Rokuzachi]

When the lights are off and there's no food to find, these Hoplo cats prefer to find a spot in the tank with little to no current to rest in. And it doesn't matter where the lack of current is...

They will perch, cram under, between, inside... it's pretty funny to watch. I had the larger of the 3 balanced on top of an anubias leaf resting. They also will sort of hook themselves into something if they can't get out of the current. One of them stuck its barbels in the thick of my wisteria and had its tail resting on a rock about 4" from the surface. Another swam under my chain sword leaves (in an area with current) and it looked like she was using them to keep herself from being pulled up by the current.

They also seem to respond greatly to movement. Even when the lights are very, very low and they are all stationary, if I get too close to the tank to look around, they will start swimming against the glass. As soon as I go back to my desk they all slow down and settle into various spots. At first I thought something was wrong because they were very sluggish when doing so, and then motionless save for breathing, but as soon as I go over again they come to life, especially if food is involved. They rarely hold still when their fixture is on as well.

I've also noticed that they're a good indicator of oxygen levels in my tank... it usually sits at 77-80 degrees, and if the airstone isn't running when its at its warmest, they will frequent the surface to take a breath from there. As long as the air stone is running though, even at its warmest and their most active, they won't do that.