What is a Farlowella Catfish?
"Oh, I just got in some really nice Farlowellas!" She replied.
She lifted up a fake plant and unceremoniously shook it until the little stick-like catfish abandoned their hiding place. Well I had to have one.
The Farlowella Catfish is also known as the Twig Catfish, resembling a piece of twig or a stick. They have a suckermouth and are fairly good at attacking your algae. There are several types of Farlowella: The most common are the Farlowella Acus and the Royal Farlowella. I have a Farlowella Acus.
Farlowella on Wikipedia
Farlowella has a unique body shape that resembles of a thin stick of wood. The body is slender and elongate, often with a pronounced rostrum and a brownish color with two lateral dark stripes beginning at the tip of the rostrum, passing over the eyes and ending at the tail, which are periodically interrupted on the caudal peduncle. Sexual dimorphism includes hypertrophied odontodes along the sides of the rostrum or the head in species with a short rostrum.
There are only slight differences between the different types which sometimes lead to confusion. A very important identification is the presence of ventral scutes on these species which differentiates them from each other. Twig catfishes grow between 10 centimetres (4 in) SL in F. smithi and 26.5 cm (10.4 in) SL in F. nattereri.
Farlowella is a genus of catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae. These fish resemble twigs or sticks, hence the common names twig catfish or stick catfish. They may also sometimes be referred to as whiptail catfish. Twig catfishes are natives of South America.
Farlowella Video
curated content from YouTube
Read More About It
Caring For Your Farlowella
Not for the Novice or Beginner
You can buy a little
These fish are sensitive to water conditions and do not do well with large and sudden water changes. A well filtered and mature tank is necessary to successfully keep this type of fish. They prefer a pH of 7 9neutral) or as close as you can get to that and a water temperature between 72 to 78 degrees F.
Here is my Farlowella "hanging around" on the back wall of the tank:
![]()
Farlowella and Bristlenose Pleco sharing a spot on the driftwood:
![]()
Buy a Farlowella Catfish:
Royal Farlowella
If You Like This Lens, You May Also Like
-
Otocinclus Catfish
-
Because Otos are catfish, people believe they can be tossed into their tanks like other catfish and they don't need to do anything special. This is wrong. Without proper research into tankmates, food and water conditions you have a very high chance o...
-
My First Aquarium
-
Well I have made the decision to get my very own freshwater aquarium. I remember when I was a young child having a fish tank in the living room. My mother was a fish fanatic (she's a Pisces as well) and we had hours of fun watching the little fishies...
-
Cory Catfish: The Coolest Catfish Ever
-
Cory Catfish are a small, peaceful species of catfish that usually only grow to be between 2" and 3" in size. Out of all the aquarium catfish, Corydoras or cory catfish are by far the most popular. They are the coolest catfish ever.
-
New Tank Syndrome and the Nitrogen Cycle
-
Often a person just getting into aquarium fish keeping will buy their first tank set it up and add their favorite fish to it all excited to watch their new pets adjust to their new home. A few days later they find their fish have died and don't under...
-
All About Algae Eaters
-
Welcome to the ultimate algae eater lens! Whether you're a pleco fanatic, an owner of "janitor fish," or have never heard of plecostomus before, this is the page for you. Here you can learn about: pleco care, types of plecos, and why plecos are the...
Farlowella Poll
Sign My Guestbook
Did you find this lens informative and useful? If so, please sign and let me know what you think of this unique catfish! Don't forget to rate this lens.
JaguarJulie wrote...
I think my hubby would know about them -- I think I've seen them, but never heard that name before. Interesting! I love Basa catfish.
stargazer00 wrote...
When I read the title I thought it was a catfish to eat! Now I am informed!
mulberry wrote...
I recognize them but I never knew what they were. Your fishing expertise is growing!
by WhippetTalk

WhippetTalk is not a Who but more a What. My name is Kim and I administer the website WhippetTalk.com. We are a community of whippet enthusiasts fro... (more)


Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by



