The total length of representatives of this genus ranges from 11 to 46 cm. The head is moderately large, flattened from above. The eyes are small. The mouth is moderately wide, teeth are small. The lower lip of young males and females consists of 2 thick growths that are covered with small papillae and have uneven stripes along the rear edge. In mature males, these growths disappear, and the lips become smooth, wide and long. The trunk is laterally compressed, covered with large bone plates. The respiratory organ consists of a double respiratory purse connected to the distal end of the esophagus . The dorsal fin is rather large and tall. Adipose fin missing. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins are elongated, with a short base. Caudal stalk narrow and long. Caudal fin wide and truncated.
Color ranges from gray and light brown to black.
These are bottom fish. They prefer clean and transparent reservoirs, large or medium deep rivers (up to 20-30 m). Found on sandy or sandy-silty soils, almost devoid of vegetation. A significant part of the time is spent at the bottom. Hiding in the afternoon, buried in the sand. Active at night or at dusk. They feed on insect larvae and detritus . Food is found in the ground, in which they constantly dig. To improve digestion, swallow sand.
During spawning, males use their enlarged lower lip to capture the masonry, after which they hold eggs on the lip until fry appear.
They live in the basins of the rivers La Plata , Ucayali , Amazon , Orinoco , Ampiaku , Parana , Uruguay , Paraguay , Suriname .
Maintenance requires an aquarium with a height of 5-40 cm with a large bottom area of 200 liters. A layer of fine sand at the bottom should be at least 4-5 cm. As decorations, you can put a large snag in the form of a sunken log or tree trunk and several large stones in the aquarium.
Non-aggressive fish. You can lodge in a group of 3 individuals or individually. Get along well with loricaria. These catfish are indifferent to plant foods, so they are fed with live food - bloodworms , pipe mumps and substitutes (pieces of fish, shrimp). Of the technical means, an internal medium-power filter and a compressor are needed. The temperature should be 22–26 ° C.
As of May 2018, 18 species are included in the genus [2] :
- Loricariichthys acutus (Valenciennes, 1840) - Acute loricariichitis [1]
- Loricariichthys anus (Valenciennes, 1835)
- Loricariichthys brunneus (Hancock, 1828)
- Loricariichthys cashibo (CH Eigenmann & WR Allen, 1942)
- Loricariichthys castaneus (Castelnau, 1855)
- Loricariichthys chanjoo (Fowler, 1940)
- Loricariichthys derbyi Fowler, 1915
- Loricariichthys edentatus RE dos Reis & EHL Pereira, 2000
- Loricariichthys hauxwelli Fowler, 1915
- Loricariichthys labialis (Boulenger, 1895)
- Loricariichthys maculatus (Bloch, 1794)
- Loricariichthys melanocheilus RE dos Reis & EHL Pereira, 2000
- Loricariichthys microdon (CH Eigenmann, 1909)
- Loricariichthys nudirostris (Kner, 1853)
- Loricariichthys platymetopon Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1979
- Loricariichthys rostratus RE dos Reis & EHL Pereira, 2000
- Loricariichthys stuebelii (Steindachner, 1882)
- Loricariichthys ucayalensis Regan, 1913
