Photo: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Striped headstander
Anostomus anostomus
20 cm
Adult size
140 L
Minimum volume
1
Minimum group
12 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Anostomus
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- solitary
In the wild
Overview
The name Anostomus (“mouth upwards”) describes its upturned mouth. This fish, striped with black and gold bands, belongs to the Anostomidae; the genus has only two species well known in the hobby, A. anostomus and A. ternetzi.
- Scientific name
- Anostomus anostomus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Classification
- Characiformes › Anostomidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Amazon and Orinoco basins (Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, the Guianas)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives along the rocky banks of fast rivers, where it grazes the algae and small invertebrates covering the rocks.
Behaviour
Found in large shoals in the wild, it is quarrelsome with its own kind when they are few: keep a single fish in a community tank of medium to large fish, or a group of six or more in a large aquarium. An omnivorous grazer, it needs frozen prey and plenty of plant matter, along with a good current.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth