Photo: Jörn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Spotted headstander
Chilodus punctatus
8 cm
Adult size
100 L
Minimum volume
4
Minimum group
8 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Chilodus
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- small group
In the wild
Overview
Its genus name combines “lip” and “tooth”, and punctatus describes its rows of dots. This characiform, also called the “checkerboard headstander”, often swims with its head tilted down. Its colouring varies between localities.
- Scientific name
- Chilodus punctatus Müller & Troschel, 1844
- Classification
- Characiformes › Chilodidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Amazon basin (Ecuador, Peru, Brazil), western Orinoco (Colombia), coastal rivers of the Guianas
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives mainly in slow rivers, tributaries, oxbows and floodplain lakes.
Behaviour
Shy and peaceful, it dislikes boisterous species: it lives well with tetras, small Loricariidae, Corydoras and calm cichlids. In a group, squabbles remain harmless if there are enough hiding places. An omnivore, in the wild it mostly eats insects, fruit and even scales. Sensitive to organic waste, it does not tolerate a newly set-up tank.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth