Data sheet honeycomb shield catfish
German name:
honeycomb catfish
Scientific name:
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps
Origin:
South America: Peru
Size:
M 50cm
Aquarium
Length:
200cm
Contents:
From 320 liters
Lighting:
Shady
Furnishings:
plants, caves
water values
Temperature:
23-27ºC
PH value:
6.5 – 7.8
carbonate hardness:
°dKH
total hardness:
4 – 15 °dGH
Behave
Area:
Floor
propagation:
egglayer
Lining:
Behave:
Schooling fish, nocturnal
Difficulty level:
Expert / Intermediate
Sources
General information about honeycomb catfish
Honeycomb Catfish Photo: Philippe Coulon
Honeycomb catfish, Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps, grow to over 45 to 50 centimeters. They grow very quickly. They can grow from 5 to 7 centimeters to around 30 centimeters in 6 to 12 months. Large animals only grow very slowly. After three years, they can be 45 centimeters tall even in relatively small 1.20 meter tanks. However, animals that are transferred from tanks that are too small to large tanks can grow, for example, 7 centimeters in 2 months.
Because they defecate heavily, the nitrate levels in tanks that are too small are extremely high. The droppings are sometimes up to 50cm long. A 240 liter aquarium is therefore too small for an animal that is «only» 20 centimeters tall. A good high throughput filter is important.
The animals are usually nocturnal. When the light is on, they can hardly be seen. In the semi-darkness you can see them sailing through the aquarium. Some animals are also active during the day when they are being fed. Then they drive larger animals, eg discus, away from the feeding place.
In sufficiently large tanks, ie in tanks with a capacity of 600 liters or more, honeycomb catfish are very peaceful. They can become very trusting and eat out of your hand, for example turning on their back and sucking dry food from their fingers.
However, they may not get along well with other large fish. Especially when they think that someone is taking the food away, they can become insufferable.
From a certain size it can happen that plants are snapped off due to the size of the catfish. If the animals want to get through somewhere, they will get through.
Honeycomb shield catfish dig heavily in the ground. Plants are also dug up. A hole 15 centimeters in diameter and 8 centimeters deep can be dug in sand in one night. You shouldn’t stop the animals from doing that. It also makes no sense to fill up the holes. The holes are back the next morning. However, not all animals seem to dig.
Nevertheless, the aquarium should be densely planted and decorated with roots and stones.
The honeycomb catfish is a typical example of the fish that swim in masses at the dealers and also sell well as babies. However, one misses all the giant aquariums with the adult catfish.
It is sometimes claimed that honeycomb catfish stay smaller in smaller aquariums and do not defecate particularly heavily. The field report on this page refutes this view. There may be honeycomb catfish that only grow to a maximum of 25 to 35 centimeters in 240 liter aquariums. You can’t rely on it. In addition, honeycomb catfish should be well over 30 centimeters tall by the age of 6 years.
In order to reproduce, honeycomb catfish need clay caves, some of which they dig themselves. In the wild, they dig burrows in loamy embankments to spawn and breed. If they are bred at all, then probably in larger ponds with a current.
The sex can probably only be determined when they are fully grown.
The L001 looks confusingly similar to the honeycomb sign catfish.
Food for honeycomb shield catfish
Honeycomb catfish eat practically everything that falls on the ground. However, they mainly need vegetable food. If enough vegetable food is fed, some honeycomb shield catfish eat little or no plants. Other animals eat plants despite being fed with lettuce and vegetables. Algae are sucked off the leaves and the aquarium panes.
Food for honeycomb shield catfish:
- Algae Wafers by Hikari Tropica
- Food tablets with vegetable content
- granulated food
- dried seaweed leaves
- about 1 cm thick cucumber slices
- about 1 cm thick zucchini slices
- Thawed frozen spinach
- Briefly scalded lamb’s lettuce
- Cauliflower
- carrots
- apple bits
- frozen food
- live food
testimonial
terygoplichthys gibbiceps (honeycomb catfish) Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: Ark
Hello, I would like to add something. Just stumbled across this and a huge Wabi fan.
I took over a nearly 40cm tall Wabi. An emergency delivery. And if someone now says that the catfish doesn’t get that big in smaller tanks, they’ll be surprised. I was shocked myself. An old gentleman had to go home and an acquaintance should empty the aquarium and keep the fish. 3 almost 40 cm large Wabis in a 1 m long tank!!!!! They were well fed, no sunken bellies, but the water was a cloudy broth. No wonder. So they get that big even in small tanks. I have no idea how long the Lord had her. One has been swimming with me for a while now. And at the beginning he didn’t even know that you can move properly. After a few days, however, he explored the entire tank instead of just crawling forwards and backwards a few inches. He sucked on the windows, swam, scurried through the plants, rested on the root, etc. I see him most of the day. Unless he’s gone back among the plants. A dream fish! My pool is 160x60x60 and because of him I will get a bigger one. He can already be a real fish again, but I would like to give him more space. I think he deserves it.
Yes, the fish defecate heavily. As plants, I only have Vallisneria at the back. If he pulls some out, they hang together and I stuff them back into the sand. If you love these fish, you accept something like that.
Otherwise he is just lovely and nice to look at. As companion fish I still have angelfish and a few mourning cloaks and an antenna. But even without companion fish he would be completely sufficient for me. But you should be aware beforehand that the fish needs a large tank before toying with it. And don’t tell me if it’s too big, I’ll sell it. This is a fish for life as it can grow very old.
I’d be in favor of every retailer having a large display tank with a wabi at least 16 inches tall so people can see what will happen to a fish that’s a few inches tall. Pictures don’t reflect that at all. You have to see them live in their size! And dealers who can’t afford or don’t want to have such a display tank should refrain from selling these catfish. But that’s probably wishful thinking.