Brazil-butterfly

About

Found threading through the blackwater rivers of the upper Negro and Orinoco systems, including the Canal Casiquiare, Dekeyseria pulchra is a small loricariid catfish that earns its place in a well-tended planted or biotope aquarium. Like others in its genus, it possesses the ability to breathe air directly when water conditions demand it. A handy adaptation in the oxygen-variable environments of Amazonian blackwater systems. In the aquarium, this trait offers a modest buffer in less-than-perfect water quality, though that shouldn't be taken as an excuse for neglect. As a grazer, it spends a good deal of its time working over hard surfaces for algae and biofilm, making a mature tank with established surfaces a real bonus. It will also accept supplemental foods, rounding out its diet as a true omnivore. Staying compact at somewhere between two and four inches as an adult, it doesn't demand a lot of real estate, though it appreciates driftwood, smooth rocks, and some shelter to feel at home. The blackwater origins suggest softer, more acidic water suits it best, but it shows reasonable tolerance across a wider range. Intermediate keeper experience is recommended. Not a difficult fish, but one that rewards attentive husbandry.