Care
The Twig Catfish is known from the Orinoco River basin. Here these elongate, sedentary fish inhabit gentle to moderately flowing areas with submerged roots and riparian vegetation. Provide a mature aquarium with plenty of shady hiding places amongst tangles of driftwood, slate caves, and tall, robust planting. Filtration should be efficient with areas of moderate water movement along with a number of quieter resting areas out of the current. There should be a good level of oxygenation, and small frequent partial water changes will help keep nitrate to a minimum (this species is very sensitive to the build up of organic wastes). The Twig Catfish is of a shy and peaceful nature, and it can be maintained in good sized groups. Males in breeding condition may be a little territorial with one another, but they are unlikely to cause any real damage, and this will not be an issue in spacious aquaria with a multitude of hiding places. Tankmates could include any small-medium sized peaceable fish that thrive in softwater conditions, such as Corydoras catfish, hatchetfish, pencilfish, rasboras, and tetras. Do not house alongside boisterous fish that could outcompete the Twig Catfish at feeding time. In older literature, this fish may be erroneously referred to as Farlowella acus - a rare species that is hardly ever exported.
Feeding
Twig Catfish are primarily vegetarian, and although algae is an important part of their food supply, this MUST be supplemented with other foods. Algae wafers and tablets are ideal, with the occasional addition of some vegetable matter such as courgette, cucumber, kale, spinach etc. Other, meatier sinking and frozen foods will be taken, but it is important to ensure that these fish receive a diet that is mainly vegetable based.
Breeding
This species has been bred in the home aquarium, although the fry can be tricky to raise. Spawning usually takes place at night, with 30-40 eggs deposited on a flat surface - most often the aquarium glass. The male fish tends to the eggs, fanning them with his fins, until they hatch in around 7-10 days. The young will initially feed from their small yolk sacs but will quickly require an appropriate food source as they are especially susceptible to starvation. It may be prudent at this point to carefully move the fry to a separate growing-on tank with water taken from the main aquarium. Here they can be offered a variety of different foodstuffs and small partial water changes can be carried out frequently with ease. Spirulina algae powder seems to be taken very enthusiastically and many aquarists suggest this is requisite for young Twig Catfish. They can also be offered algae-covered rocks (grown in a sunlit tank on the windowsill) and vegetable matter such as softened kale or spinach leaves, along with crushed algae wafers and baby brineshrimp (Artemia nauplii).
