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The Banjo Catfish is an excellent scavenger that has a unique appearance and a very small mouth for a catfish. It is also one of the charmingly laziest fish around!

Looking for something unique to add to your aquarium, but don't want to overspend on something exotic? Look no further than the Banjo Catfish! Their banjo-like shape, attractive coloration, and horn-like projections make these fish one of the most unusual-looking specimens we have to offer. Also called the Two Colored Banjo Catfish, Bicolor Banjo Catfish, and Guitarrita (meaning 'little guitar'), this catfish is popular because of its strange appearance. It has a wide, flat head and a long, slender body, so it is shaped much like a banjo guitar. The body is mostly a light tan color with dark brown (almost black) splotches along its tail, and the whole fish is speckled with lighter colored dots. Additionally, this fish has little horns, or spines, protruding from various places along the body.

These catfish are nocturnal bottom-dwellers, so they will be seen only rarely during the day. It is a very sedentary fish, so it does not need a large area in which to swim around; this makes it a great addition to any size tank. It can also live peacefully with all sizes and types of other fish, making it perfect for community tanks. This is a bottom-dwelling species, and these catfish are very useful for eating leftover food and thereby keeping the bottom of your tank clean.

What We Like About This Fish:

Very small, making it perfect for nano aquariums
Completely peaceful
Excellent scavenger
Great for keeping the bottom of the tank clean

RECOMMENDED TANK PARAMETERS:

Temperature: 75° - 82° F (24° - 28° C)
pH: 6.0 - 8.0
KH: 2 - 20 dKH
Minimum tank size: 18 gallons

CARE GUIDELINES:

Diet: Omnivorous. High-quality sinking pellets, plants, and freeze-dried or frozen meaty foods will be readily accepted. These fish will eat most types of fish food, but they love live food such as bloodworms and daphnia. They are nocturnal, so they will likely feed at night for the most part.
Social behavior: Peaceful, nocturnal, and sedentary. If you have sand substrate, they will likely burrow in it and disappear for many hours at a time.
Origin: Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru
Average adult size: 5 - 6 inches (12.7 - 15.2 cm)
Average purchase size: 2 - 3+ inches (5 - 7.6 cm)

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Banjo Catfish (Bunocephalus coracoideus)