
Royal Panaque (Panaque nigrolineatus)
Panaque nigrolineatus, the royal panaque, is a large xylophagous loricariid — it eats wood, grows past 40 cm, and produces a serious waste load,…
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This Freshwater hub on Fishy Friends gathers practical freshwater fish guidance for keepers who want clear answers before they change water, livestock, or gear.
Use these articles to match species to tank size, plan filtration and feeding, and troubleshoot water chemistry without guessing. Each guide is written for home aquariums and links to related reading when you need more depth on freshwater fish.
Start with the basics — stable parameters, quarantine habits, and a feeding schedule that matches the livestock — then browse the profiles and how-tos below. When you are ready to branch out, jump into neighbouring topics so your freshwater fish plan stays consistent across the whole tank.
Whether you are stocking a first community tank or refining an established scape, bookmark this page and return as questions come up. Healthy aquariums are built from small, repeatable routines more than one-time upgrades, and freshwater fish success follows the same pattern.
Explore next: all guides, aquarium plants, water chemistry, feeding guides.
Fishy Friends publishes species care sheets, plant and invertebrate notes, aquascaping ideas, and water-care explainers so freshwater fish advice stays easy to find. Read one guide thoroughly, apply it slowly, and use the linked hubs above when you want a second angle on the same problem.
Before you buy livestock or rethink filtration, skim two or three freshwater fish articles here and write down target numbers for temperature, hardness, and feeding. That short checklist prevents the most common resets and keeps your aquarium closer to the calm, healthy display you are aiming for.
Come back after water changes or new additions: compare what you see in the tank with the freshwater fish checklists below, then follow one recommended next step instead of changing everything at once. Steady improvements compound, and Fishy Friends is built to support that pace.

Panaque nigrolineatus, the royal panaque, is a large xylophagous loricariid — it eats wood, grows past 40 cm, and produces a serious waste load,…
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Peckoltia vittata is a striped medium pleco of Amazon wood and caves — an omnivorous L-number-sized loricariid that stays far smaller than a comm…
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Glyptoperichthys (Pterygoplichthys) gibbiceps is the spotted sailfin pleco — an Amazon giant that can near half a metre, not a bristlenose and no…
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True Hypostomus plecostomus is a Guianan armoured catfish that grows to a substantial adult — the trade’s “common pleco” is a giant-in-wait…
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Parotocinclus maculicauda is a spotted-tail stream loricariid from Brazil’s Atlantic drainages — more of a riffle dwarf than a still-water oto,…
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Macrotocinclus affinis, the golden oto of Rio de Janeiro drainages, is a small Atlantic-forest rasper with a warm gold wash — split from Otocincl…
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Otocinclus macrospilus is a small Peruvian dwarf suckermouth that lives in a grazing school — a biofilm specialist that starves in new tanks, not…
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Pangasius sanitwongsei is a giant Chao Phraya–Mekong predator that can exceed two metres — a river monster and conservation problem, not an iri…
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Myxocyprinus asiaticus is a Yangtze sucker — a cool-water carp relative with a juvenile sail, not a shark, not a catfish, and not a tropical comm…
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Hoplosternum littorale, the port hoplo or hassar, is a large air-breathing callichthyid of coastal plains and a regional food fish — heavier and…
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Megalechis thoracata, the brown hoplo, is a floodplain callichthyid that gulps air and builds bubble nests — a spotted armoured catfish, not a po…
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Ictalurus punctatus is a North American river and pond catfish that can top a metre in the wild — a cool-water food fish and giant forager, not a…
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Platydoras armatulus, the striped Raphael, is a thorny Amazon talking catfish that can live two decades — an armoured night forager, not a pleco…
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True Ancistrus temminckii is Temminck’s bristlenose from the Guianas — a cave-holding forest-stream fish, not the common pet-trade Ancistrus so…
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Chaetostoma milesi is an Andean torrent pleco with a fleshy mouth built for cobble, cool current, and oxygen — not a warm, still community algae…
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Rineloricaria parva is the small Paraguay whiptail that sits on sand and spawns in tubes. Easier than a twig cat, still a suckermouth with a cave j…
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The royal whiptail is a Panama-region loricariid with a filamented tail, a grazing habit, and glass-guarding males. Current, wood, and vegetables �…
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Farlowella vittata is an Orinoco twig cat that rasps biofilm on wood. It is not a cory and will not live on leftover flake. Mature surfaces, vegeta…
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Synodontis nigrita is a West African spotted squeaker that usually sits right-way-up. The true upside-down cat is nigriventris. Nigrita wants a lar…
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Angelicus Synodontis is the Congo polkadot squeaker whose spots break as it grows into a 25 cm, expensive, territorial adult. House the cave-dwelle…
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Decorated Synodontis is a Congo squeaker that grows a long dorsal filament and a 20–30 cm body. Nocturnal, cave-owning, and capable of eating sma…
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Aspidoras pauciradiatus is the tiny, few-rayed Araguaia catfish shops file as a dwarf cory. Sponge filters, dozens if you can, and fry-scale food �…
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Aspidoras fuscoguttatus is a slender, brown-dotted Paraná catfish, not a small Corydoras. Cooler water, a nervous little flock, and micro-food —…
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Scleromystax barbatus is a large, bearded, cool-water catfish from Atlantic-forest streams. Males grow cheek odontodes and want oxygen at 18–22°…
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