Taxonomy & naming
Chaetostoma floridablancaensis was described by Carlos A. Ardila Rodríguez in 2013, in a publication dedicated to a new Chaetostoma species from the municipality of Floridablanca, Santander Department, Colombia. The full citation is: Ardila Rodríguez, C.A. (2013) — Chaetostoma floridablancaensis sp. nov.: una nueva especie de choque (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) del Municipio de Floridablanca, Departamento de Santander, Colombia. The type locality is Quebrada Aranzoque, a small tributary of the upper Lebrija River in the Magdalena River basin.
Within the genus Chaetostoma, the species has been placed in the tachiraensis group based on morphological characters. It is distinguished from its congeners by a fleshy crest or keel at the posterior tip of the supraoccipital plate, along with a greater branchial width and greater predorsal distance relative to body length, and a more pointed posterior supraoccipital margin. The oral cavity bears one to six papillary patches; the pelvic fin reaches the posterior part of the anal fin; two to six interopercular odontodes are present.
The species is the first Chaetostoma recorded as endemic to Santander Department. No L-number has been assigned.
Morphology
Chaetostoma floridablancaensis reaches approximately 4 in standard length (SL) per FishBase data drawn from the original description. A secondary source gives an approximate total length of around 6 in, though that figure is derived from a hobbyist database and should be treated as provisional — 4 in SL is the formally documented measurement.
The body plan follows the Chaetostoma genus: strongly depressed and dorsoventrally flattened, with a broad sucker-like mouth equipped for rasping algae and biofilm from hard surfaces in fast-moving water. The genus name itself (from Greek chaite, 'bristle or mane', and stoma, 'mouth') refers to the stiff interopercular odontodes characteristic of many species in the group.
Beyond the diagnostic characters noted in the original description — supraoccipital keel, branchial proportions, odontode counts — detailed colour description and full meristic data are not available from secondary sources consulted during research. This reflects the limited secondary literature on a species described fewer than fifteen years ago from a restricted locality.
Habitat
The sole known locality for Chaetostoma floridablancaensis is Quebrada Aranzoque, a stream tributary draining into the upper Lebrija River, which is itself part of the Magdalena River basin in Santander Department, Colombia. The municipality of Floridablanca sits in the eastern Andean foothills at moderate elevation, and streams in this zone are characteristically fast-moving, clear, and well-oxygenated — the typical habitat of Chaetostoma.
Chaetostoma as a genus is strongly rheophilic, specialising in swift, rocky, oxygen-rich streams where strong current creates the hard, algae-coated substrate on which they feed and to which they anchor themselves with their powerful suckermouth. Water in these Andean quebradas tends to be cool relative to lowland Amazonian rivers, moderately soft to moderately hard depending on local geology, and with high transparency.
No specific water chemistry data (temperature, pH, conductivity) have been published for the type locality of this species.
Feeding
Like all Chaetostoma, C. floridablancaensis is presumed to be a periphyton grazer — scraping algae, diatoms, and biofilm from rock surfaces in fast-flowing stream environments. This feeding mode is highly specialised: the muscular sucker-mouth with its battery of fine teeth (odontodes) is adapted for rasping the thin algal mats that colonise exposed rock in high-gradient streams.
No specific dietary observations for this species are available in the literature. In the aquarium, Chaetostoma species generally accept algae wafers, spirulina-based foods, and blanched vegetables as alternatives to their natural periphyton diet. Strong water movement is important not only for oxygenation but to create the current-dependent micro-environment these algae grazers are adapted to.
Mating
No mating observations have been published or reported for Chaetostoma floridablancaensis. The species is not established in the aquarium hobby, and field observations are absent from the available literature.
Based on genus biology, Chaetostoma species are presumed to be cave spawners or crevice spawners, using natural rock cavities in fast-water environments as nest sites — a strategy common across rheophilic loricariids. Males in related species typically defend territories around suitable spawning sites.
Breeding
No breeding records exist for Chaetostoma floridablancaensis in captivity or in the wild. The species is absent from the ornamental trade, and no captive specimens have been reported.
The broader Chaetostoma genus includes several species that have been maintained and occasionally bred by specialist hobbyists in Europe, which suggests that given suitable conditions — fast, oxygen-rich, clean water; appropriate cave sites; and a primarily algae-based diet — rheophilic Chaetostoma can reproduce in captivity. Whether this applies to C. floridablancaensis specifically is unknown.
In the aquarium
Chaetostoma floridablancaensis is not present in the ornamental fish trade as of the time of writing and is essentially unknown to hobbyists. The Welsfans Loricariidae database lists a minimum tank length of 39.5 in as a general recommendation for the species, consistent with its approximate size.
Should specimens become available in the future, care requirements would likely follow the Chaetostoma template: a tank with powerful filtration delivering strong, laminar flow; a rock-heavy scape with smooth stones providing surface area for algal growth; cool to moderate temperatures consistent with Andean stream conditions; and a diet based primarily on algae wafers and plant matter supplemented with biofilm. The species is not suited to stagnant or low-oxygen setups.
Conservation
Chaetostoma floridablancaensis has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List as of 2025. Its conservation status is therefore formally Not Evaluated (NE).
However, the available data point to a species of potential concern: it is known from a single stream (Quebrada Aranzoque) in a highly modified agricultural and suburban landscape near the city of Floridablanca — a major urban area in Santander Department. Stream habitats in the Colombian Andes face substantial pressure from urban runoff, agricultural chemical inputs, erosion, deforestation of riparian corridors, and direct water extraction. A species with such a restricted known range is inherently vulnerable to any deterioration of its single known habitat.
Formal assessment of this species against IUCN criteria, along with targeted field surveys to determine whether additional populations exist elsewhere in the upper Lebrija basin, would be a valuable contribution to understanding its actual risk status.