Taxonomy & naming
Parotocinclus cearensis was described by Garavello in 1977, in the family Loricariidae and subfamily Hypoptopomatinae.
The genus name Parotocinclus combines Greek para (beside), ous/otis (ear), and kygklos (a small fish); the epithet cearensis refers to the Brazilian state of Ceará. No further taxonomic revision beyond the original description is covered in the sources consulted here.
Morphology
Parotocinclus cearensis is a small loricariid, reaching about 2 in in standard length. It carries the usual loricariid armour of overlapping bony scutes and the ventral sucker-mouth of an algae-grazing catfish.
Detailed morphometrics, fin-ray counts, and coloration are not available in the sources consulted here. Sexual dimorphism has not been described for the species in these sources.
Habitat
The species occurs in the northeastern Brazilian coastal drainages of Ceará. It is a freshwater, demersal (bottom-associated) fish of tropical waters. As with other Parotocinclus, facultative air-breathing has been reported in the genus, allowing supplementary uptake of atmospheric oxygen in poorly oxygenated water. Specific data on water chemistry, depth, and current at its localities are not published in the sources consulted here.
Feeding
No diet study specific to Parotocinclus cearensis appears in the sources consulted here. Members of the genus are small benthic grazers that rasp algae, biofilm, and associated micro-organisms from rock and plant surfaces, but a confirmed account of this species' feeding ecology is not available.
Mating
No courtship or mating behaviour has been documented for Parotocinclus cearensis in the sources consulted here.
Breeding
No reproductive data — spawning mode, clutch size, or parental care — has been published for Parotocinclus cearensis in the sources consulted here.
In the aquarium
Parotocinclus cearensis is not an established aquarium species, and no husbandry account is available in the sources consulted here. Small Parotocinclus are generally peaceful, biofilm-grazing fish suited to mature, well-oxygenated planted tanks, but specific care parameters for this species cannot be given without data.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Parotocinclus cearensis as Least Concern, with the assessment dated 7 November 2018. No specific threats or population trends for the species are detailed in the sources consulted here. As a Ceará coastal-drainage fish, it shares the general pressures on northeastern Brazilian Atlantic-slope streams, but no species-level concern is recorded.