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Ecology

The suckermouth exhibited by these catfish allows them to adhere to objects in their habitats, even in fast-flowing waters. The mouth and teeth also are adapted to feed on a variety of foods, such as algae, invertebrates, and detritus. Some species, notably the Panaque, are known for xylophagy, or the ability to digest wood.

Most species of loricariids are nocturnal animals. Some species are territorial, while others, such as Otocinclus, prefer to live in groups.

Air-breathing is well known among many loricariids; this ability is dependent on the risk of hypoxia faced by a species; torrent-dwelling species tend to have no ability to breathe air, while low-land, pool-dwelling species, such as those of Hypostomus, have a great ability to breathe air. Pterygoplichthys is known for being kept out of water and sold alive in fish markets, surviving up to 30 hours out of water. Loricariids are facultative air breathers; they will only breathe air if under stress and will only use their gills in situations when oxygen levels are high. The dry season is a likely time for this; there would be little food in the stomach, which would allow its use for air breathing.

Loricariids exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, including cavity spawning, attachment of eggs on the underside of rocks, and egg-carrying. Parental care is usually good, and the male guards the eggs and sometimes the larvae. The eggs hatch after four to 20 days, depending on the species.

Three species known from subterranean habitats are true troglobites with reduced pigmentation (appearing overall whitish) and eyes: Ancistrus cryptophthalmus, A. galani and A. formoso. Similar adaptions with reduced pigmentation are known from two loricariids found in deep water in large Amazonian rivers, Peckoltia pankimpuju and Panaque bathyphilus.