Being a bottom-dweller, the Sucking Catfish's most prominent feature is a big suckermouth, which they use for scraping algae and clinging to objects. They have a special opening on the upper part of the gill cover for water intake so the fish can breathe without using its mouth. Sucking Catfish are not fussy about water chemistry providing the water is kept clean and they predominantly eat algae and plant food but readily accept all kinds of foods. The Gold Sucking Catfish is a selectively bred form with a richly coloured golden body.
