Taxonomy & naming
Alexander von Humboldt described the species in 1805, so this is one of the oldest names among South American catfishes. The Catalog of Fishes lists Astroblepus grixalvii as valid, with the type locality at the Río Palacé near Popayán, in the Magdalena drainage of south-western Colombia. The species belongs to Astroblepidae, the Andean climbing catfishes.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum length of 12 in SL, which is large for the family. The body is scaleless, with a sucker-like mouth and a flattened underside suited to clinging in current.
Habitat
FishBase lists the Magdalena River basin, and describes the fish as living in fast-running rivers. No temperature or pH range is given, and Andean river water of this kind is cool and well oxygenated.
Feeding
No diet is recorded in FishBase. Related astroblepids scrape and pick small invertebrates and algae from rocks.
Mating
Courtship is not recorded for this species.
Breeding
Breeding is not recorded for this species.
In the aquarium
It needs a cool, strongly flowing tank with high oxygen and rock to cling to, and it is rarely, if ever, offered to aquarists. No husbandry record is available.
Conservation
IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, assessed in 2014. Andean rivers face mining, dams and pollution, which affect fish of fast headwater streams.