Harttiella is a genus of small whiptail catfish in the pleco family (Loricariidae), restricted to the Guiana Shield — every species in the atlas comes from French Guiana or Suriname, and most are known from just one or a few small headwater streams. Like other whiptail loricariids, Harttiella has the elongate, dorsoventrally flattened body and sucker-disc mouth built for clinging to rock and gravel in fast, clear water. At 1–2 in, these are among the smaller members of the whiptail group, sized to hide in the crevices of rocky, fast-flowing forest streams rather than open river channels.
Harttiella is essentially unknown in the aquarium trade — none of the seven species in the atlas carry an established common name, and the genus is really a subject for conservation biologists and regional ichthyologists rather than hobbyists. The conservation picture here is stark: four species are ranked Critically Endangered, two Endangered, and one Vulnerable, meaning every assessed Harttiella carries a threatened status. That pattern fits a genus built from point-endemic populations in small Guiana Shield streams, where a single stream diversion, mining operation, or land-clearing project can put an entire species' known range at risk.