Order Siluriformes
Family Pimelodidae, Long-whiskered Catfishes ( Pimelodidae )
Continued…
Genus Leiarius.
— Painted Catfish, Saddle Catfish, Sailfin Marbled Pimelodid — Leiarius pictus [Myller & Troschel, 1849]. Synonym: Bagrus pictus, Sciades pictus. (Eng- Painted Catfish, Saddle Catfish, Sailfin Marbled Pimelodid, Catfish). Amazon and Orinoco rivers in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil. 60 cm. The upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw. The barbels of the upper jaw extend beyond the dorsal fin.
It has a dark brown color with darker spots, the lower part is lighter. Yellow concentric stripes run downwards from the dorsal fin. Large round spots can be seen in the dorsal, adipose, and caudal fins. Small spots are present on the anal and ventral fins. It has a large sail-like dorsal fin. The caudal fin is deeply notched.
Juveniles have two pale stripes running from the base of the dorsal fin to the ventral, and then laterally along the body to the base of the caudal fin. The lobes of the caudal fin are more rounded in young specimens and more pointed in adult fish.
No matter how good their coloration is, they are not suitable for ordinary aquariums: they are too large. They are predators and will feed on any small fish. Aquarium from 400 liters for a pair. Minimal decorations made of rounded boulders and driftwood must be securely fastened. Lighting is dim with floating plants on the surface. A layer of large, smooth gravel is the best choice.
In their natural habitat, they feed on other fish. They feed on animal protein food, so juveniles should be fed every other day, and adults once a week. This variety should not be fed mammalian meat such as beef heart or chicken. It is best kept alone. They live up to 20 years. pH 6.2-7.6; 5-18° dH; T 22-26°C.
Genus Perrunichthys.
— Leopard Catfish, Perruno Catfish — Perrunichthys perruno [Schultz, 1944]. (Eng- Leopard Catfish, Perruno Catfish). South America, Venezuela, Colombia, Amazon basin, Rio Negro, Lake Maracaibo. Up to 60 cm. Maxillary barbels in adults are long, reaching the caudal fin, which helps easily identify it. There are two pairs of short barbels on the lower jaw.
The body and fins are chocolate brown with lighter, small, shapeless spots. The lower part of this catfish is much lighter. The fins are large with dark spots. With age, the pattern becomes marbled. The caudal fin is large with a deep notch.
A large, nocturnal predator, it feeds on any fish that gets in its way; it should be kept alone or with Oxydoras, Pterodoras, Megalodoras. Use a powerful filter that provides a moderate flow. Provide large caves that it cannot destroy. Most plants will likely be uprooted or damaged. Use floating plants. They do not tolerate poor water quality and need weekly water changes. pH 5.8-7.5; dH 1-15°; 22-26°C.
Genus Phractocephalus.
— Red Tail Catfish, Banana Catfish, Flat Nosed Catfish — Phractocephalus hemioliopterus [Bloch & Schneider, 1801]. Synonym: Phractocephalus bicolor, Pirarara bicolor, Silurus hemioliopterus. (Eng- Banana Catfish, Flat Nosed Catfish, Red Tail Catfish). Inhabits the Amazon River basin, Brazil, Venezuela. In an aquarium, it grows up to 90 cm. It is a very attractive fish with an elongated body, large flat head, large eyes, and a wide mouth with three pairs of white barbels: two on the lower jaw and one on the upper (two pairs of barbels on this fish are long).
A beautiful red tail and white belly are obvious color characteristics of this fish. The fish is colored black and white. The upper part of this fish, especially in the front part of the back, from the tip of the snout to the first dorsal fin, including the upper lip, is gray-black with small, darker specks. The rear part behind the first dorsal fin to the caudal peduncle is completely velvety black. The lower part of the body, including the lower lip and three pairs of long barbels, is white. The tip of the dorsal fin is slightly pinkish-red.
The first dorsal fin is larger, black in the upper part, yellowish-pink. The ventral fins are orange-yellow. The pectoral and anal fins are black with a yellowish-white outline. The characteristic spade-shaped caudal fin varies in color from orange to red. The wide band on the caudal fin can change color from yellow to red. Over time, the color of the fin fades. It has a short, well-developed adipose fin.
They are often sold as extremely attractive young fish 8-10 cm long, often without information for unsuspecting buyers that they will very quickly grow into monsters. It is simple to keep, but they can only live in very large public aquariums; keep them singly or their tank mates must be of comparable size. It tolerates other fish only as potential food. Absolutely impossible to keep in a home aquarium.
An active predator that devours anything that can fit into its mouth. In the aquarium, it is advisable to keep it alone and only at a young age up to 45 cm in length. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle, are not very active, and prefer to spend time in a large cave or lair, searching for prey in the evening. Despite all these eerie descriptions, this is a very beautiful catfish with a calm temperament. Large gravel is used as substrate.
The presence of plants is not required, or choose large Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Java fern, and others that can be fixed on driftwood and stones. The same, perhaps, will have to be done with stones and driftwood — secure them tightly so that the fish does not break the aquarium glass with them. It is better not to keep plants, driftwood, and large stones in the aquarium (the catfish can break the glass with them). If you decide to add any decor elements to your aquarium, they must be securely fixed. The fish is very strong and with a sudden movement can break the glass with a heavy object that ends up under its tail.
Enhanced filtration, aeration, weekly water changes. Eats everything — fish, meat, offal. Very voracious. Juveniles are fed every day, and adults weekly. With good nutrition, it grows very quickly. They reach sexual maturity at 1.5 years of age, do not breed in aquarium conditions, and all fish available on our market are imported from Asian countries. Can be recommended only for more experienced hobbyists. Live up to 15 years. Hardness up to 10°; pH 5.5-6.8; temperature 22-26°C.
Identification: Red Tail Catfish — Phractocephalus hemioliopterus.
Genus Platystomatichthys.
— Sturgeon Catfish — Platystomatichthys sturio [Kner, 1858]. Synonym: Platystoma sturio. (Eng- Sturgeon Catfish). Amazon River, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela. 36 cm. Brown-bronze coloration with 5-8 round dark spots in the posterior half of the body. The fish has an elongated snout and a pair of long barbels reaching the caudal fin. In adult fish, the snout is curved upwards. The caudal fin is fork-shaped.
Due to the extremely long barbels, the required aquarium size is doubled. A very peaceful fish, both towards other similarly sized fish and towards conspecifics. Requires relatively cool, extremely clean water with a strong current. Food is only live, which makes it difficult to acclimatize. pH 6.0-8.0; T 22-25°C.
Pimelodus blochii, Pimelodus maculatus, Pimelodus ornatus, Pimelodus pictus.
Genus Aguarunichthys, Genus Brachyplatystoma, Genus Calophysus, Genus Sorubim. 
