Leiarius Pictus Catfish
|
|
| Common name | Sailfin catfish, Sailfin pim, Sailfin marbled pim |
| Scientific name | Leiarius pictus |
| Synonyms | Sciades pictus (not valid) |
| Size | Usually 24" (60cm), but can grow slightly larger. |
| Origin | S. America: widespread in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. |
| Tank setup | A very large tank (suggest 8' x 3' base area for adult), with plenty of open swimming space
and a large cave for a refuge. |
| Compatibility | Highly predatory, will eat small fish. Territorial, and will be aggressive towards other similar
catfish, and sometimes towards other species. |
| Temperature | 22-25oC (72-77oF) |
| Water chemistry | Fairly soft, slightly acidic to around neutral (pH 6.5-7.2) is preferable. |
| Feeding | Predatory, will take all kinds of dead or live meaty foods, and also eats sinking or floating pellets. |
| Sexing | No obvious differences, but females are larger and thicker in shape. |
| Breeding | Unknown - no accounts of aquarium breeding, mainly due to the size of tank that would be required. |
| Comments |
This is a very confident and active catfish compared to many other large Pimelodidae catfish, and even juveniles become hand-tame very quickly.
It should not be kept with other Pimelodid catfish in home aquaria; suitable catfish companions could include large Dorad catfish
(e.g. Oxydoras, Megalodoras), though even these may be harrassed occasionally. Large but peaceful fish of the upper levels are usually tolerated.
|
