Cetopsis
coecutiens (Lichtenstein, 1819) |
| |
| Image
contributors to this species: |
| Chris
Ralph (4) Ian
Fuller
(1) Daniel
Blom (3) Peru
Aquarium Group
(1) Mark
Sabaj Pérez (2) |
| ScotCat
Sources: |
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| Other
Sources: |
 
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| Relevant
Information: |
Can be distinguished from
all of its congeners by the combination of the presence of an eye,
the conical teeth on the vomer and dentary, a body depth greater
than 0.22 of SL, the elongated filaments on the distal portions
of the first rays of the dorsal and pectoral fins in all specimens,
and the presence of transversely-aligned, slit-like posterior nares.
Diet: Cetopsis coecutiens and C.candiru
which achieve the largest body sizes within the Cetopsinae, are
notorious for their voracious feeding habits; attacking not only
carrion, but also live fishes in gill-nets (Barthem & Goulding,
1997: 44), and on occasion humans (Goulding, 1989: 185). The predatory
and scavenging feeding habits of these species of Cetopsis perhaps
contributed to the erroneous assumption that members of the Cetopsinae
are “parasitic”; a conclusion that may have lead various
previous researchers to align members of that subfamily with the
species of the family Trichomycteridae, some members of which feed
on the blood of their hosts. In contrast to the voracious feeding
habits of Cetopsis candiru and C. coecutiens,
all other members of the subfamily for which the diet is known prey
primarily on allochthonous and aquatic insects. Aquarium
Care: I would suggest a minimum size of Aquaria to be 72”
x 24” X 24” if you are going to keep these catfish until
they attain adult size. There is no real preference of substrate
when keeping these catfish however; I would suggest good quality
aquarium sand such as BD Aquarium Sand, or very smooth rounded gravel.
The aquarium should provide minimal shelter in the form of rocks
or bogwood due to the fact that this catfish is constantly on the
go, swimming in the midwater regions of the water body. As with
all other species of fish, water quality and general husbandry is
very important, and I would recommend that a minimum of 25% water
is changed on a weekly basis due to the fact that these catfish
are constantly looking for food and the diet is fish or meat based.
Lighting should be dim, due to the poor eyesight of these catfish
and the fact that they are found at relatively deep water levels
in their natural habitat. |
| Common
Name: |
Whale Cat |
| Synonyms: |
Silurus
coecutiens, Silurus caecutiens |
| Family: |
Cetopsidaeycipitidae |
| Distribution: |
South
America: Amazon, Tocantins, and Orinoco River basins. Type
locality: Brazil. |
| Size:
|
26.5cm.
(10½ins) |
| Temp: |
22-28°c
(71-83°f ) |
| p.H. |
6.0-7.4. |
| Reference: |
Vari, R.P., C.J.
Ferraris, Jr. and M.C.C. de Pinna 2005 The neotropical
whale catfishes (Siluriformes: Cetopsidae: Cetopsinae), a revisionary
study. Neotrop. Ichthyol. 3(2):127-238.
ScotCat Factsheet no. 124. October 2006. |
|
Family:
Cetopsidae
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| Click
on thumbnails |
Cetopsis coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
Close up of head
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
Close up of head
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
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 Cetopsis
coecutiens
Showing teeth
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