Cetopsis
coecutiens (Lichtenstein, 1819) |
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| 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.
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. 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.
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| 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. |
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