Lives in mud at bottom
of rivers. Latest (March 2000) male specimen caught in rather
shallow water on the sandy bottom of the river, which had a very
low water level following a long period of drought (in Kenya).
Female (caught later in 2000). Not a catfish for the home aquarium
as it is extremely predatory and would need to be fed on live
fish. The other criteria is the large size it attains. This catfish
is rare so it would probably never be seen in the hobby. Remarks:
Very strange looking fish as the head is almost half as long as
the body with a very wide head and large mouth with its gape extending
to around the eye area.
Common
Name:
Somalian
giant catfish
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Claroteidae blycipitidae
Distribution:
Africa:
restricted to the Juba River, Somalia and Lower Tana River in
Kenya. Type locality: Gelib, fleuve Juba, Somalie
méridionale.
Size:
75cm.
(2ft. 6ins)
Temp:
23-26°C
(73-79°F)
p.H.
6.0-7.0.
Reference:
De Vos, L.
2001 Rediscovery of the giant catfish Pardiglanis tarabinii (Siluriformes:
Claroteidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 12(3):213-214. Seegers, L. 2008 The catfishes of Africa. A handbook
for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH,
Germany. 604 p.
