Acanthodoras
cataphractus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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| Image
contributors to this species: |
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Danny Blundell (1) Chris
Ralph (4) Johnny
Jensen's Photographic Library
(1) |
| ScotCat
Sources: |
  
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| Other
Sources: |
 
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| Relevant
Information: |
Dorsal spines (total):
1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5 - 5; Anal soft rays: 10 - 11. The
body is a little elongated, without scales, with one lateral range
of bony plaque. The head is large and flattened. Mouth terminal,
and has three pairs of barbels. Eyes are small. Abundant in calm
waters of swamps and mangroves. Omnivorous, feeds mainly on organic
wastes. Searches for food by digging in the sediment. Active at
night, lies hidden in the underwater roots and stocks during the
day. Every basic unit of the sound they emit when they move their
pectoral spine lasts 100-200 milliseconds with a frequency of
170-250 Hertz. Aquarium Care: Wherever possible
it is recommend that the aquarist keep these catfish in small
groups of four to six specimens, assuming that they are available
in these numbers; failing this Acanthodoras cataphractus
are quite happy to shoal with other members of the family Doradidae.
In their natural habitat they would be found in very large shoals.
They are ideally suited to being kept in a community aquarium
environment with other medium to large species of fish such as
Bleeding Heart Tetras, Emperor Tetras and other catfish. The main
thing to remember is that these catfish have quite a large mouth
and are capable of eating any fish small enough to fit inside.
Diet: As with all the other doradids, Acanthodoras
cataphractus is omnivorous and readily accepts a mixed and
varied diet which they search through the substrate for. Sinking
catfish pellets, good quality flake foods, granular foods, cultured
whiteworm, earthworms, aquatic snails which they relish and frozen
foods such as bloodworm. |
| Common
Name: |
Spiny catfish |
| Synonyms: |
Silurus cataphractus,
Cataphractus americanus, Doras blochii, D.brunnescens, D.castaneoventris,
Callichthys asper |
| Family: |
Doradidae blycipitidae |
| Distribution: |
South America:
Amazon River basin and coastal drainages of French Guiana, Guyana
and Surinam. |
| Size:
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15cm.
(6ins) |
| Temp: |
22-26°C
(71-79°F) |
| p.H. |
6.0-7.5. |
| Reference: |
ScotCat Factsheet
no. 140. Feb. 2008.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009.FishBase.
World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version
(02/2010). |
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Family:
Doradidae
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
Close-up of head
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 Acanthodoras
cataphractus
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