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David Sands (1) Jian Ruilong (2) Daphne Layley (1) Raphael Covain (2)

This Dorad is the real Platydoras costatus, we now know that this species has never, or very rarely been exported and as such the species that we thought was P. costatus is actually Platydoras armatulus. Due to the work carried out in the paper by Piorski, N.M., J.C. Garavello, M. Arce & M.H. Sabaj Pérez in 2008 we came to realise that the real P. costatus was indeed indigenous to the coastal drainages of Suriname and French Guiana and what we had called for years, P. costatus, was in fact Platydoras armatulus. P. costatus lacks a distinct light stripe on the head and sides. There are four recognised species of Platydoras: P. armatulus (Paraguay-Paraná and portions of Amazon and Orinoco basins), P. costatus (Corantijn and Maroni basins), P. brachylecis (Rio Mearim, rio Pindaré, rio Itapecuru and rio Parnaíba basins in northeastern Brazil) and P. hancockii (Negro, Essequibo, Demerara, and upper Orinoco basins). In common with most of the Doradidae family it can create a sound by grating its fin bones in each socket and amplifying the noise via the swim bladder. Aquarium Care: If you do have the good luck to have this species it is a fairly easy catfish to keep as long as you can provide it with shelter such as pipes or cave work. It will even jam itself into the pipe with its pectoral spines and will be unremovable. Diet: Easy to feed on frozen food such as bloodworm, tablet and pellet foods. In youngsters it is better to feed at night after lights out, the older they get they will get bolder and come out at feeding time. Remarks: The specimen depicted was owned by English Dorad specialist Daphne Layley in about 1985 and lived for many years in her care. The Photograph in the first thumbnail image was taken in David Sands shop just before she bought it in that year. It is depicted in David Sands book, Catfishes of the World Vol. 4 in page 38b as Platydoras spp. The last image is the same specimen. Most of the images depicted online are actually P. armatulus.

Striped Dora

Silurus costatus, Platydoras helicophilus

Doradidae

South America: Negro, Essequibo, Demerara, and upper Orinoco basins. Essequibo River basins and coastal drainages in French Guiana and Suriname to Argentina.

24.0cm. (9½ins)

24-30°C (75-87°F)

6.0-7.5.

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org.
Layley, Daphne. pers. comm.
Le Bail, P.-Y., P. Keith and P. Planquette, 2000. Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane. Tome 2, Fascicule II: Siluriformes. Collection Patrimoines Naturels 43(II): 307p. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
Mol, H.A. Jan, The Freshwater Fishes of Suriname. BRILL, Leiden Boston, 2012. 889 p.
Piorski, N.M., J.C. Garavello, M. Arce & M.H. Sabaj Pérez (2008): Platydoras brachylecis, a new species of thorny catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from northeastern Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology 6 (3): 481-494.
ScotCat Factsheet no. 308. February 2022.