Agamyxis
pectinifrons (Cope,
1870)
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his month we concentrate on a very weird member of the Doradidae
family, namely the "Spotted talking catfish" Agamyxis
pectinifrons.
This catfish has been in the hobby for
many years and is sometimes overlooked in the quest for the more
gaudy colours of the members of the Loricariidae family, i.e.
the L-numbers, but as you can see in the picture below it can
even rival them in the colourful stakes.
There are two species in this genus, the
aforementioned A. pectinifrons and A. albomaculatus
(Peters, 1877). A. pectinifrons is found in Ecuador and
Peru while A. albomaculatus is only found in Venezuela.
There is not a great deal of differences as far as I can see in
the 2 species apart from maybe albomaculatus being a
bit slimmer and having more spots. There also seems to be a different
pattern in the caudal fin.
The first thing you notice is the weird shape reminiscent of the
"Hunchback of Notre dam" and old specimens can get very
hunchbacked in their advancing years. This is a very long lived
species with reports of 17 years longevity and are very hardy
to boot!.
A basic setup for the "Spotted
talking catfish" would be a not too brightly lit aquarium
with bogwood or equivalent for them to hide away in the roots
or in the crevices of carefully stacked stonework. Substrate is
not a great issue with either rounded gravel or sand. A regime
of monthly water changes should keep this catfish happy for many
years.
It is very nocturnal as are most members
of this family and you must be aware of their pectoral spines
as they can lock them and if your fingers are in the road it can
be mighty painful!. If catching this species for any reason you
must not use a net as their spines will get hopelessly entangled.
A better method is to lower a container to scoop it up in. If
you must handle this fish, make sure that you grasp it forward
of the pectoral spines in the head area.
In common with most of the Doradidae family when out of the water,
it can create a sound by grating its fin bones in each socket
and amplifying the noise via the swim bladder, which is one reason
why it got its common name of the
“Spotted Talking Catfish”
D 1/5; A 1/11; P1/5. Dorsal spine toothed
on both anterior and posterior surfaces. Spinous scutes confined
to the posterior half of the body. 3 pairs of barbels. Caudal shape,
truncate.
Dark brown to blue-black, with numerous pale
blotches/spots on the head and body. Underside somewhat paler, similarly
marked. Fins dark, with pale stripes and spots which may run together
to form transverse bars. Old individuals are almost uniformly dark
brown with white blotches on the belly.
Good community catfish although very nocturnal.
May eat very small fish or fry on night time forages.
No reports on the breeding of this species
in captivity but may lay its eggs in floating plants in its natural
habitat.
A good practice is to drop tablet food at
dusk, in the area where it resides.
It will eat a wide variety of foods including
flake, and frozen foods such as bloodworm.
| Etymology |
Agamyxis
:
With (very) much slime.
pectinifrons : With a comb on the forehead,
(probably refers to the toothed dorsal fin spine.)
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| Factsheet
Request |
Matthew Childers
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| References |
sterba, Günther;
Freshwater Fishes of the World 1.
 |
Ecuador
Peru
