Lophiobagrus
cyclurus (Worthington & Ricardo,
1937)
|
his
small species from Lake Tanganyika, Africa is now beginning to be
found in the aquatic shops especially in the U.S.A and Canada where
shipments are turning up more regularly. It was a member of the
Bagridae family until 1991 when Mo split it up up and constructed
a new family, Claroteidae, which included not only the Lophiobagrus
genus but also the Clarotes-like and Auchenoglanis-like
groups.
It was first collected in Lake Tanganyika by A.Lestrade in 1937
and named by Max Poll in 1947 as Lophiobagrus lestradei, Worthington
& Ricardo 1937. This was later found out to be a junior synonym
of our Factsheet of the Month subject and renamed Lophiobagrus
cyclurus by Poll again in 1952. There was also an unidentified
collection in 1955 in M'Toto, rocky, Lake Tanganyika which was named
Chrysichthys cyclurus but again this was the same fish that
was collected by Lestrade in 1937. As the first collection was the
correct fish but was named for the wrong species, the authors which
the fish were named after, was put into parentheses.
Now after all that scientific jargon how do we keep Lophiobagrus
cyclurus. Dinyar Lalkaka an accomplished catfish enthusiast
from New York is presently keeping two of this species and he sent
me this short composition below.
"I keep them at pH
7.8-8.0, 78-80 F with my Lake Tanganyika synos. I feed the usual
catfish cuisine: flakes (esp. Tetra ColorBits), frozen food (brine
shrimp, bloodworms) and live bloodworms. They’re not fussy
eaters, but obviously prefer steak (meat) to potatoes (veggies).
The tank has a coarse, calciferous substrate with lots of caves
and crannies formed by “Moon Rock” (grey, looks like spongy
concrete, but is a naturally occurring agglomeration of sea shells
and such).
Two of the four I got as 0.5” juveniles; one of these is now
2.5”, the other still 1.5”. They grew fast! The larger
one is brown, the smaller one black. Apart from color and growth
rate, they look quite similar, but I wonder if they are not different
species. There are several Lophiobagrus species in Lake Tanganyika
and all of them look very similar. I would not be surprised —
in fact, I’d expect — that more than one of these has
entered the trade and not every Lophiobagrus sold as L.
cyclurus is in fact such. But that’s only a hunch."
To further capitulate on Dinyar's theory about being more than one
Lophiobagrus species sold in the trade we have to take a
closer look at the Lophiobagrus genus residing in the lake.
There are four species of Lophiobagrus in Lake Tanganyika,
L.cyclurus, L.aquilus, L.asperispinis and L.brevispinis.
Below you can see the differences particularly in the body and caudal
shape, and the length relative to the eye, of the nasal barbels.
There has been a story going about (Pierre Brichard; Fishes of
Lake Tanganyika) for a few years that they secrete a mucus that
mixes with the water if they are stressed or in cramped conditions
and it kills any other fish in its vicinity. There has been no
collaboration to prove or disprove this notion.
Acknowledgments: Dinyar Lalkaka for his contribution to
this months factsheet.
Shane Linder for his information
on the family Claroteidae.
Body short, weekly compressed; eyes small,
subcutaneous.
Colouration of body; dusty black or brown. Clear edging to dorsal
and caudal fins. Barbels show some white colouring.
They will certainly eat smaller fish in the aquarium as most Bagrid-type
catfish will do. A setup as Dinyar has expanded on with probably
a Lake Tanganyika or Lake Malawi setup being the best bet with either
Cichlids from these lakes or with other similar sized alkaline loving
species such as the Lake Syno's.
Has been bred in the aquarium with the eggs laid in a cave which
had been excavated by the parents and the eggs hatched in about
four to five days.
In Lake Tanganyika it feeds on chironomid larvae, beetle larva,
and small crustaceans with the occasional vegetable matter mixed
in. In the aquarium they will feed on any meaty foods, frozen or
freeze-dried.
| Etymology |
Lophiobagrus:
Lophia, lophos = mane, crest; bagrus = 'Bagre'
meaning catfish.
|
| References |
Eccles, David H; Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes
of Tanzania. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Burgess, Dr.Warren E; An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes
1989.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2002. FishBase.World
Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org,
20th August 2002
Risch, L.M., 1986. Bagridae.. p. 2-35.
In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.)
Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels;
MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2.
| Factsheet
Request |
Paul Belanger.
Alex V.Tilburg.
|
| Photo
Credits |
Top picture: Aqualog
Verlag ©
Line Drawings: Michel Lamboeuf from, Field Guide to the
Freshwater Fishes of Tanzania. |
|
|
| Synonyms:
|
| Chrysichthys cyclurus, Lophiobagrus lestradei
|
| Common
Name: |
| African bullhead, Tanganyika bullhead. |
| Family: |
| Claroteidae |
| Subfamily: |
| Claroteinae |
| Distribution: |
| Africa:
Lake Tanganyika
|
| Size: |
| 10cm. (4ins) |
| Temp: |
| 23-26°C
(73-79°F) |
| pH.: |
| 7.5 - 8.0 |
| Donation: |
If you found this page helpful
you can help keep ScotCat running by making a small donation,
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
