Sorubim lima (Bloch
& Schneider, 1801)
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his was the first “Carnivorous Cat” that I kept
initially many years ago when I first entered the hobby. I kept
2 of these rather large fish for a few years and found that they
will usually get on well together socially. It is one of the better
predatory cats for the aquarium as they don't get as big as the
other “Shovel-nosed Cats” in the hobby.
Contributor to this months Factsheet (March 2001) Bernie
Molnar has furnished me with information and photos on this large
Pimelodid Cat. The image above shows his young 7½"
lima 'Chim-Chim' with its tankmate 'Froggy' the African frog,
there is also 4 Asian Crabs in the tank and Bernie assures me
that they all get on well together.
The feeding regime for his Sorubim lima the frog and crabs
are, tunu and frozen beefheart. He feeds 'Chim-Chim' once a day
on either 1tsp tunu, or 3 chunks of frozen beefheart or 4 goldfish
or 3-4 nite-crawlers. The water parameters are a temperature of
82°F and a p.H of between 7.0 & 7.2
As mentioned earlier keeping this “Shovel-nose Cat”
is not too difficult as long as you adhere to a few points listed
here.
1: A tank 4' 0" or above but you can start smaller if juvenile.
2: A good current in the water perhaps provided by a powerhead/filter.
3: Plenty hiding places in high plants and driftwood/roots as
they like to sit in a head down position.
4: Weekly water changes to keep the water clean.
The curious behavior of vertical posturing amidst the elongate
stems of submerged grass and reeds has been observed in aquaria
by Reid (1986) and Burgess (1989) who interpreted this as a
cryptic behavior used to hide from predators and/or to stalk
prey utilizing a lie-and-wait strategy.
Due to the recent scientific paper by Michael W. Littmann (2007),
there are now 5 species in the Sorobim genus, S. lima, S.
trigonocephalus, S.elongatus, S.cuspicaudus and S.maniradii.
S.lima and S.trigonocephalus have
been redescribed. The following table shows the catchment area
for each species.
| Species |
Habitat |
| S.lima |
The widest-ranging species, occurring in most of the major
drainage basins of South America. |
| S.trigonocephalus |
Extremely rare in natural history collections and is currently
known from only two major tributaries of the Amazon basin. |
| S. elongatus |
Essequibo, Orinoco, and Amazon basins. |
| S.cuspicaudus |
Sinu, Cauca, and Magdalena rivers of Colombia and the
Lago Maracaibo basin of Colombia and Venezuela. |
| S.maniradii |
Upper and middle Amazon basin. |
The species that we see regularly in the hobby are reportedly,
S.lima and S.elongatus.
Acknowledgements : Bernie Molnar for the photographs
and information for this factsheet.
Dorsal ii/6; Anal i/21; Pectorals; i/9; Ventrals 1/5. Body elongate,
anteriorly cylindrical, compressed posteriorly. Head strongly
depressed. Snout spatulate, overhanging the mouth. Fins short.
Caudal fin deeply forked, superficially shark-like, the upper
lobe produced to a point, the lower rounded. 3 pairs of barbels.
Practically uniform silver-grey, to some extent with a brassy
sheen. Underside pure white. Vague-edged dark longitudinal bands
along the ridge of the back and along the flanks. Fins colourless,
the caudal with a dark centre.
Anything large enough will fit into its mouth so you should choose
tankmates carefully. Large Cichlids or Plecos would be good companions
or larger Characins, but they will also co-exist with one another,
so 2 or 3 individuals brought together as juveniles in a larger
tank would also be a good choice.
Not been accomplished in the aquarium yet, but one report states
that a pair laid eggs in a nest that they had constructed and
guarded, but nothing came of the event. They are seasonal spawners
in the wild and guard the nest that they construct. Burgess (1989)
reported one instance of two adult Sorubim excavating
a small pit for a nest. Both fish
were guarding freshly hatched young, although none survived.
In the aquarium it is important to try and wean them of live food
so as not too make them too dependent on it and also not forgetting
the disease factor as well. They will take a variety of larger
foods such as earthworms, frozen bloodworms, tablet and pellet
food. You can try prawns and also frozen fish pieces such as lancefish
etc.
| Etymology |
Sorubim:
Comes from the native name "Sorobim" which is
applied to many large Pimelodids.
lima: Meaning a file in Latin,
refers to the ventrally exposed premaxillary tooth patch. |
| Glossary
of Terms: |
Maxillary barbels
: Pertaining to the upper jaw. (maxillary barbels)
Humeral process : Bony extension of the
pectoral girdle.
Occipital process : A median bone on the
upper surface of the back of the head; pertaining to the
occiput.
Fontanel : The space(s) between the bones
on top of the skull covered by skin.
|
| Reference |
Baench; Aquarium Atlas 1, 1987.
Linder, Shane; Sorubim lima. (article)
Sterba, Günther; Sterba's Freshwater Fishes
of the World 1.
Littmann, M. W. Systematic review of the
neotropical shovelnose catfish genus Sorubim Cuvier (Siluriformes:
Pimelodidae)
Zootaxa 1422: 1-29 (8 Mar. 2007) 14 plates; 42 references.
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| Photo
Credits |
Bernie Molner
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| Synonyms:
|
| Platystoma lima, Silurus lima, Sorubim
infraoculare, Platystoma luceri, Sorubim latirostris. |
| Common
Name: |
| Lima Shovel-Nosed Catfish, Duckbill Catfish |
| Family: |
| Pimelodidae |
| Subfamily: |
| Pimelodidinae |
| Distribution: |
| South America: Amazon, Orinoco,
Paraná and Parnaíba River basins |
| Size: |
| 45cm. (18ins) |
| Temp: |
| 23-30°C
(73-87°F) |
| pH.: |
| 6.5-7.5. |
| Hardness: |
| up to 20° dGH |
| Donation: |
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