Trachelyichthys
exilis Greenfield & Glodek,
1977 |
his month we are concentrating on a small member of the Auchenipteridae
family, the "Driftwood Cats", and also the small genus
Trachelyichthys which comprises of only two individuals,
this months choice and also T. decaradiatus. To put you in
the picture, the genus Trachelyichthys was created in 1974
by Dr.Mees and in his paper there was only a single specie, Trachelyichthys
decaradiatus from the Rupununi River, British Guiana and so
T.exilis didn't come along until 1977 where it was described
from the Rio Mamon, Peru which is basically on the other side of
the South American continent approximately 1,800km away from the
first genus discovered. The specimen was caught in a shallow part
of the river approximately one metre (39") deep. The substrate
consisted of mud and sand. The water was acidic and the surface
temperature, 28°c (82°f)
To differentiate between T.exilis and T.decaradiates
is sometimes not that easy as they both have the same basic body
colouration but the main difference lies in the shape of the humeral
process and the positioning of the eyes. Below you can what I mean
from the published papers of Greenfield & Glodek, 1977.
In the picture below you can see the positioning of the eye in a
real life scenario.
Telling the boys from the girls
is not too hard in
mature specimens as the male shows
an extension to the front of its anal fin as is the norm in this
family and the female has a normal fin. Below you can see the difference
in sexing the genus Tatia which is in the same family. The
only difference is the length of the anal fin in T.exils
and T.decaradiatus but it does give you an idea and should
help you sex out this species if buying from an aquatic outlet.
So basically a good catfish
all round if a little secretive, they don't particular like to be
on their own so have at least a pair or better still a small group
of them, and you may have a little luck and spawn them.
Small based dorsal. Large eyes well forward
on head. Long pointed humeral process.
Colouration silver tone with black band running over top of body
interupted with some spots. Lateral line with large black spots,
rest of body with varius spotted pattern. Dorsal spine with black
stripe with rest of fins spotted.
Keeping both species is not too much of a problem as long as the
water is kept clean and not too alkaline with a p.H.of between 6.5
and 7.0. They do like a planted aquarium where they like to hide
during the day. They also make a good show fish if showing your
fish at shows is your forte, as they usually deport well in a show
tank.
This is a piece taken from the Baench Aquarium
Atlas 3 on the breeding of this species: "Well-fed fishes have
been known to spawn in aquaria. The male embraces the female so
that his genital papilla is very close to the anus of the female.
Eggs are fertilised before they are laid among plants; Java moss
makes an appropriate spawning substrate"
A few members of the Auchenipteridae family have been spawned
in the hobby with a successful breeding and raising of the young
of Trachelyichthys decaradiatus by Dick Thompson, a former
member of The Northern Area Catfish Group (now Catfish
Study Group U.K.)
In the aquarium a good mixture of dry food such as flake and tablet.
Worm food such as bloodworm, whiteworm and grindal will keep the
'pygmy driftwood' happy in its suroundings.
| Etymology |
Trachelyichthys:
From the Greek, trachelos, meaning neck, pteron, meaning fin
and ichthys, meaning fish;
exilis
: Slim or slender, pertaining to the slim humeral process.
|
| References |
Baench, Aquarium Atlas 3
Sandford, Mike; CAGB
Magazine 41 1984 : Trachelyichthys - two of a kind
Greenfield,
D.W. & Glodek, G.S. 1977: Trachelyichthys exilis,
a new Species of Catfish from Peru.
Top picture: Pertti
Rassi
Middle Drawing: Greenfield, D.W. & Glodek, G.S. 1977: Trachelyichthys
exilis, a new Species of Catfish from Peru.
Bottom Picture: 
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| Synonyms:
|
| None |
| Common
Name: |
| Pigmy Driftwood |
| Family: |
| Auchenipteridae |
| Subfamily: |
| Auchenipterinae |
| Distribution: |
Peru: in the Rio Mamón |
| Size: |
| 9.5cm (3¾ins) |
| Temp: |
| 22-25c (71-77f ) |
| pH.: |
| 6.5 - 7.0. |
| Donation: |
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