Tatia perugiae
(Steindachner, 1882) |
his is one of the most striking members of what we call in
the hobby, 'Driftwood Cats'. There are a few different body markings
in this species and they have been arriving in the aquatic outlets
in the U.K. now over the last year. (2001)
'Driftwood Cats' being as they are, are very secretive and if
you want to see your fish in a community setup these catfish are
not for you, but in saying that they are inoffensive and as long
as you haven't small fry in the aquarium you can keep them with
medium sized fish. You can of course enjoy them at dusk when the
lights are off in your tank and your room lights are dimmed. I
have had success in bringing this species out when the tank light
is on, how do I do that? with frozen bloodworm and it is a treat
to see them circling around the bottom hoovering them up until
they get so bloated they just sit motionless for what seems like
ages, taking a rest to get their breath back!.
These little catfish inhabit large rivers where the water is swift,
preferring littoral zones adjacent to the shoreline over hard,
sandy bottoms devoid of vegetation.
The anal fin is the key to the sexual dimorphism of this genus,
if you think of the male and female of most livebearer fish (Goodeidae
family) and you won't be too far away with this assumption.
As you can see above, the female has a normal anal fin but
the males are modified into a copulatory organ with the first and
second ray thickened and longer, it is thought that the male uses
this to clasp the female during the spawning embrace.
Body naked and relatively short head. Surface of head and the nuchal
region (except the orbits and the interorbital fontanel) are covered
with bony plates.The nuchal plate extends to and beyond the base
of the dorsal fin spine, and the horns of the nuchal plate are curved
downward and outward. The eyes are moderately large and are covered
with skin.
Whitish base colour with black irregular reticulated pattern. All
fins clear.
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.
Internal fertilisation with the eggs deposited 24-48 hours later.
Also a report on Tatia creutzbergi, with them placing their
adhesive eggs on the underside of wood with no broodcare after the
event. 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 its native habitat they feed on insects, mostly ants, beetles,
and mayflies and in the aquarium they will eat anything given such
as frozen bloodworm which they will come out of hiding to feed on,
catfish tablets, daphnia, white worm (sparingly) and any other worm-like
foods.
| 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 |
Riehl, Baensch. Aquarium Atlas Photo Index 1-5
Froese,
R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2002. FishBase.World Wide Web electronic
publication. www.fishbase.org,
15 August 2002
Burgess, W.E., 1989. An atlas of freshwater
and marine catfishes: a preliminary survey of the Siluriformes..
T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey.
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|
| Synonyms:
|
| Centromochlus perugiae. |
| Common
Name: |
| Perugia's Woodcat |
| Family: |
| Auchenipteridae |
| Subfamily: |
| Centromochlinae |
| Distribution: |
Colombia.
Ecuador.
Peru |
| Size: |
| 7.5cm (3ins) |
| Temp: |
| 26-28c (79-83f ) |
| pH.: |
| 6.5 - 7.5. |
| Donation: |
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