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Brachyrhamdia rambarrani (Axelrod & Burgess, 1987)

Image contributors to this species:

Allan James (1) Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library (3) David Sands (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

The common name of 'False Adolfoi' is due to its habit of schooling with this species of Corydoras (Hoplisoma "Corydoras" adolfoi) species. This habit probably stems from the protection of this scaleless catfish from large predators due to the plated Corydoras where predators are wary of the locked pectoral and dorsal spines. There is the other scenario that states that the Brachyrhamdia are practising a Batesian form of shoaling wheras they take food that the Corydoras dig up from the substrate and also they stael the eggs of these species. They seem to do better with Corydoras that possess a black eye stripe and the orange head blotch such as H. davidsandsi, H. adolfoi, H. melini and other species from the upper Rio Negro rather than plain species such as Osteogaster (Corydoras) aenea which tend to be nipped and driven out of the shoal. Reported to be a bit more harder to keep than the other Brachyrhamdia such as B. imitator and B. marthae so a good aquarium husbandry is a must. Aquarium Care: House in aquaria (24ins/60cm or over) with alternate sand and gravel substrate. Provide planted area. Keep in a species tank or with Corydoras and larger Characins or Anabantoides in the top half as they can be predatory with small species such as Neon Tetras. Diet: Tablet and pellet foods. Frozen and live foods such as bloodworm. Insect larvae. Not a fussy eater. Etymology: The specific name rambarrani: In honour of Harry Rambarran (1935–2022), then co-manager of International Fisheries, Inc. (Hialeah, Florida, USA), an aquarium-fish exporter that supplied holotype. Remarks: Not often seen in imports.

Common Name:

False Adolfoi

Synonyms:

Pimelodella rambarrani

Family:

Heptapteridae

Distribution:

South America: Unini River basin in upper Negro River drainage, Brazil. Type locality: Reportedly from the Rio Unini, a tributary of the Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil.

Size:

7.0cm. (2¾ins)

Temp:

24-26°C (75-79°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

IUCN Red List

Brachyrhamdia rambarrani is endemic to Brazil, described from the Unini River, and also occurs below the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, both in the Negro River basin, Amazonas, Brazil. It is known from few specimens in scientific collections, three of which belong to the type series and six from additional material. The lack of further information about its population is possibly due to the limited sampling effort in the area, which is difficult to access. Despite being used for ornamental purposes, no significant threats that endanger its population have been identified. Therefore, Brachyrhamdia rambarrani is categorised as Least Concern (LC), (IUCN 2022).

Reference:

Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl 1985 Aquarien atlas. Band 2. Mergus, Verlag für Natur- und Heimtierkunde GmbH, Melle, Germany. 1216 p.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (05/2012).
Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio). 2022. Brachyrhamdia rambarrani. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Morris, J.T.; ScotCat Article: An Observation On a Spawning of Brachyrhamdia imitator, Myers 1927.
Sands, David; Catfishes of the World. Vol. 3 Auchenipteridae & Pimelodidae. Dunure Publications 1984.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Family: Heptapteridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Brachyrhamdia rambarrani

Brachyrhamdia rambarrani

Brachyrhamdia rambarrani
Head view

Brachyrhamdia rambarrani

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