Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum (Valenciennes, 1840)
Image contributors to this species:
Allan James (1) ahnarip.de (1) Frants Lehmann (1 Stamp) Nishant Kakani (1) Daniel Blom (1) Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library (2) Fernando Tabachi (1)
ScotCat Sources:
Other Sources:
Relevant Information:	Similar to Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum but Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum has more of a striped  body pattern and P. fasciatum has the stripes more in the shape of a Y. As with P.fasciatuum this is an out and out predator. Aquarium Care: Its tank should have a shaded area at the back such as a large branch and plants to hide under as it is nocturnal, and also the lighting should not be too bright. Should not be kept with any fish that is smaller than itself and it also should be housed in a very large tank. The best companions would probably be large Pacu's or similar sized fish that would not be swallowed. In my opinion this wonderful looking Pim should only be kept in Public Aquariums as it can damage its large nose if kept in too confined an area, it can get jumpy too if feels its barbels on the tank sides as it turns around. It can also go of its food as well, if it is anyway disturbed. Diet: In their natural habitat they eat other fish such as characins and other catfish, they also eat freshwater crabs. In the aquarium a diet of earthworms, freshwater fish such as trout and also shrimp and prawns. You should only feed when it starts looking actively for it, as they will rest for a few days after feeding to digest their food. Remarks: There has been 5 new species described by Buitrago-Suárez, U.A. and B.M. Burr in 2007, to go alongside P. tigrinum, P. fasciatum and P. corruscans. These species are P. punctifer (Castelnau), P. reticulatum Eigenmann & Eigenmann, P. orinocoensen, P. metaense, and P. magdaleniatum. So far P. punctifer is the only species that has not been accepted in some publications in print and on the internet. Two species (P. punctifer?and P. tigrinum) are sympatric in the Amazon Basin, two (P. metaenseand P. orinocoense) are sympatric in the Orinoco Basin, and two others, P. corruscansand P. reticulatum, are sympatric in the Paraná. Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum and P. fasciatum each occur as the only species of Pseudoplatystoma in their respective individual ranges.
Common Name:	Tiger shovelnose catfish
Synonyms:	Platystoma tigrinum
Family:	Pimelodidaeycipitidae
Distribution:	South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins. Type locality: probablement originaire du Brésil.
Size:	120cm. (3ft 8ins)
Temp:	22-26°C (71-79°F)
p.H.	6.2-7.2.
Reference:	Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628. ScotCat Factsheet No. 36. June 1999 Buitrago-Suárez, U.A. and B.M. Burr, 2007. Taxonomy of the catfish genus Pseudoplatystoma Bleeker (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) with recognition of eight species. Zootaxa 1512:1-38.