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Mark Goh (2)

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 4 - 5; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 76 - 103. Habitat: Generally found in either small tributaries of the alluvial lowlands or in creeks and small rivers in hilly terrain. Prefers deeper pools that are often littered with logs and branches. This species occurs across northern New Guinea from the Ramu and Sepik rivers, Papua New Guinea, to the Mamberamo system of Papua Province, Indonesia. It is likely to be extinct from Lake Sentani due to a number of anthropogenic threats, and it is threatened by mining, logging and invasive species in other parts of its range. Aquarium Care: Better suited to larger tanks of 4ft (120cm) or over with rocks and plants provided for cover. This genera are easily spooked in the aquarium but N. novaeguineae seems to be a suitable candinate for larger aquariums. Best kept in small groups of 4-6 individuals. The pectoral and dorsal spines, as is the norm in this genera, are venomous so handle with care. In my personal experience they are well suited to larger tanks with other same sized or larger inhabitants and will hold their own in that company and are generally peaceful with other placid species. Diet: Feeds on insects, prawns, mollusks and small crayfish. In the aquarium, snails, insects, prawns, earthworms and other small crustaceans and will take most aquarium foods. Etymology: The specific name novaeguineae: Of New Guinea, specifically Irian Jaya of Western New Guinea (now West Papua, Indonesia), type locality. Remarks: There is no indication that the overall population is suffering from significant declines and it is known from at least one protected area. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern. Research is needed to determine its current population trends and the full impacts of threats (IUCN 2020).

New Guinea tandan

Copidoglanis novae-guineae, Copidoglanis novae-guineae niger

Plotosidae

Asia & Oceania: Ramu River basin, Papua New Guinea and northern Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), New Guinea. Type Locality: Sentani-See, Nord-Neu-Guinea and Bernhard Camp (altitude 75 meters), Idenburg River, Netherland New Guinea.

21.0cm. (8¼ins)

22-28°C (71-83°F)

6.0-8.0.

Allen, G.R., 1991. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Publication, no. 9. 268 p. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version.
Palmer-Newton, A. 2020. Neosilurus novaeguineae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf..