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Stuart Brown (1)

Mees (1974) assigned this species to Tatia but Ferraris (2007) reverted it back to the original genera of Centromochlus. Just recently (September 2019) due to earlier work carried out by U.K. aquarist and amateur ichthyologist Steven Grant (2015) a new paper was released by Bárbara B. Calegari et. al. whereas this species (C. macracanthus), Tatia carolae Vari & Ferraris, 2013 and Centromochlus schultzi Rössel, 1962 were reclassified to a new genus, Balroglanis. Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5; Anal soft rays: 7; Vertebrae: 37. First nuchal plate absent; the supraoccipital bone sutured to the 2nd nuchal plate. First dorsal fin spine elongated, 28-35% SL. Coracoid process covered with skin, not visible externally. Aquarium Care: Keeping this rare 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. Diet: 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. Breeding: They leave their eggs in a gelatinous mass under stones or bogwood. As of this family the male will fertilise the female internally. Entymology: Balroglanis: Meaning "Balrog Catfish" and is derived from the Maia, a Balrog known as Durin's Bane, who terrorised Durin the Deathless' descendants in Khazad-dûm, in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings legendarium. Remarks: As of December 2020 most of the online sources have not caught up on this new genus name change.

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Centromochlus macracanthus

Auchenipteridae

Brazil: Upper Negro River basin. Type locality: Brazil: Amazonas: São Pedro, Rio Negro.

7.0cm (2¾ins)

26-28°c (79-83°f.)

6.5-7.0.

Grant, S., 2015: Four new subgenera of Centromochlus Kner, 1858 with comments on the boundaries of some related genera (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae: Centromochlinae). Ichthyofile 3: 1–16.
Bárbara B Calegari, Richard P Vari, Roberto E Reis, 2019. Phylogenetic systematics of the driftwood catfishes (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae): a combined morphological and molecular analysis, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, , zlz036
Sarmento-Soares, Luisa Maria; Martins-Pinheiro, Ronaldo Fernando A systematic revision of Tatia (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae: Centromochlinae) Neotropical Ichthyology, 6(3):495-542, 2008.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2003. Auchenipteridae (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.