SCOTCAT.COM  

your internet guide to all things catfish
≡
  • HOME
  • FACTSHEETS
    • By Month/Year
    • By Family
    • by Genus
    • by Common Names
    • By Specific Names
    • By Continent
      • Index
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australasia
      • Europe
      • North America
      • South America
  • GALLERIES
    • Photo Gallery
    • Art Gallery
    • Movie Gallery
    • Stamps Gallery
  • FAMILIES
    • A-B
      • Ailiidae
      • Akysidae
      • Amblycipitidae
      • Amphiliidae
      • Anchariidae
      • Ariidae
      • Aspredinidae
      • Astroblepidae
      • Auchenipteridae
      • Austroglanididae
      • Bagridae
    • C-D
      • Callichthyidae
      • Cetopsidae
      • Chacidae
      • Clariidae
      • Claroteidae
      • Cranoglanididae
      • Diplomystidae
      • Doradidae
    • E-H
      • Erithistidae
      • Heptapteridae
      • Heteropneustidae
      • Horabagridae
    • I-M
      • Ictaluridae
      • Lacantuniidae
      • Loricariidae
      • Malapteruridae
      • Mochokidae
    • N-P
      • Nematogenyidae
      • Pangasiidae
      • Phreatobiidae
      • Pimelodidae
      • Plotosidae
      • Pseudopimelodidae
    • S-T
      • Schilbeidae
      • Scoloplacidae
      • Siluridae
      • Sisoridae
      • Trichomycteridae
  • ARTICLES
    • Index
    • Breeding
    • By Author
    • Cat-Articles
    • General
    • Numbered List
    • Ichthyology
    • Travel/Collecting
  • IDENT-A-CAT
  • RESOURCES
    • Citation
    • Etymology
    • Fishhouse
    • Glossary
    • Scientific Papers
    • ScotShop
  • SITE MAP
  • FB GROUP
  • HELP
    • Index
    • Catfish Anatomy
    • Convertors
    • FAQ
    • Ident-A-Cat
    • Water Chemistry

FACTSHEETS: January 2006 - no. 115

Brachyrhamdia meesi Sands & Black, 1985


his is the first Factsheet of a new year (2006) and it marks a significant milestone in the history of ScotCat as we are now entering into the ninth year of bringing the latest information to you on anything that is remotely connected to the wonderful world of the Catfish.

I go right back to the early eighties when I first started to take a keen interest in Catfish and in these days there was a great interest here in the U.K. in the first of Dave Sands books "Catfishes of the World" Vol. 1 which was published in 1983. The third volume (1984) concentrated on the Auchenipteridae and Pimelodidae families and it is this edition that took my interest in the then new finds of the new genes, Brachyrhamdia.

There was a difference of opinion on whether the first species identified, B. imitator, was indeed a Pimelodella, Pimelodella imitator. A paper written in 1986 by John Lundberg and Lucinda McDade on this catfish stated that "‘Pimelodella and Brachyrhamdia differ in the former having the posterior cranial fontanelle wide open from the frontals to the supraoccipital whereas it closes to two small foramina in the latter (updated S.Grant, March 2010). They do also state that Brachyrhamdia is a deeper bodied fish than the Pimelodella genus.


Brachyrhamdia meesi

Brachyrhamdia meesi

The Brachyrhamdia genus was thought to be monotypic (one species) until 1985 when Barry Black and David Sands identified two more species in B. marthae and B. meesi.

There are as of date (updated March 2010), 5 species of Brachyrhamdia, B. heteropleura, B. imitator, B. rambarrani, B. marthae. and this months subject Brachyrhamdia meesi. These catfish have now been removed from their close relatives the Pimelodidae family and are now placed in a new family, Heptapteridae.

.

Brachyrhamdia meesi

Brachyrhamdia meesi

 

The Brachyrhamdia species tend to be "mimics" of Corydoras species and shoal with them. This is known as Batesian mimicry (Sands 1990) and they share colour patterns and eye masks of very many Corydoras species. They steal substrate food from the Corydoras and are protected in the larger shoal from large predators.

They are like most pims, terrritorial with their own kind, and as such it is advisable if keeping more than one that it will need to be over two so that the aggression is spread and diluted through a small group.

Hiding places such as pipework/rocks/slates is a good idea to keep them confident in their own surroundings. Water quality would need to be bright with either internal or external power filters for water movement and with water hardness as low as possible.

Acknowledgment: Steven Grant for extra information.

 

Common Name:

Mees' pimelodid

Synonyms:

Pimelodella meesi

Family:

Heptapteridae

Subfamily:

-

Distribution:

South America: Amazon River basin: Near Belem, Brazil.

Size:

8.0cm. (3¼ins)

Temp:

24-26°C (75-79°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

Characteristics

Deep pim-like body. Three pairs of barbels. Posterior cranial fontanelle wide open from the frontals to the supraoccipital.

Colouration

Salmon/pink body colour with three lines from the end of dorsal insertion to the caudal peduncle. There are two lighter bands with a darker line in between. Dark band at caudal peduncle. Dark mask over eyes and top of head starting at the beginning of dorsal insertion and carrying on down to midway between pectoral and ventral fins. Dusky tips to adipose fin and dorsal first spine.

Aquarium Care & Compatibility

Not to be trusted with smaller inmates such as smaller tetras and fry but will do fine with larger Barbs etc. May nip Corydoras and other Brachyrhamdia species when feeding, so you will need to keep an eye out for this behaviour.

Reproduction

As yet unknown.

Sexual differences

There are no known external sexual differences, but females are probably more robust in the body.

Diet

Readily accepts all manner of prepared foods. Catfish pellets and tablets and are particularly fond of frozen bloodworm and other "wormlike" foods.

Glossary of Terms

Fontanel: The space(s) between the bones on top of the skull covered by skin.
Supraoccipital: Unpaired bone at the back at the back of the skull, usually with a crest.

Etymology

Brachyrhamdia: Brachy = short; rhamdia = from the vernucular name 'Nhamdiá or 'Jamdiá.
meesi: In honour of Dr.G. Mees of the Leiden Natural History Museum, Germany.

References

Grant, Steven. pers comm.
Sands, David
; Catfishes of the World Vol.3: Auchenipteridae & Pimelodidae. Dunure Publications. 1984.
Sands, David; Practical Fishkeeping, Look-Lively Lookalikes, p12-15 (no date).

Photo Credits

Top image:       ©  Allan James @ ScotCat
Bottom Image: © Chris Ralph

Donate towards my web hosting bill!


If you would like to contribute to the monthly factsheets with an article, information or photos, please e-mail me. You will of course be credited for your work.

If you would like to donate any denomination of money to the site just click the above link button. All proceeds will go to running the site and hopefully to keep it going for a few years yet.


ScotCat Sources

Etymology = Genus Etymology-genera

Etymology = Species Etymology-specific name

 

Online Sources

Search  Search

Fishbase Fishbase

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes

Global Biodiversity Information Facility GBIF

FishNet2 Fishnet2

iNaturalist iNaturalist

  • Facebook about us + contact us + citation + translate + site map + scotshop + glossary + etymology +
  • help YouTube

©2023 SCOTCAT.COM