he
"Jelly Catfish" is again only a catfish
for the more experienced keepers and will do well
in the hands of a big cat lover who knows how to look
after large predatory catfish.
Lophiosilurus
nigricaudus
The Latin name
“nigricaudus” means “black tail”
and this more or less tells it apart from the similar
coloured L.
apurensiswhichis to be found in the Rio Apure in Venezuela
very far away from L. nigricaudus from Suriname.
There are currently four species in this genera, our
catfish of the month L. nigricaudus, L.
apurensis, L.
albomarginatus
and L.
fowleriand they are all very much predators in their
natural habitats and as such in the aquarium also.
Lophiosilurus
nigricaudus-
the business end!
Remarks:
Due to the latest paper by Oscar A. Shibattaet al. (Dec. 2021) there are now five species
in this genera with four of them now being being synonymized
from CephalosilurustoLophiosilurus.
The recovered phylogeny of the genus was (L. albomarginatus
, L. nigricaudus, L. apurensis, L. fowleri,
and L. alexandri). L nigricaudus isfound together with Bryconops caudomaculatus,
Characidium blennoides, Pimelodella cristata,
Leporinus friderici and Astyanax meunieri.
Note:
Lophiosilurus nigricaudusis still found on some online searches as Cephalosilurus
nigricaudus.
South America:
Upper Corantijn (Sipaliwini), Suriname and Marowijne
rivers, Suriname. Type
Locality:
Sipaliwini River, Upper Corantijn
River, Suriname.
Size
50.0cm. (20ins)
Temp.
20-25°C
(67-77°F)
p.H.
6.0-7.5.
Characteristics
Lateral line complete with
a very broad and depressed head, angular gape.
Maxillary teeth laterally with
a backward projection; caudal fin long, lanceolate,
truncated or rounded, never forked. Depressed dorsal
fin usually reaching well beyond half way to the adipose
fin, pectoral fin with 6 rays; barbels short, only
reaching to the pectoral fins.
Colouration
Dorsum brown with a pattern
of black markings, fins generally black with a white
margin. Caudal fin
with a white margin.
Aquarium
Care & Compatibility
Large tank with good filtration
will work best in a tank with a capacity of approximately
800 litres upward. Not too fussy with tank parameters
but water changes and good husbandry are a must as
they are gregarious feeders. Will do best on their
own with hiding places if more than one is kept. If
kept with other fish they must be high backed and
twice as big as your "Jelly cat" as they
will quickly become a meal if too small. Other large
fish should be mid-water or top species.
Reproduction
Not reported
Sexual
Differences
Not known but
presumably the female would have a wider girth.
Diet
Worms,
shell meat and after habituation also fillet of fish
in enormous portions.
Glossary
of Terms
Lateral line:A sensory line, along the sides of the body.
Maxillery:Pertaining to
the upper jaw.
Caudal fin: The
tail. Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s)
on top of the body. Adiose fin: Fleshy
finlike projection without rays, behind the rayed
dorsal fin. Pectoral fins: The paired fins just
behind the head.
ScotCat
Article:
Ros, Wolfgang;Cephalosilurus
nigricaudus
and its similarity to C. apurensis Mol, H.A. Jan, The Freshwater Fishes
of Suriname. BRILL, Leiden Boston, 2012. 889 p. Ros, Wolfgang
(2008): Cephalosilurus
nigricaudus und seine
Abgrenzung zu Cephalosilurus apurensis.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase.
World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org,
version (05/2009).
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