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ur last factsheet of the year (Dec. 2021) belongs to the Pimelodidae family and to the "Swallowtail pimeloid" or "Flathead" that is supposed to be a predatory catfish, but is it?.

Platysilurus mucosus

Platysilurus mucosus only grows to 20.0cm. (8ins) Standard Length so it does not come into the category of the large pims of the Brachyplatasoma and Pseudoplatystoma genera. The shape of the long snout and the very long barbels may give it away as a huge predator but housed with not too small aquarium habitants it will be very shy and only come out when there is some tasty morsels on the go.

Platysilurus mucosus: feeding on prawns

A friend of mine that lives in the south of England in the U. K. and keeps large pims shares his experiences here on keeping Platysilurus mucosus.

"This particular fish (above) mostly prefers prawns but also, chopped mussels, tabimin and would often steal food of the Corydoras species that reside in the tank. It was also extremely shy. Possibly the most peaceful gentile pim that i've ever kept. Loved prawns but open minded. 8 inch max allegedly, unlikely to survive in a boisterous competitive tank hence why I kept them with Cory's and endlers." (Charles Godfrey 2021).

Distrbution: Amazon and Orinoco River basins Type locality: São Antonio de R. Madeira [Brazil]

Swallowtail pimeloid

Duopalatinus goeldii, Duoplatinus goeldii, Platysilurus barbatus, Platystoma mucosa, Platystomatichthys mucosus

Pimelodidae

South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins. Type locality: São Antonio de R. Madeira [Brazil].

20.0cm. (8ins)

22-27°C (71-81°F)

The barbels reach up to three times the length of the body. The head is high and narrows with a sub-terminal mouth. The maxillary barbels display a membranous thickening at the base. The fontanel is large and thin that arrives just before the dorsal plate, the humeral process is visible.

As a so called predator it will eat very small fish and fry but it has been noted that they are a very good aquarium inhabitant in a spacious tank alongside other not too small fish and conspecifics but can also be very shy. Provide a sand substrate, hiding places and open areas for it to swim unimpaired.

Not reported

Not reported

Prawns but also, chopped mussels, tablet, pelleted and frozen foods.

Conspecifics: Belonging to the same species; individuals or populations of the same species.
Fontanel: The space(s) between the bones on top of the skull covered by skin.
Maxillary: Pertaining to the upper jaw. (maxillary barbels).
Standard Length: Standard length as measured from the snout to the caudal peduncle.
Sub-terminal: Just below.
Synonym: Different name for the same fish.

Platysilurus: Greek, platys = flat and from 'silouros', a kind of river fish. Silurus, sheetfish, catfish.

Burgess, W.E. 1989 An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey (USA). 784 p.
Conservación Internacional; seris de Guías Tropicales De Campo. Pecos del medio Amazonas Región de Leticia. 546 p.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Grant, Steven. 2021 Pims. Pimelodidae, Heptapteridae and Pseudopimelodidae Catfishes. ATS-Aquashop.de 2021 219p.
Godfrey, Charles pers comm. 2021.

Photo Credits

© Charles Godfrey
© Allan James @
© Google Maps 2021.