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
      • † Andinichthyidae
      • Ariidae
      • Aspredinidae
      • Astroblepidae
      • Auchenipteridae
      • Auchenoglanididae
      • Austroglanididae
      • Bagridae
    • C-D
      • Callichthyidae
      • Cetopsidae
      • Chacidae
      • Clariidae
      • Claroteidae
      • Cranoglanididae
      • Diplomystidae
      • Doradidae
    • H-I
      • Heptapteridae
      • Heteropneustidae
      • Horabagridae
      • Ictaluridae
    • K-L-M
      • Kryptoglanidae
      • Lacantuniidae
      • Loricariidae
      • Malapteruridae
      • Mochokidae
    • N-P
      • Nematogenyidae
      • Pangasiidae
      • Phreatobiidae
      • Pimelodidae
      • Plotosidae
      • Pseudopimelodidae
    • R-S-T
      • Ritidae
      • 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: June 1999 - no. 036

Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Linnaeus, 1766)


he "Tiger Shovelnose" is an out-and-out predator, so it should not be kept with any fish that is smaller than itself and it also should be housed in a very large tank. The best companions would probably be large Pacu's or similar sized fish that would not be swallowed.

 

Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum

Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum

 

Similar to Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum but P.tigrinum has more of a striped pattern. The specimen pictured above was taken at The Port Doree Public Aquarium in Paris, France.

There has been a small influx to the hobby of a crossed version of this fish and a close relation Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum with the Red Tailed Catfish  (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) which were primarily hormone bred for the food market in South America but some found there way into the aquatic hobby. There are also hybrids between the Red Tailed Catfish and the Tiger Fish, Brachyplatystoma tigrinum, and a few other large Pimelodid crosses along the way. My view is that these large fish have an imposing beauty all of their own without us having to inbreed them into any mongrel varieties.

 

Phractocephalus sp. "Hybrid"

 

The picture above depicts a crossed variety which may be Phractocephalus hemioliopterus x Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum or Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum x  Phractocephalus hemioliopterus or Phractocephalus hemioliopterus x Merodontotus tigrinus.

In saying all this there has been aquarists who have successfully kept  Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum and its close cousin Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum over the years but weighed against this is the number of "Tiger Shovelnoses" that have succumbed in aquarists tanks due to inexperience and neglect. So please only keep this fish if you can give it 100% commitment and give it the bigest tank that you can deliver bearing in mind that you will have to make it a large footprint i.e. plenty of inches from front to back of tank.

I have to confess that I have tasted this species on the plate on my fish collecting trip to Peru in July 2000. The local name for this fish in Iquitos is "Dorada" and it is delicious.

 

Remarks: There has now been 5 new species described by Buitrago-Suárez, U.A. and B.M. Burr in 2007, to go alongside P. tigrinum, P. fasciatum and P. corruscans. These species are P. punctifer (Castelnau), P. reticulatum Eigenmann & Eigenmann, P. orinocoensen, P. metaense, and P. magdaleniatum. So far P. punctifer is the only species that has not been accepted in some publications in print and on the internet. Two species (P. punctifer ? and P. tigrinum) are sympatric in the Amazon Basin, two (P. metaense and P. orinocoense) are sympatric in the Orinoco Basin, and two others, P. corruscans and P. reticulatum, are sympatric in the Paraná. Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum and P. fasciatum each occur as the only species of Pseudoplatystoma in their respective individual ranges.

 

Common Name

Tiger shovelnose catfish

Synonyms

Platystoma fasciatum, Platystoma punctifer, Platystoma truncatum, Pseudoplatystoma punctifer, Silurus fasciatus

Family

Pimelodidae 

Subfamily

Surubiminae

Distribution

South America: Amazon, Corintijns, Essequibo, Orinoco and Paraná River basins.

Size

90.0cm (36ins)

Temp.

24-28°C (75-83°F)

p.H.

6.5-8.0.

Hardness

4-30° dGH

Characteristics

Body elongate and streamlined, head long and depressed. Upper jaw longer than lower jaw. One pair of long maxillary barbels and two pairs of shorter mandibular barbels. Caudal fin deeply forked.

Colouration

Body silvery grey along the sides, shading to olive along the back. Underside creamy white. Markings variable, usually vertical dark stripes and blotches. Fins usually spotted.

Aquarium Care & Compatibility

Its tank should have a shaded area at the back such as a large branch and plants to hide under as it is nocturnal, and also the lighting should not be too bright. Should not be kept with any fish that is smaller than itself and it also should be housed in a very large tank. The best companions would probably be large Pacu's or similar sized fish that would not be swallowed. In my opinion this wonderful looking Pim should only be kept in Public Aquariums as it can damage its large nose if kept in too confined an area, it can get jumpy too if feels its barbels on the tank sides as it turns around. It can also go of its food as well, if it is anyway disturbed.

Reproduction

Not known.

Sexual Differences

Females tend to be fuller and heavier than the males.

Diet

In their natural habitat they eat other fish such as characins and other catfish, they also eat freshwater crabs. In the aquarium a diet of earthworms, freshwater fish such as trout and also shrimp and prawns. You should only feed when it starts looking actively for it, as they will rest for a few days after feeding to digest their food.

Etymology

Pseudoplatystoma: Pseudos = fallacy; platys = broad; stoma = mouth.
fasciatum: Banded.

Glossary of Terms

Hybrid: The progeny of two individuals belonging to different species; the progeny of two individuals belonging to different subspecies of the same species are not hybrids.
Mandibular barbels: Pertaining to the lower jaw (mandibualr barbels).
Maxillary barbels: Pertaining to the upper jaw (maxillary barbels).
Nocturnal: Active at night.

References

Buitrago-Suárez, U.A. and B.M. Burr, 2007. Taxonomy of the catfish genus Pseudoplatystoma Bleeker (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) with recognition of eight species. Zootaxa 1512:1-38.
Riehl, R. and H.A. Baensch 1991 Aquarien Atlas. Band. 1. Melle: Mergus, Verlag für Natur- und Heimtierkunde, Germany. 992 p.
Sands, David. Back to Nature Guide to Catfishes, 1997.

Photo Credits

Top image: © Allan James @ ScotCat
Bottom image: © Chris Olson

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

Art Gallery Art

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

©2025 SCOTCAT.COM