Edit Brachyplatystoma filamentosum
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Name
Scientific name
Brachyplatystoma filamentosum
Described by
Authority Lichtenstein, Year 1819
Family
Pimelodidae
Summary
The piraíba, Brachyplatystoma filamentosum, is the largest catfish of the Amazon basin, also found in the Orinoco and river systems of the …
Size and aquarium
Maximum size
2500mm, standard length
Tank size
Not recorded
Water
Temperature and pH
Temperature 22–28°C, pH 6–8
Hardness
1–20dGH
Conductivity
Not recorded
Behaviour
Temperament
Not recorded
Social needs
Solitary or specimen
Community suitability
Not for a community
Where it lives
Countries
Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
Supporting text
Etymology
Not written yet
Distribution
Widely-distributed throughout most of the Amazon and Orinoco river drainages plus other important fluvial systems in the Guianas and northeastern Brazil. The t…
Habitat
Found in a number of habitat-types, though rarely in smaller tributaries, generally preferring deeper, flowing channels through which it travels for considerab…
Aquarium size
This species is suitable only for public aquaria plus a very small minority of private aquarists and as such we offer no recommended aquarium size.
Maintenance
The choice of décor is as much down to personal preference as anything else though a carefully-aquascaped, planted set-up is obviously out of the question. A s…
Water conditions
Not written yet
Diet
Almost entirely piscivorous preying on loricariids and other bottom-dwelling fishes in nature but most specimens readily adapt to dead alternatives such as pra…
Behaviour and compatibility
Only keep with species large enough to avoid predation.
Sexual dimorphism
Unknown.
Reproduction
Unrecorded in captivity, perhaps unsurprising given its complex natural life cycle (see 'habitat').
Notes
In the Amazon region it is only specimens larger than around 160 cm63 in and werighing in excess of 50 kg that are referred to as 'Piraíba' with the name 'filh…
References
References
4 on this profile