Red-tailed CatfishFlat-nosed Catfish - Antenna CatfishFamily: Pimelodidae Phractocephalus hemioliopterusLatest Reader Comment - See More What are the dimensions of a 1,500 gallon aquarium? Huff The Red-tailed Catfish is quite an attraction. The beautiful red tail and the white belly are unmistakable characteristics of this fish!Red-tailed Catfish Contents This fish gets very large. They are only able to be kept in a smaller aquarium as juveniles. Being fast growers they will quickly need a larger and larger aquarium. As they reach up to 3 feet or more (there are some reports of specimens reaching up to 5 feet!), they will ultimately need a very large tank. For the largest sized ones that could be 1500 gallons or more. This is a huge tank, making them not really suitable for most home aquarists. They are not very active and would prefer a large cave or den to hang out in. They can't be kept with smaller fish as they will become lunch sooner or later. This fish has a big mouth and a hearty appetite. Even though the Red-tailed catfish is one of the larger fish in the Amazon, this is not a food fish for the natives. It has a dark colored flesh and the natives will only eat white flesh! There is only one species in the genus Phractocephalus, the Red-tailed Catfish and a unique phenomena with this fish, as stated by author Hans A Baensch in Aquarium Atlas Volume 2, is that "...the red colored tail fin secrets a substance which colors the hands an intense red on contact". For more Information on keeping this fish see: |
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Habitat: Distribution / Background
The Red-tailed Catfish are found in South America in the Amazon river, Rio Negro, Venezuela and Guyana. Prefers deep pools in rivers.
The Red-tailed Catfish are dark grey on the top of the body covered with small darker spots. The shovel-like mouth is as wide as the body and the lower part of the mouth white. The white coloration under the mouth extends in in broad horizontal stripe to the tailfin. As a juvenile it joins with the white under the mouth, as it gets older, it is broken up by the dark grey coloration. The tip of the dorsal fin and the tail fin are slightly pinkish red. The eyes are set on either side of the head near the top.
Red-tailed Catfish are omnivorous but prefer meaty foods. As juveniles, they will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food or pellet everyday. As they grow go you can go to higher percentages of either pellets or live foods.
The Red-tailed Catfish are generally a good community fish with tank-mates their own size. Not much is known about keeping more than one in the same aquarium. Don't keep with fish that are much smaller since they are predaceous.
Not known.
The Red-tailed Catfish have not been successfully bred in aquariums.
The Red-tailed Catfish is available from time to time and is usually expensive.
Animal-World References
Freshwater Fish and Plants
Tropical Fish ~ Freshwater Fish ~ Aquatic Plants
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