Aggressively territorial and incompatible with other fishes in all but the largest public installations and even then may attack its tankmates.

It’s also one of few freshwater fishes that appear unafraid of humans meaning care must be exercised when performing maintenance.

It can be told apart from other members of the B. pugnax group by the following characters: caudal fin rounded in both males and females; chin bar and second postorbital stripe absent; adult males possess intensive blue or bluish-green iridescent (blackish in preservation) colouration on the sides of the head and throat extending from the snout tip to posterior edge of opercle; possession of two central body stripes, the upper extending from the pec…

This species is also known by the vernacular names "Hockey Stick Catfish", "Lima Shovelnose", "Chiripira", "Chucharón" and "Pico de pato".

The genus Sorubim currently contains five recognised species. Of the others S. cuspicaudus is recorded from the parts of the Rio Essequibo, Rio Orinoco, Amazon and Lake Maracaibo basins, S. elongatus from the Rio Essequibo, Rio Orinoco Rio Mamore and Amazon and S. maniradii from the mid-to-upper Amaz…

Previously referred to as Pangasius sutchi, this is the commonest of the Pangasiid catfish seen in the aquatic trade. It's usually seen for sale as a cute silvery-blue 2-3" youngster, most often without adequate information regarding its long term care requirements and potential size. Unfortunately this means it makes it's way into many a beginner's community tank, as it's undeniably attractive when small. The use of common names such as the one stated here don't he…

Pangasianodon is separated from other pangasiid generea primarily on the basis of some morphological differences including a lack of teeth and massively reduced barbels in adult specimens.

Sadly it's numbers are declining rapidly in nature, through a combination of unsustainable fisheries, damming and habitat destruction. Since 1990 wild stocks are thought to have undergone a decrease of over 80%. From an annual catch of over 60 specimens in 1990, only 8-11 were being caught per year in …

In size and weight terms Pangasius sanitwongsei is second only to the giant Mekong catfish, Pangasianodon gigas in the family Pangasiidae, easily qualifying it as one of the largest freshwater fish species in the world.

Alarmingly it's been exported for the trade in quite large numbers in recent years. It's usually seen for sale as a cute silvery 2-3" youngster, most often without adequate information regarding its long term care requirements and potential size. Unfortunately …

A rare sepcies in the hobby that is seldom offered for sale.

An interesting but rare species in the hobby, R. woodsi is nicknamed the "parrot doradid" due to its inquisitive feeding habits, and the curious bony growth extending from the upper mouthparts. The precise use of the bony growth isn't known, although one theory suggests it provides protection for the delicate barbels. Another hypothesis considers that it's some sort of feeding tool, possibly being used to lever aquatic invertebrates from crevices in submerged logs and roots….

At present there's not a great deal of information available regarding this species. It seems to be fairly easy to keep, and makes a nice, unusual addition to larger community tanks.

At present there's not a great deal of information available regarding this species. It seems to be fairly easy to keep, and makes a good addition to larger community tanks.