Article © Julian Dignall, uploaded March 01, 1998.

The photo is an 18" specimen. I was a great fan of keeping these large catfish especially when I worked in my LFS and could "grow them on" for a few months and then hand them back. That changed somewher when I visited the Tennessee Aquarium in Chatanooga, USA. They had an enormous Amazon species tank which is remains in operation to at least 2019. The tank was inhabited by, amongst others, a huge tiger shovelnose, an adult red-tailed catfish, shoals of oscars (which were the smallest fish in the tank!), eye spot cichlids (Cichla ocellaris) and arowana. To see a full-grown Tiger shovelnose cruising effortlessly without having to turn round every three seconds made up my mind about keeping these and some other large catfish in anything smaller than a big pond. I remain a great fan.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum  (Valenciennes, 1840)
Common Names	Tiger Shovelnose Catfish Tsn (Abbreviation)
Type Locality	Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Platystoma tigrinum
Pronunciation	SUE doh plah tee stow mah
Etymology	(Greek)Pseudos=False +(Greek)platys=flat +(Greek)stoma=mouth.
Articles
Species Information
Size	1300mm or 51.2" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Vertical to slightly oblique black stripes; often has spots, which are thicker on the ventral side; great variation in stripe and spot patterns. Eigenmann recognized at least 14 varieties or subspecies based on colour patterns; easily confused with other members of the genus.
Sexing	Unknown
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins. Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there) Orinoco (click on these areas to find other species found there) Log in to view data on a map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
pH	6.0 - 7.6
Temperature	22.0-26.0°C or 71.6-78.8°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Fish, crustaceans and literally anything that it finds tasty and small enough to eat. I have personally witnessed one of the fish pictured above eat a large freshwater stingray head first! User data.
Furniture	Large secured pieces of bogwood and rock.
Compatibility	Will eat anything that isn't big enough to avoid being on the menu.
Breeding	Unknown
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Histoire naturelle des poissons v. 15, pp 10, Pl. 422.
Registered Keepers	There are 66 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is but a single wish to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 12 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	Look up P. tigrinum on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up P. tigrinum on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
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Last Update	2020 Sep 19 01:47 (species record created: 1998 Mar 01 11:22)

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