PlanetCatfish.com - Brachyplatystoma tigrinum (Pimelodidae) Cat-eLog

Sub-adult
Turned up snout
Juvenile at 6cm SL
Juvenile
Video
Dorsal view
Close-up of dorsal view of head
Close-up of pectoral fin
Ventral view
Ventral view

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Brachyplatystoma tigrinum** (Britski, 1981)
Common Names	Zebra Shovelnose Dourada Zebra (Brazilian), Tigerstriped Catfish, Tigerwels (Germany)
Type Locality	Cachoeira do Teotônio, Rio Madeira, Território de Rondônia, Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Merodontotus tigrinus
Pronunciation	tie green uss
Etymology	Greek, brachys, eia = short + Greek, platys = flat + Greek, stoma = mouth. This specific epithet literally means tiger(tigrinum=tiger) and refers to the stripes on its body.
Species Information
Size	600mm or 23.6" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Head elongate and compressed, becoming narrower to the front, lower jaw shorter than upper. Upper and lower caudal filaments. Can be confused with Brachyplatystoma juruense, but the stripes of B. tigrinus are continuous when viewed laterally while those of B. juruense are broken or divided.
General Remarks	While its maximum size of 60 cm would appear to make this beautiful fish an ideal inhabitant for a large aquaria, its need for massive current and high oxygen levels would have to be taken into account to design an appropriate aquarium.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Amazon River basin. Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes), Japurá, Caquetá (click on these areas to find other species found there) Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes), Madeira (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
pH	6.8 - 7.6
Temperature	24.0-28.0°C or 75.2-82.4°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Known from cataracts of whitewater rivers.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	A predator that eats other fishes. Newly caught specimens may need some time before they learn to eat dead food, and thus may require feeding live \"feeder fish\", but they can be trained to eat pieces of fish. Pieces of marine fish is considered better than freshwater fish as it\'s much less likely to contain transferable parasites. User data.
Furniture	Needs a highly oxygenated aquarium with a massive amount of current. Substrate should be sand/gravel with stones and driftwood placed to form hiding places.
Compatibility	Other large fishes with similar habitat requirements.
Suggested Tankmates	Large loricariids and other large current loving pimelodids.
Breeding	Unreported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Papéis Avulsos do Departamento de Zoologia, Secretaria da Agricultura, São Paulo v. 34 (no. 7), pp 110, Figs. 1-2
Registered Keepers	There are 45 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 9 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 18 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	Look up B. tigrinum on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.15.161.354
Last Update	2025 Jan 01 12:21 (species record created: 2001 Apr 22 00:00)