Cascarudo

Care at a glance

Overview

The cascarudo is a large, peaceful but robust catfish that needs serious floor space and a secure lid. It is gregarious and can be kept singly or in a small group, and it mixes calmly with other sizeable, non aggressive fish, though very small fish or shrimp may be eaten. It roots along the bottom at dusk and after dark, taking sinking pellets, frozen and live foods, and most prepared sinking fare. Give it a big tank, around 240 liters or larger, with open bottom to patrol.

In the wild

Callichthys callichthys ranges across much of tropical South America, from Trinidad down to Argentina, in warm, sluggish, often low oxygen waters such as swamps, ditches, and river margins. It is unfussy, handling pH from about 6.0 to 8.0 and a wide temperature band of 19 to 27 C. Provide a soft substrate, plenty of wood and plant cover, and calm flow. A tight fitting cover is essential.

Good to know

This heavily armored catfish of the family Callichthyidae is a giant among its relatives, reaching about 20 cm. Two rows of overlapping bony plates sheath the body, and the fish can gulp air at the surface and take up oxygen through its gut, which lets it survive stagnant water. Like others in its subfamily the male builds a floating bubble nest and guards the eggs, though a difficulty rating for home spawning is not established here.

Did you know

The cascarudo carries a living survival kit: it swallows air and absorbs oxygen through the wall of its intestine, so it can outlast drought in a drying pool and even wriggle overland for short distances to reach fresh water.

Related species

• 

  Hoplo catfish

  Hoplosternum littorale

  7.9 in (20 cm)40 gal (150 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Bar-tailed hoplo

  Megalechis picta

  5.9 in (15 cm)53 gal (200 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Banded cory

  Scleromystax barbatus

  3.9 in (10 cm)40 gal (150 L)66–75°F (19–24°C)
• Sailfin cory

  Scleromystax macropterus

  3.5 in (9 cm)44 gal (165 L)64–70°F (18–21°C)

• 

  Spotted hoplo

  Megalechis thoracata

  5.9 in (15 cm)40 gal (150 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)

• 

  Flagtail catfish

  Dianema urostriatum

  4.9 in (12.5 cm)40 gal (150 L)77–82°F (25–28°C)