Filament squeaker

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep this squeaker on its own, since it is a solitary, roaming catfish rather than a group fish and can be territorial with other bottom dwellers. It is an active cruiser that wants clear floor space to swim as well as wood and caves to shelter in. It is mostly peaceful but flagged for caution, so choose robust, even tempered tankmates and avoid fish small enough to be eaten. Feed sinking pellets, catfish wafers, and meaty frozen foods such as bloodworm. Because it grows to a good size and stays busy, allow a tank of around 400 liters.

In the wild

It ranges through the Niger and Chad basins of West and central Africa, in the slower reaches and floodplains of large rivers. Give it open swimming room over sand, with bogwood and rockwork for cover along the edges. Keep the water warm, between 23 and 27 C, at a near neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.8.

Good to know

A squeaker of the family Mochokidae, it reaches around 30 centimeters. The name filamentosus refers to a long thread that trails from the dorsal fin, longer than the fin itself, paired with a deeply forked tail. It was described by George Albert Boulenger in 1901. Breeding in the aquarium is unrecorded.

Did you know

The name filamentosus means bearing filaments, for the fine thread that extends from the top of its dorsal fin and can grow longer than the fin itself. Paired with its deeply forked tail, it makes the fish easy to recognise.

Common questions

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