Fog talking catfish

Rhinodoras boehlkei

Also known as Boehlke's doradid

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 6.7 in (17 cm)
Minimum tank: 79 gal (300 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Napo drainage, Ecuador and Peru
Family: Doradidae

Overview

A peaceful, secretive doradid that spends the day tucked into wood and comes out after dark to forage along the bottom. It is gregarious rather than solitary, so it is comfortable kept alone or in a small group of its own kind, and it mixes well with calm, similarly sized tankmates that will not outcompete it at feeding time. Provide caves, pipes, or driftwood it can back into, and a soft floor that will not wear its barbels. Feed sinking pellets, wafers, and frozen foods once the lights are low. A tank of around 300 liters gives this 17 cm catfish room to patrol at night.

In the wild

This catfish comes from the Napo and neighbouring whitewater tributaries of the upper Amazon in Ecuador and Peru, where it holds among submerged wood and root tangles in flowing, sediment-carrying water. A tank that suits it has a soft sand or fine gravel bed, plenty of driftwood for daytime cover, and steady, gentle current. Keep the water warm at 23-28 C and soft to neutral, about pH 6-7.5, with regular changes to keep it clean.

Good to know

Rhinodoras boehlkei is a thorny catfish of the family Doradidae, described in 1976 from eastern Ecuador and growing to around 17 cm. Its trade name, fog talking catfish, refers to the muted grey wash over its body. Like other doradids it wears a row of hooked bony scutes down each flank and can creak audibly by stridulating its pectoral spines against the shoulder girdle. There is no established record of it breeding in aquaria.

Did you know

The species honours the American ichthyologist James Bohlke, a specialist in South American fishes; the -i ending of boehlkei simply marks that it was named in his memory.