Parrot doradid

Rhynchodoras woodsi

Also known as Woods' doradid, Parrot catfish

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 4.1 in (10.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Napo and upper Amazon drainages
Family: Doradidae

Overview

An unusual, current-loving doradid with a hooked, beak-like mouth, best kept in a river-style tank with good flow. It is peaceful and gregarious, comfortable alone or in a small group, and harmless to tankmates it cannot swallow. Give it plenty of driftwood and smooth stone to graze over, a soft floor, and well-oxygenated, moving water. Feed sinking pellets, wafers, and small frozen invertebrates, since much of its natural diet is picked from crevices. A tank of around 200 liters with strong circulation suits this 10.5 cm fish.

In the wild

Rhynchodoras woodsi comes from flowing tributaries of the upper Amazon in Ecuador, where it clings among submerged wood in oxygen-rich, moving water. To suit it, provide brisk current, driftwood and root tangles to work over, and a sand or fine gravel bed. Keep the water warm at 23-28 C and soft to neutral, around pH 6-7.5, and very clean, since river fish are intolerant of poor conditions. Good flow and aeration matter here.

Good to know

This small thorny catfish, around 10.5 cm, has one of the strangest heads in the family Doradidae: its jaws are compressed and drawn out into a downward, forceps-like beak. The structure is thought to help it lever small invertebrates out of cracks in wood and rock. Described in 1976, it carries the usual doradid armor and sound-making spines. Its breeding is undocumented in captivity.

Did you know

Its jaws are bent into a parrot-like beak, a piece of specialised feeding gear found in almost no other catfish, probably used to pry invertebrates out of tight crevices in submerged wood.