Two-ray banjo catfish

Amaralia hypsiura

Also known as Two rayed banjo cat, Egg-eating banjo

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 5.1 in (13 cm)
Minimum tank: 30 gal (112 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Amazon basin lowlands
Family: Aspredinidae

Overview

This is a secretive, slow-moving catfish that is best kept on its own, spending the daylight hours buried in soft substrate with only its eyes showing. It is peaceful and will not chase tankmates, but it feeds at night and is easily out-competed, so choose a quiet tank and make sure food reaches it. In the wild it is an unusual egg specialist, but in aquaria it takes meaty sinking foods after dark: frozen bloodworm, chopped prawn, and sinking pellets left where it can find them. Give it a soft sand bed, leaf litter, and dim light, in a tank of at least 112 litres.

In the wild

It lives in the lowland Amazon basin, over soft mud and leaf litter in slow, tannin-stained water. It stays buried much of the time and surfaces on its own schedule after dark. Recreate that with a deep, soft sand or silt bed, plenty of leaf litter and driftwood, dim light, gentle flow, warm water of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius, and a soft, slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

Good to know

It belongs to the banjo catfish family, Aspredinidae, and reaches about 13 cm, with the flattened head and thin tail that give the group its name. Unusually, wild fish feed almost entirely on the eggs and newly hatched young of other catfishes, especially plecos and their kin. It has not been bred in home aquaria.

Did you know

It makes a living raiding other fishes' nests. Examined wild specimens are packed with the eggs and yolk-heavy fry of loricariid catfishes, a diet of stolen eggs that is unique among the banjo catfishes.

Tank mates

Two-ray banjo catfish is a peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.