TankBud

Vulture catfish

Calophysus macropterus

Also known as zamurito

FreshwaterFish

Vulture catfish (Calophysus macropterus)
(c) Matthew Inabinett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–84°F
24–29°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
15.7 in
40 cm
Minimum tank
120 gal
455 L
Temperament
Aggressive
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Pimelodidae
Origin
Venezuela, Colombia

Overview

The vulture catfish is a greedy, aggressive scavenger for a large tank with strong flow. It is a fish for experienced keepers.

Did you know

Vulture catfish gather in groups at a carcass in the wild and can strip it to the bone with startling speed. Fishermen in the Amazon have long caught them with dead bait for that reason.

Caring for the vulture catfish

Give a vulture catfish at least 120 gal (455 L), and a bigger tank still for a group of adults. A roomy tank with a sand bed, sturdy wood, solid caves and open swimming space suits its restless habits. It is not fussy about decor, but this powerful, active fish needs robust equipment and secure filtration.

Keep the water warm and soft, at 75 to 84°F (24 to 29°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Give it strong, well-oxygenated flow. It eagerly takes meaty foods such as sinking pellets, prawn, mussel and chunks of fish, so live feeders are not needed.

The vulture catfish is an aggressive, opportunistic scavenger that nips fins and will eat small or slow tank mates. Keep it only with fast, robust fish too large to be bothered. It can live singly or, in a big tank, in a group, since it scavenges in loose shoals in the wild. Its breeding is unrecorded in home aquariums.

Good to know

The vulture catfish is a long-whiskered catfish of the family Pimelodidae, named for its scavenging habits. Those habits also give it names such as water buzzard and piracatinga. It is silvery gray with a spotted back and broad fins, and it occasionally grows past 40 cm. It is caught commercially in its home rivers.

In the wild

The vulture catfish lives in the large rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco basins in Venezuela, Colombia and beyond. It roams the open channels there in search of food.

Common questions

What size tank does a vulture catfish need?

A vulture catfish needs at least 120 gal (455 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a vulture catfish need?

A vulture catfish is comfortable at 75–84°F (24–29°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

What does a vulture catfish eat?

A vulture catfish eagerly takes meaty foods, such as sinking pellets, prawn, mussel and chunks of fish. It does not need live feeders.

How big does a vulture catfish get?

An adult vulture catfish reaches about 15.7 in (40 cm).

Related species