Orinocodoras eigenmanni

6. June 2011

The talking catfishes (Doradidae) are an interesting group of fishes in many ways. A lot of the species have a very contrasting pattern of dark and light elements, they can make sounds (that can be compared with a grumbling or gnarling) and their armour of bony plates often looks that bizarr that one might think these creatures have been developed on the drawing board of a fantasy filmer rather than in nature.

Orinocodoras eigenmanni is only very rarely imported. The species moreover can be easily confused with a species of Platydoras. O. eigenmanni attains a maximum length of about 20 cm. Our specimens were imported from Colombia. It is most interesting that some of our fish have a marbled pattern which has not been described in literature so far, at least to the best of our knowledge. However, other specimens of the import look perfectly like they should do.

Orinocodoras eigenmanni is a peaceful species that is trying to get in contact with conspecifics in the aquarium. Very small fishes can become eaten of course, but O. eigenmanni fits perfectly in a community tank with medium sized fish. The species feeds readily on any usual fishfood. During feeding times the basically night-active species is also very active on daytimes.

For our customers: the fish have code 273181 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Orinocodoras: means “Doras from the Orinoco”; Doras is another genus of talking catfish. eigenmanni: dedication name for the ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann (1863 – 1927). Platydoras: from the ancient Greek, means “broad Doras”; Doras is another genus of talking catfish.

Suggestion of a common name: Donauwelle talking cat (the Donauwelle,which means “wave of the river Danube” is a chocolate covered cake with vanilla pudding, referring to the contrasting pattern of the fish).

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Angaben zum Tier
Herkunft Kolumbien / Colombia
Verfügbare Größe in cm 5-7