We just received one of the very rare imports of a very peculiar representative of the Auchenipteridae (driftwood catfish): Tocantinsia piresi. These catfish were first discovered in 1974 in the Rio Tocantins near Porto National in the state of Goiás in Brazil. Because they did not fit into any known genus, Mees described them as a new genus – Tocantinsia – and the species as the new species T. depressa. 10 years later, Mees discovered that he had produced a double description. As early as 1920, Miranda Ribeiro had described and illustrated a catfish from the Rio São Manoel (today better known as Rio Teles Pires, one of the two headwaters of the Rio Tapajós), Mato Grosso (also Brazil) as Glanidium piresi, which corresponds to T. depressa in all recognizable details. It is now known that the species is relatively widespread. In addition to the river systems already mentioned, the catfish is also found in the Rio Xingu, for example, where ecological studies have even been carried out on its reproductive biology.
At around 50 cm in length, Tocantinsia piresi is one of the large driftwood catfish. In the Rio Xingu, females reach sexual maturity at a slightly smaller body size (33.76 cm) than the males at 34.84 cm. The maturity of the gonads (testes and ovaries) was during the period of lowest water in the dry season. Stomach examinations of animals from the Rio Tocantins revealed that the fish are omnivores that eat both plant material (fruits, seeds, flowers) and animal material (frogs, insects, spiders, millipedes). However, almost all of their food was of terrestrial origin, i.e. it came from the land into the water.
In the aquarium, T. piresi are above all very fond of hiding. This must be taken into account when keeping them. The animals are best kept in a dimly lit aquarium with lots of larger stones between which they seek shelter. The stiff pectoral fins with their thick spines make the animals relatively immobile, and a dense tangle of plants in which they become entangled is the last thing they need. Our animals are peaceful with each other. The coloration is quite variable, we chose the darkest and the lightest individual of our import for the photo session. As the fish are currently approx. 10 – 12 cm long and not yet sexually mature, the sex difference that is usual for the catfish – an anal fin that has been converted into a mating organ in the male – is not yet recognizable. We therefore do not know whether the coloration is related to the sex.
For our customers: the animals have code 297233 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos. Frank Schäfer
