Brachyplatystoma capapretum

Overview

The fish-eating pimelodid Brachyplatystoma capapretum requires facilities available mainly to public aquaria and very few private keepers. It resembles Brachyplatystoma filamentosum, making correct identification important before planning adult accommodation.

Distribution & habitat

Its Amazonian range extends from the vicinity of Belém in Brazil upstream to at least Iquitos, Peru, with records in numerous major tributaries. Large, deep river channels are its usual environment.

Aquarium setup

Reliable filtration on a very large scale and rigorous maintenance are fundamental. Keep illumination subdued. Sand and substantial wood or a simple bare layout are workable choices; delicate planted arrangements are inappropriate. Space adequate for a juvenile does not resolve the need for adult housing.

Diet & feeding

Wild prey is overwhelmingly fish, including loricariids and other bottom dwellers. Most aquarium specimens accept nonliving shrimp, mussel, squid, small fish, and pieces of larger white fish. Adults need no more than one meal weekly.

Behaviour & compatibility

Companions must be too large to swallow. A peaceful disposition in another species offers no protection against being treated as food.

Breeding

Captive reproduction is unrecorded. Some congeners undertake long spawning migrations, but those accounts do not establish the reproductive movements of this species.

Notes

Compared with B. filamentosum, the upper-jaw barbels stop at or before the adipose-fin base. The tail is less deeply divided, with approximately equal lobes, and the dark adult back meets the lighter flanks more abruptly. Juvenile spots on and above the lateral line are comparatively large. Filamentous tail extensions shorten or disappear with maturity.