Talking Catfish

About

The spiny catfish (Acanthodoras spinosissimus) is a small, heavily armored doradid from the Amazon and Essequibo River basins of South America, where it spends its time picking through the substrate as a bottom-dweller. Like other members of the family Doradidae, it earns the 'talking catfish' label honestly. It produces audible sounds through stridulation of its pectoral fin spines, a party trick that never gets old. Those spines are worth respecting: they can snag in aquarium nets and draw blood, so always use a container when moving this fish. Visually, it can be confused with the more commonly imported Platydoras armatulus and the closely related Acanthodoras cataphractus. The pale blotches between the dorsal and caudal fins help distinguish it from cataphractus, though both species frequently get sold under the same trade names. That mix-up explains why spinosissimus usually shows up in the hobby as bycatch rather than as a deliberately sourced fish. Temperament-wise it is peaceful, though larger adults may snack on very small tankmates. It is gregarious and genuinely does better in groups of four or more, and it will readily school with similar-looking relatives. A long-lived fish when well-kept, it fits nicely into a community of Amazonian species with similar gentle dispositions.