Ripsaw Catfish

About

Known in the US hobby as the ripsaw catfish, Megalodoras uranoscopus is one of the larger doradid catfishes you might consider for a spacious freshwater setup. It comes from the Amazon, Tocantins, and Essequibo river basins in South America, where it moves through rivers in small groups and occasionally larger schools. In the wild, this species has a surprisingly specialized diet. It feeds heavily on the fruits of specific palm and flowering trees, as well as pulmonate snails, making it one of the more ecologically interesting catfishes in the family. In the aquarium, a meaty varied diet works well. Like others in the doradid family, it can produce audible sounds using both pectoral spine stridulation and an internal elastic-spring mechanism involving the swim bladder. A quirk that makes these fish oddly endearing. Despite its eventual size, it is genuinely peaceful and does best kept in a group of four or more. Suitable companions include larger characins like Metynnis or Myleus, Cichla and Geophagus cichlids, big loricariids, and other similarly sized doradids. One practical note. Doradids tangle badly in standard aquarium nets, and their pectoral spines can break skin, so handle with care. This species has never been bred in captivity.