Bumblebee Catfish

About

The bumblebee catfish (Pseudopimelodus bufonius) is a chunky, attractively patterned catfish from the river systems of northeastern South America, ranging from Lake Maracaibo across to eastern Brazil. In the wild it inhabits the kind of rocky, current-swept rivers where plenty of hiding spots break up the flow, and that background shapes how it behaves in the aquarium too. Give it caves, driftwood, or overhangs and it will settle in quickly and show itself more often than you might expect from a nocturnal bottom dweller. The bold dark-and-pale banding across its body is what earns it the bumblebee name, and the pattern holds up well even as the fish grows toward its adult size of nearly ten inches. Despite that eventual bulk it falls into the beginner-friendly category, being tolerant and not particularly fussy once established. It is best kept with tankmates that are too large to be swallowed, since like most pimelodids it has a mouth that can surprise you, but it is not aggressive toward fish it cannot eat. A meaty diet, sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm, prawn, keeps it in good condition. Overall it is a solid, characterful catfish for anyone wanting something a bit different on the bottom of a medium to large community setup.