Article © Heok Hee Ng, uploaded March 01, 2005.

In the catfish world, almost every continent has had its tough kid on the block. These are catfish that are extremely tolerant of a wide range of water conditions and very often end up being the first catfish for many beginning hobbyists. Once kept, who can forget their common pleco (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) of South America, the walking catfishes (Clarias spp.) of Africa and Asia and the bullheads (Ameiurus spp.) of North America? The subject of this month's article is another toughie, but one that hails from Central America, not a geographic region that one usually associates with high catfish diversity.

It's not quite correct to say that Rhamdia is a strictly Central American catfish. Rhamdia quelen is actually one of the most widespread of all South American catfish species, being recorded all the way from southern Mexico to central Argentina. However, it is one the most ubiquitous freshwater catfish found in Central America, hence its association with that region. And where does the tough fit in all of this? Well, this species has been found in a wide variety of habitat types, from extremely acidic blackwaters to the alkaline, hard waters in cenotes (sinkholes). On a personal level, I had two individuals in a tank with a decent layer of fine sand as substrate. The sand eventually developed sizable anaerobic pockets, which led to water suffused with a sizable amount of hydrogen sulfide. The situation persisted for several months, and it was more a testament of the catfishes' constitution than any fishkeeping skills on my part that the catfishes thrived and actually grew in water that constantly reeked of rotten eggs. The smell eventually got to me, and I ended up rehousing the fish in more pleasant conditions.

Like many similar looking catfish of its size, the silver catfish is an aggressive, robust species that will eat anything it can swallow comfortably (the upside to this is that it makes for easy feeding). Conspecifics are territorial and if housed without adequate planning for territories, the losing individual will sport bitten-off barbels and torn fins in no time. In short, this is a fish that should share a tank only with large, robust fish.

Although widely touted as a candidate for fish culture and numerous culture experiments have also been conducted on the silver catfish (such as optimal culture conditions for fingerlings), it seems that the widespread culture of the silver catfish as a food fish has gotten off to a slow start.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Rhamdia quelen  (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
Common Names	Silver Catfish Bagre (Central & South America), Bagre De Arroyo (Venezuelan), Barbilla (Peruvian), Barbudo (Peruvian), Canyon Catfish, Djaki Catfish, Jandia (Brazilian), Nhandia (Brazilian), Quelen-Antennenwels (Germany)
Type Locality	Cachoeira de Macacu, tributary of the Rio Soarinho, Rio Macacu drainage, Baía de Guanabara hydrographic basin, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, 22°38'6"S, 42°43'6"W.
Synonym(s)	Caecorhamdella urichi, Caecorhamdia urichi, Heterobranchus sextentaculatus, Pimelenotus vilsoni, Pimelodus baronismuelleri, Pimelodus bathyurus, Pimelodus boucardi, Pimelodus cinerascens, Pimelodus cuyabae, Pimelodus deppei, Pimelodus godmanni, Pimelodus hilarii, Pimelodus micropterus, Pimelodus musculus, Pimelodus namdia, Pimelodus parahybae, Pimelodus pentlandii, Pimelodus quelen, Pimelodus queleni, Pimelodus queleni cuprea, Pimelodus sapo, Pimelodus sebae, Pimelodus sellonis, Pimelodus stegelichii, Pimelodus wagneri, Pimelodus wuchereri, Rhamdia barbata, Rhamdia baronismuelleri, Rhamdia bransfordii, Rhamdia cinerascens, Rhamdia depressa, Rhamdia godmani, Rhamdia guatemalensis depressa, Rhamdia heteracantha, Rhamdia hilarii, Rhamdia lehmanni, Rhamdia microps, Rhamdia mounseyi, Rhamdia nasuta, Rhamdia pentlandi, Rhamdia pubescens, Rhamdia riojae, Rhamdia sayaensis, Rhamdia sebae, Rhamdia vilsoni, Rhamdia wagneri, Silurus rivularis
Pronunciation	ram dee ah - kwee (or KEY) lenn
Etymology	The name Rhamdia is apparently a misspelling of 'nhamdiâ', an orthographic variant of the Tupi-Guarani name for the fish, 'jandiá'. The species is named after the abbe Quelen, who accompanied Quoy and Gaimard on their travels.
Articles
Species Information
Size	350mm or 13.8" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	It is distinguished from congeners in having the following unique combination of characters: pectoral fin spine with serrae on both sides, caudal fin lobes subequal or with either lobe slightly longer, posterior nostril velum open posterolaterally, gill raker 5-16, post-Weberian vertebrae 36-44, eye medium sized.
Sexing	The genital papilla of males tends to be larger and more well developed.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Central and South America: Suriname and Argentina. Rio de Janeiro State Rivers (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2018.
pH	4.0 - 8.0
Temperature	18.0-28.0°C or 64.4-82.4°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Able to tolerate a wide range of water conditions.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Not a fussy eater and will take all manner of prepared and live foods. Will eat smaller tankmates. User data.
Furniture	Some driftwood/rocks/pipes as hiding spaces.
Compatibility	Should only be housed with large, robust fish (large central American cichlids are ideal), as smaller tankmates will be eaten. Territorial and aggressive towards conspecifics.
Suggested Tankmates	Large, robust fish (such as central American cichlids).
Breeding	Not reported in aquarium, but bred for aquaculture as food fish. Non-adhesive demersal eggs (1.1 to 2.8 mm diameter) are laid down, hatching after about 48 hours at 22°C. Ten days later, the larvae weigh approximately 100 mg but growth is slow (0.5 to 1.15 g per day).
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Voyage autour du monde, pp 228, Pl. 49 (figs. 3-4).
Registered Keepers	There are 7 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is but a single wish to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 9 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode
	Search for R. quelen
	Look up R. quelen on AquaticRepublic.com
	Look up R. quelen on Fishbase
	Look up R. quelen on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up R. quelen on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.30.228.872
Last Update	2021 Sep 01 14:53 (species record created: 2005 Mar 01 11:22)

Back to Catfish of the Month index.