Article © Chris Ralph, uploaded March 01, 2006.

UK catfish judge and frequently featured writer in aquatic magazine circles, Chris Ralph introduces this months featured catfish.

Brochis multiradiatus is one of the largest of the Brochis group of catfish and is very popular amongst a number of catfish enthusiasts myself included. Unfortunately it is not commonly available to the hobbyist. When this truly majestic catfish is available expect to pay £15-£25 for an adult fish. When observing these catfish the aquarist is taken in by the ability of this catfish to almost "wink" at you (Brochis multiradiatus along with its close cousins the "Cory's" can roll its eyes).

As with all the other Brochis that I have had the pleasure to keep over the years, Brochis multiradiatus readily accepts a mixed and varied diet. I personally feed all of my Brochis on sinking catfish pellets, good quality flake foods, granular foods, cultured whiteworm and frozen foods such as bloodworm to name but a few.

The base colour of the body and head varies from a dull brownish/grey to bluish or greenish metallic coloured. The lower half of the ventrolateral body scutes can be light yellow to light pink in colour. A good specimen will have a true emerald green colouration to the flanks and dorsal area, with a pinkish tinge to the ventral region. There can be a presence of colour in the fins of juveniles, but this disappears as the fish matures leaving perfectly clear fins in an adult. The pectoral fin spines are coloured.

I would suggest a minimum size of 30'' x 15'' X 12'' for a shoal of these fascinating catfish. The preferred substrate for keeping these catfish should be good quality aquarium sand such as BD Aquarium Sand, or very smooth rounded gravel in order to prevent their barbels from being damaged. The aquarium should provide some shelter in the form of rocks, bogwood and aquatic plants. As with all other species of fish, water quality and general husbandry is very important, and I would recommend that a minimum of 25% water is changed on a fortnightly basis.

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	Brochis multiradiata  (Orcés V., 1960)
Common Names	Hognose Brochis Brochis-Panzerwels (Germany), Long-finned Brochis, Spidsnæset Kæmpepansermalle (Denmark)
Type Locality	Tributary of Río Lagartococha near town of Garza-Cocha, upper Río Napo system, Province Napo, Ecuador.
Synonym(s)	Brochis multiradiatus, Chaenothorax multiradiatus
Pronunciation	bro kiss - MULL tee rad ee ATT uss
Etymology	multi=many, radiatus= rays, in reference to the number of dorasl fin rays.
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Species Information
Size	67mm or 2.6" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Differs from other species of Brochis by its hog-like snout and from B. splendens by a larger number of dorsal fin rays. The dorsal fin can have 15-18 soft rays; although B. multiradiatus usually has 17.
Sexing	Undocumented, although it is presumed mature females are larger and fuller when carrying eggs.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: western Amazon River basin.. Amazon, Upper Amazon, Napo (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Not Evaluated
pH	6.0 - 7.2
Temperature	21.0-24.0°C or 69.8-75.2°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Prefers deeper water of at least 18''.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	A fish that likes to dig around for food, but will eat all prepared foods that find their way to the substrate. Live bloodworms or tubifex are especially relished - be careful with the tubifex. It can be difficult to feed carefully and if it starts living in the tank water conditions can quickly deteriorate. This can, at least in part, be controlled by offering tubifex in a shallow ceramic bowl. User data.
Furniture	Open spaces of substrate and rock or wood refuges slightly elevated to provide the shade these fish like to rest under in rare moments of inactivity. This species will gleefully uproot plants at the first opportunity, use plant pots or other methods of fixing plants in place.
Compatibility	An ideal community tank resident, keep in shoals.
Suggested Tankmates	Can be kept with most fish. More suitable for keeping with loaches than Corydoras as their larger size helps them compete better for food. Boisterous enough to be kept with more dynamic aquaria. Perfect for an Amazon river biotope.
Breeding	Reported by no details survive of the account save it is supposed to spawn in a manner similar to Corydoras.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Ciencia y Naturaleza (Quito) v. 3, pp 3, Fig. 1.
Registered Keepers	There are 38 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 8 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 22 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode
	Search for B. multiradiata
	Look up B. multiradiata on AquaticRepublic.com
	Look up B. multiradiata on Fishbase
	Look up B. multiradiata on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up B. multiradiata on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.1.1582.165
Last Update	2024 Jun 30 13:46 (species record created: 2006 Mar 01 11:22)

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