PlanetCatfish.com

Hey everyone,

I found this pic on a website for an aquarium, it is called an Ashara Catfish. I was wondering, does anybody know where it is from?

A quick search on the web shows that the name Ashara Catfish seems to translate to Perrunichthys perruno.

However, it's also possible that the fish is - the P. perruno and L. longibarbis are often confused with each other...

The common name you've given isn't listed in the Cat-eLog for either of those species, but google quickly found it... I'm not sure if it should be added to the common name list...

--
Mats

Looks like

It's from South America

Thanks, if you are interested, this is where I found the pic: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/10cat_ashara.htm

Sorry for not posting the scientific name earlier , but the above link calls it a "Perrunichthy perruno"

This is one of those long standing misidentifications in the hobby. Perrunichthys perruno comes from the Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela and it is doubtful it has ever been exported from the trade. There is a photo of a real Perrunichthys perruno in "Los Peces Del Rio Catatumbo" and it looks nothing like any fish in the hobby. It does not even have a similar light brown/dark brown camo pattern like Leiarius barbis.
-Shane

So the real Perrunichthys doesn't look like a Leiarius with a different number of rays in the dorsal?

that's a new one.

guess ALL those pics of "P perruno's" in all the catfishkeepers books out there are actually ALL Leiarius marmoratus?

wow

The big thing is the dorsal. I think you've got Leiarius longibarbis.

The common name is misspelled. It's Achara.... aka Marbled pim. just to forewarn you juveniles grow FAST. We got some in that were 2-3 cm baby's. We sold them 4-8 weeks later at 6 and 7" A really beautiful cat... gets big though.

That is what it looks like Sid. "Peces del Catatumbo" shows a fairly deep-bodied fish (more like Pimelodus) that is light brown fading to white on the belly with small spots on the body and all fins. The pattern is similiar to this
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/mo ... /545_1.PHP

The identifying factor that P. perruno shares with L. longibarbus is that they both have dark/light markings (almost bands) on the barbels.
I need to check Schultz 1944 and make sure that "Peces del Catatumbo" is showing the same fish he described to verify this.
-Shane

I've id'ed fish in the Marcaibo Baisin (which is absolutely incredible) and agree with what has been posted. Count the number of rays on the dorsal.