Doradidae family

[Phyllonemus]

I was wandering why catfish from the Doradidae family also are called “ Talking Catfish “ ?

[Richard B]

Because they can 'talk'!

Like synodontis they can emit a squeak/croak which can be quite loud. My Anadoras used to croak so loud it could be heard above the TV! (or on occasion from another room)

[The.Dark.One]

Because of the noise they make when they make stridulations with their pectoral fin spines. It isn't confined to this family though.

[sidguppy]

many catfish make sounds, but most only make audible sounds when you net them; synodontis is known for this.
they're called 'squeakers' in their homecountries for this.

but not the doradidae and the auchenipterids.
these make a lot of sounds when under water, buzzing and growling to each other; a tank with these is very obvious when the lights are off.......

all kinds of weird drumming and burping noises come from the tank.

a week ago or so I was t Gert's place; he's got -as you know- Megalodoras in a large tank with Caquetaia umbrifera.

the female umbee attacked the resting Megalodoras right before our eyes and the Megalodoras emitted a very loud ra-ta-ta-ta-ta sound with was like someone doing a quick riff on a muffled tom or snare-drum
it is that loud, yes!
interesting is that the umbee immediately stopped the attack.......

very audible, even to me, and my ears are all shot to hell (too many heavy metal shows and band rehearsals).

I've kept Megalodoras as well, as a guest, and when I touched it under water it would make a very low 'drumroll' wich can be heard and also felt. it's a very low frequency, just a few Hrz and the individual bangs can be heard and felt when you rest your fingers lightly on the side of the fish.

like a miniature Harley at low rpm

the Pterodoras granulosus has also a very low frequency sound, but not as low as Megalodoras. I'm curious about the sound of adult Oxydoras...... never kept or heard one.

other doradids have a much higher sounds, more like a buzz or growl.

I suspect the different species have different frequencies to be able to communicate with speciesmembers

another thing: syno's and many others make the sounds by moving the pectoral spine against the bones in the socket. in fact they stridulate.


not the dorads and driftwoodcats; these make sounds without moving a fin (they can also go for that option, btw), by moving bones againt the swimbladder.

in the case of megalodoras you can feel the individual blasts or hits of those bones. it's a very powerful fish, also on the inside.

[Phyllonemus]

OK Thanks Lex !

[knifegill]

I will confirm this, as I combined all my raphael cats in my 125g two nights ago and when the lights went off, the growling started! I thought the computer was on the fritz until I remembered doradids can emit sounds. It sounded like a miniature double-kick bass drum playing a quiet heavy-metal song. Mine are platydoras armulatus and two of the three are over six inches long. I never heard the little one do it when he was alone, so perhaps they usually do it, or do it more often, when kept around each other.

[robb harriston]

the so called talking is one of the most interesting and desirable qualities of the doradid family !!!

[knifegill]

Oh, there's audio now.



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