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This profile was written by Chris an active contributor to the site.
Horabagrus brachysoma
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Overview:
The Sun catfish is considered very hardy and adaptable due to their
wide range of suitable water conditions, such as a pH and hardness.
They are also known for having a lot of personality, while also being
easy to feed. The greatest drawback is the enormous amount of space
required to keep them in a large and healthy tank.
Quick stats:
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Listed tank sizes are the minimum
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| Size: |
Up to 18in (45cm). |
| Tank: |
A large 180Gal. (648L) tank is only enough for a single Sun
catfish. A much larger tank would be vital in adding any more
of them, or other large community species. |
| Strata: |
Bottom to middle dwelling. |
| PH: |
6.0 - 7.5 |
| Hardness: |
Soft to moderately-hard water, dH range: 5-25° H) |
| Temperature: |
74°F to 77°F (23°-25° C) |
Classification:
| Order: |
Siluriformes |
| Family: |
Bagridae |
| SubFamily: |
Horabagrinae |
| Genera: |
Horabagrus |
| Species: |
Badis |
Common name:
Sun catfish, golden red tail catfish, Günther's catfish, yellow
catfish, bullseye catfish, and solar catfish.
Image gallery:
Additional
species photographs
Discuss:
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Distribution
Asia: India, The State of Kerala to the south-west.
General Body Form:
A long slender body, with darkened fins and tail, the usual catfish
whiskers, and a dark spot outlined by a brighter yellow circle behind
the gills.
Coloration:
There are only 2 species currently under the genus Horabagrus. The other
fish, Hiorabagrus nigricollaris resembles the H. brachysoma quite closely,
but is much smaller and lends itself much more suitable for home aquaria.
It is also pale in comparison to the H. brachysoma’s bright golden color.
Maintenance:
If it can be housed in a large enough tank, the Sun catfish would
be a peaceful fish among other docile, and similarly-sized fish. Any
fish small enough to fit inside its mouth will be eaten, so as always
choose community species carefully. It can be kept more easily in
a lone species tank. It is rather nocturnal and enjoys heavily shadowed
areas to dart out from and feed, so be sure to provide shade and low
light.
Diet:
As mentioned above the Feeds on smaller fish, invertebrates and plant
matter in nature, although thankfully there is no need to offer live
'feeder' fish in the aquarium. Most specimens are easy to feed, accepting
a wide range of dried and meaty frozen foods. Feed a mixture of dried
pellets as well as frozen prawns, mussels, earthworms etc.
Breeding:
The breeding habits of Sun catfish are unavailable as of yet.
Biotope:
Very slow moving streams, tributaries and backwaters.
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