Brochis splendens • Callichthyidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Juvenile
Taken immediately after wild capture
Barbels loss due to poor care
Two week old fry
Four weeks old
Nine week old juvenile
Juvenile
Juvenile
Adults with eggs
Eggs after one day
Egg
Eggs on spawning mop

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Brochis splendens** (Castelnau, 1855)
Common Name(s)	Common Brochis, Emerald Catfish
Type Locality	Rio Tocantins, Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Brochis coeruleus, Brochis dipterus, Callichthys splendens, Callichthys taiosh, Chaenothorax bicarinatus, Chaenothorax eigenmanni, Corydoras semiscutatus
Pronunciation	BROK iss - SPLEN denz
Etymology	Brochis: From the Greek brochis, meaning inkhorn; in reference to the resemblance of the fish to one. This specific epithet means "to shine" (splendes=shine).
Species Information
Size	80mm (3.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	The genus Brochis can be distinguished from other corydoradine species by the fact that Brochis have more than 10 rays in the dorsal fin, whilst all other members of the Corydoradinae have 7 rays. B. splendens has fewer rays (10 - 12) in its dorsal fin than the other two species of Brochis
Sexing	Mature females are larger and more fuller. Sexing immature fish is very inaccurate.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Ecuador, Peru, Brazil Amazon (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	5.8 - 8.0
Temperature	22.0-28.0°C or 71.6-82.4°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	Will adapt to most conditions providing the water is of reasonable quality. Is happier than most fish in low-oxygen conditions. Larger fish prefer deeper water, but this species is less unsettled by life in shallower water.
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.
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.
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 in more dynamic aquaria. Perfect for an Amazon River biotope.
Breeding	See catfish of the month link below.
Further Information
References	Exped. Amer. Sud.v. 2 - pp39 - Pl. 18 (fig. 3)
Registered Keepers	(1) Jools (k: 4), who also notes: "Collected in Peru 2000.", (2) MatsP (p: 2, k: 9), who also notes: "Originally got 5 of them, but a couple have had "accidents".", "Added to supplement the original group of 6 that has dwindled to 3 over the past five years.", (3) synoguy (k: 3), (4) Dick F., (5) mummymonkey (k: 7), (6) Keithj (k: 7), (7) Floody, (8) Sandtiger, (9) CatBrat, (10) Coryman, (11) joern (k: 8), (12) Barracuda518 (k: 8), (13) FuglyDragon (k: 6), who also notes: "Awesome coloration once settled. Spawned once.", (14) chris 1 (k: 5), (15) AmLi (k: 2), (16) loafingloach, who also notes: "timid without buddies, though the size of these guys may prohibit having a bigger group. I would give it a 55 gallon min with a shoal of at least 8. color up fast with good food. when given worms, they will get eye deep in sand for them.", (17) kingaru, (18) notv19, (19) Carp37 (k: 8), who also notes: "Initially 3 adults and 11 juveniles from eggs laid 12/08/07. Lost 6 between July and February 2011.", (20) jollysue (k: 9), (21) zenyfish (k: 6), who also notes: "Delicate (7.9 ph water).", (22) Firestorming (k: 5), (23) Schwec (p: 2), (24) teddyman5, (25) nooneknows, (26) Koen (k: 13), (27) anitabritt (k: 13), who also notes: "13 wc youngsters. ", (28) scat35 (p: 2), (29) Troender (k: 5), (30) griffl, (31) Plecofanatic1989 (k: 2), (32) myrheksa (k: 11), (33) Pungen (k: 11), (34) kfreedman, (35) Brie, (36) AU Chief (k: 11), (37) gem400, (38) inkyjenn (k: 3), (39) evesonevo (k: 5), (40) Kampfer (k: 2), (41) krzys (k: 3), (42) coppernite (k: 5), (43) Kets (k: 6), (44) AlaskanCorydoras (k: 10), who also notes: "By far my most active/energetic armoured cats. ", (45) novice, (46) ali12345 (k: 3), (47) Nick44 (k: 3), (48) theonetruepath (k: 4), (49) Nitro Cory, (50) Segelkaerpfling (k: 8), (51) Timthedrifter, (52) tcmfish (k: 3), (53) corymkl, (54) Cory_lover (k: 2), (55) wonderdognc, (56) dbhewitt63 (k: 2), (57) docszoo, (58) flappinganimal, (59) dragoonwoman, (60) topline, (61) saphphx (k: 3), (62) rich815, (63) Hitch (k: 6), (64) harpchad, (65) jacobhayes79 (k: 3), (66) ElTofi (k: 16), who also notes: "Bred 3 times, I found the fry once it was 3 cm long. Poor result as I didn't do anything to help.", (67) keen-eyed (k: 7), (68) joemc, (69) taninsama, (70) rhibear (k: 7), (71) Shaun (k: 8), who also notes: "5 WC, 3 Captive bred.", (72) crkinney (k: 3), (73) NC24, (74) Beth, (75) FishandFire, (76) jenniebean (k: 3), (77) tetra&catman, (78) hankinswood (k: 8), (79) retroculus, (80) SHEAG, (81) Mark Roesner, (82) KansasGuppyGuy (k: 6), (83) sammy2875, (84) elcucuu, (85) MHS, (86) tropical, (87) kiwiplymouth, (88) Roland, (89) wendy333 (p: 2), (90) jeff.l, (91) sendthis, (92) slayer5590, (93) vb75, (94) fusco (k: 4), (95) Phyllonemus, (96) catfish-pigeon (k: 2), (97) JamieH (k: 7), (98) francistrus (k: 2). Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	(1) ElTofi (b: 49), (2) Carp37 (b: 39).
More Resources	- CotM 2004 January - Shane's World Reproduction Breeding Brochis splendens - Search Planet Catfish for more on Brochis splendens - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Brochis splendens on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Brochis splendens on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	30412 hits.
Last Update	2008 Jan 18 18:23 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Brochis splendens (Castelnau, 1855)

Common Name(s)

Common Brochis, Emerald Catfish

Type Locality

Rio Tocantins, Brazil.

Synonym(s)

Brochis coeruleus, Brochis dipterus, Callichthys splendens, Callichthys taiosh, Chaenothorax bicarinatus, Chaenothorax eigenmanni, Corydoras semiscutatus

Pronunciation

BROK iss - SPLEN denz

Etymology

Brochis: From the Greek brochis, meaning inkhorn; in reference to the resemblance of the fish to one. This specific epithet means "to shine" (splendes=shine).

Species Information

Size

80mm (3.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

The genus Brochis can be distinguished from other corydoradine species by the fact that Brochis have more than 10 rays in the dorsal fin, whilst all other members of the Corydoradinae have 7 rays.

B. splendens has fewer rays (10 - 12) in its dorsal fin than the other two species of Brochis

Sexing

Mature females are larger and more fuller. Sexing immature fish is very inaccurate.

Habitat Information

Distribution

South America: Ecuador, Peru, Brazil
Amazon (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)

5.8 - 8.0

Temperature

22.0-28.0°C or 71.6-82.4°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

Will adapt to most conditions providing the water is of reasonable quality. Is happier than most fish in low-oxygen conditions. Larger fish prefer deeper water, but this species is less unsettled by life in shallower water.

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.

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.

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 in more dynamic aquaria. Perfect for an Amazon River biotope.

Breeding

See catfish of the month link below.

Further Information

References

Exped. Amer. Sud.v. 2 - pp39 - Pl. 18 (fig. 3)

Registered Keepers

(1) Jools (k: 4), who also notes: "Collected in Peru 2000.", (2) MatsP (p: 2, k: 9), who also notes: "Originally got 5 of them, but a couple have had "accidents".", "Added to supplement the original group of 6 that has dwindled to 3 over the past five years.", (3) synoguy (k: 3), (4) Dick F., (5) mummymonkey (k: 7), (6) Keithj (k: 7), (7) Floody, (8) Sandtiger, (9) CatBrat, (10) Coryman, (11) joern (k: 8), (12) Barracuda518 (k: 8), (13) FuglyDragon (k: 6), who also notes: "Awesome coloration once settled. Spawned once.", (14) chris 1 (k: 5), (15) AmLi (k: 2), (16) loafingloach, who also notes: "timid without buddies, though the size of these guys may prohibit having a bigger group. I would give it a 55 gallon min with a shoal of at least 8. color up fast with good food. when given worms, they will get eye deep in sand for them.", (17) kingaru, (18) notv19, (19) Carp37 (k: 8), who also notes: "Initially 3 adults and 11 juveniles from eggs laid 12/08/07. Lost 6 between July and February 2011.", (20) jollysue (k: 9), (21) zenyfish (k: 6), who also notes: "Delicate (7.9 ph water).", (22) Firestorming (k: 5), (23) Schwec (p: 2), (24) teddyman5, (25) nooneknows, (26) Koen (k: 13), (27) anitabritt (k: 13), who also notes: "13 wc youngsters. ", (28) scat35 (p: 2), (29) Troender (k: 5), (30) griffl, (31) Plecofanatic1989 (k: 2), (32) myrheksa (k: 11), (33) Pungen (k: 11), (34) kfreedman, (35) Brie, (36) AU Chief (k: 11), (37) gem400, (38) inkyjenn (k: 3), (39) evesonevo (k: 5), (40) Kampfer (k: 2), (41) krzys (k: 3), (42) coppernite (k: 5), (43) Kets (k: 6), (44) AlaskanCorydoras (k: 10), who also notes: "By far my most active/energetic armoured cats. ", (45) novice, (46) ali12345 (k: 3), (47) Nick44 (k: 3), (48) theonetruepath (k: 4), (49) Nitro Cory, (50) Segelkaerpfling (k: 8), (51) Timthedrifter, (52) tcmfish (k: 3), (53) corymkl, (54) Cory_lover (k: 2), (55) wonderdognc, (56) dbhewitt63 (k: 2), (57) docszoo, (58) flappinganimal, (59) dragoonwoman, (60) topline, (61) saphphx (k: 3), (62) rich815, (63) Hitch (k: 6), (64) harpchad, (65) jacobhayes79 (k: 3), (66) ElTofi (k: 16), who also notes: "Bred 3 times, I found the fry once it was 3 cm long. Poor result as I didn't do anything to help.", (67) keen-eyed (k: 7), (68) joemc, (69) taninsama, (70) rhibear (k: 7), (71) Shaun (k: 8), who also notes: "5 WC, 3 Captive bred.", (72) crkinney (k: 3), (73) NC24, (74) Beth, (75) FishandFire, (76) jenniebean (k: 3), (77) tetra&catman, (78) hankinswood (k: 8), (79) retroculus, (80) SHEAG, (81) Mark Roesner, (82) KansasGuppyGuy (k: 6), (83) sammy2875, (84) elcucuu, (85) MHS, (86) tropical, (87) kiwiplymouth, (88) Roland, (89) wendy333 (p: 2), (90) jeff.l, (91) sendthis, (92) slayer5590, (93) vb75, (94) fusco (k: 4), (95) Phyllonemus, (96) catfish-pigeon (k: 2), (97) JamieH (k: 7), (98) francistrus (k: 2).

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