Phyllonemus typus • Claroteidae • Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Phyllonemus typus** Boulenger, 1906
Common Name(s)	Spatula Barbel Catfish, Spatula Barbled Catfish
Type Locality	Niamkolo, Zambia, Lake Tanganyika.
Pronunciation	fie low NEE muss - tie puss
Etymology	The generic name comes from the Greek phyllos, meaning leaf and nema, meaning thread, in reference to the distinctive barbel shape of the type species Phyllonemus typus. The specific epithet means form in Latin.
Species Information
Size	90mm (3.5") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	An upper body colour of brown-maroon with a cream coloured belly. Easily distinguished from the rarer P. filinemus by the small spatula-shaped endings on their maxillary barbels.
Sexing	The male is larger and more strongly built than the female. The female may also be plumper when viewed from above.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Endemic to Lake Tanganyika. African Waters, Western Rift Valley Lakes, Tanganyika (click on these areas to find other species found there) (Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)
pH	7.6 - 9.0
Temperature	23.0-28.0°C or 73.4-82.4°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	A pH in between 7.8 and 8.2 is best suited to aquarium husbandry.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Will readily take most prepared foods. Its diet should be supplemented with live foods from time to time. In the wild, its diet has been shown to consist of very small fish and larval insects.
Furniture	Prefers rock work over driftwood or plants. Will make its home in small crevices.
Compatibility	A very peaceful fish which may be out competed for food and picked on if kept with much larger, more aggressive fish. A model citizen except for its large mouth which means it can and will eat smaller fishes. Should be kept in a group, since it is a fairly social fish and will be emboldened by the presence of conspecifics.
Breeding	According to Ochi et al, 2000, P. typus is a biparental mouth brooder. Male and female form a strong pair bond before mating and caring for young, with the male and/or female incubating and hatching the eggs in their mouth.
Further Information
References	Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond.v. 17 (pt 6, no. 1) - pp552 - Pl. 32 (fig. 3) Ochi, H., A. Rossiter and Y. Yanagisawa, 2000 The first record of a biparental mouthbrooding catfish. J. Fish Biol. 57(6):1601-1604. Bailey, R. M., and D. Stewart, 1984 Bagrid Catfishes from Lake Tanganyika, with a Key and Descriptions of New Taxa. UMMZ, Ann Arbor. Eccles, D.H., 1992 FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. FAO, Rome.
Registered Keepers	(1) Birger (k: 10), (2) synoguy, (3) worton[pl] (k: 4), who also notes: "I keep 2 pairs in 240l tank. They are very peacful and graceful fish. They are shy at the beggining but now my p. typus feed straight from my hand! Well worth keeping.", (4) Barbie (k: 5), (5) longstocking (k: 30), who also notes: "I had a huge spawn and then sold off the parents. I kept this species for about a year before spawning. Pairs need peace and quiet. Currently I have 30 fry growing out from one spawn. They are sensitive to water quality but can be kept in small tanks", (6) Julie (k: 3), who also notes: "awesome little fish, nice fat bellies!!!", (7) ali12345, (8) oxdeleon, (9) Piscis, (10) d_frag, (11) zappa0609, (12) Phyllonemus (k: 4), (13) tezr, (14) Yann (k: 2), (15) Marduk, (16) Richard B, who also notes: "i thought i'd sold all these but one has appeared from no-where in the main tank", (17) emartin, (18) daniel4832, (19) mikek, (20) syno321, (21) xsweeneyx, (22) minifoot77 (k: 5), (23) nvcichlids (k: 12), (24) PNTaquatics (k: 7), who also notes: "These guys have spawned a few times for me. They spawn in the same vase everytime. They will eat their fry if left in the tank.", (25) amiidae. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.
Breeding Reports	(1) nvcichlids (b: 49).
Articles	- CotM 2008 March
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Last Update	2008 Mar 02 03:20 (species record created: 2002 Oct 12 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Phyllonemus typus Boulenger, 1906

Common Name(s)

Spatula Barbel Catfish, Spatula Barbled Catfish

Type Locality

Niamkolo, Zambia, Lake Tanganyika.

Pronunciation

fie low NEE muss - tie puss

Etymology

The generic name comes from the Greek phyllos, meaning leaf and nema, meaning thread, in reference to the distinctive barbel shape of the type species Phyllonemus typus. The specific epithet means form in Latin.

Species Information

Size

90mm (3.5") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

An upper body colour of brown-maroon with a cream coloured belly. Easily distinguished from the rarer P. filinemus by the small spatula-shaped endings on their maxillary barbels.

Sexing

The male is larger and more strongly built than the female. The female may also be plumper when viewed from above.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Endemic to Lake Tanganyika.
African Waters, Western Rift Valley Lakes, Tanganyika (click on these areas to find other species found there)

(Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)

7.6 - 9.0

Temperature

23.0-28.0°C or 73.4-82.4°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

A pH in between 7.8 and 8.2 is best suited to aquarium husbandry.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Will readily take most prepared foods. Its diet should be supplemented with live foods from time to time. In the wild, its diet has been shown to consist of very small fish and larval insects.

Furniture

Prefers rock work over driftwood or plants. Will make its home in small crevices.

Compatibility

A very peaceful fish which may be out competed for food and picked on if kept with much larger, more aggressive fish. A model citizen except for its large mouth which means it can and will eat smaller fishes. Should be kept in a group, since it is a fairly social fish and will be emboldened by the presence of conspecifics.

Breeding

According to Ochi et al, 2000, P. typus is a biparental mouth brooder. Male and female form a strong pair bond before mating and caring for young, with the male and/or female incubating and hatching the eggs in their mouth.

Further Information

References

Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond.v. 17 (pt 6, no. 1) - pp552 - Pl. 32 (fig. 3)
Ochi, H., A. Rossiter and Y. Yanagisawa, 2000 The first record of a biparental mouthbrooding catfish. J. Fish Biol. 57(6):1601-1604.
Bailey, R. M., and D. Stewart, 1984 Bagrid Catfishes from Lake Tanganyika, with a Key and Descriptions of New Taxa. UMMZ, Ann Arbor.
Eccles, D.H., 1992 FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. FAO, Rome.

Registered Keepers

(1) Birger (k: 10), (2) synoguy, (3) worton[pl] (k: 4), who also notes: "I keep 2 pairs in 240l tank. They are very peacful and graceful fish. They are shy at the beggining but now my p. typus feed straight from my hand! Well worth keeping.", (4) Barbie (k: 5), (5) longstocking (k: 30), who also notes: "I had a huge spawn and then sold off the parents. I kept this species for about a year before spawning. Pairs need peace and quiet. Currently I have 30 fry growing out from one spawn. They are sensitive to water quality but can be kept in small tanks", (6) Julie (k: 3), who also notes: "awesome little fish, nice fat bellies!!!", (7) ali12345, (8) oxdeleon, (9) Piscis, (10) d_frag, (11) zappa0609, (12) Phyllonemus (k: 4), (13) tezr, (14) Yann (k: 2), (15) Marduk, (16) Richard B, who also notes: "i thought i'd sold all these but one has appeared from no-where in the main tank", (17) emartin, (18) daniel4832, (19) mikek, (20) syno321, (21) xsweeneyx, (22) minifoot77 (k: 5), (23) nvcichlids (k: 12), (24) PNTaquatics (k: 7), who also notes: "These guys have spawned a few times for me. They spawn in the same vase everytime. They will eat their fry if left in the tank.", (25) amiidae.

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Breeding Reports

(1) nvcichlids (b: 49).

Articles