Sorubim lima • Pimelodidae • Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Sorubim lima** (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Common Name(s)	Duck-beak Catfish, Duckbill Catfish, Hockey Stick Catfish, Lima Shovelnose
Type Locality	Rio Maranham, Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Platystoma lima, Platystoma luceri, Silurus lima, Sorubim latirostris
Pronunciation	sarw oo bim - lee mah
Etymology	Sorubi is the Brazilian local name for this fish (and several other pimelodids), latinised to become Sorubim. This specific epithet literally means "a file" (lima=a file) and refers to its exposed pre-maxillary tooth patch.
Species Information
Size	505mm (19.9") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	No other pimelodid genus possesses a dark horizontal stripe stretching entire length of head and body. Some fish grow larger (particularly in the wild) than the size given here perhaps indicating a difference between the sexes or a group of species.
Sexing	Unknown
Habitat Information
Distribution	Sorubim lima is widely distributed throughout most of South America east of the Andes mountain range, including the Amazon, Orinoco, Paraná and Parnaíba river drainages. It is syntopic with S. elongatus in the Orinoco basin and with S. elongatus and S. maniradii in the upper Amazon drainage of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there) (Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)
pH	6.2 - 7.2
Temperature	23.0-30.0°C or 73.4-86°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	To best replicate this fish's natural habitat the water should be neutral and soft.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Carnivore that can be trained to accept most foods but patience is often required in this regard. Younger fish are more adaptable to new foods.
Furniture	Large pieces of driftwood placed so as to form "tree roots". This effect is easily accomplished by attaching suction cups to the driftwood and "sticking" the wood to the back and sides of the tank. Plants will have to be chosen carefully as S. lima will sometimes dig.
Compatibility	Predatory and thus unsafe with anything small enough to be eaten, but otherwise very peaceful.
Suggested Tankmates	They are quite sociable as big cats go and it is possible to keep a group of these catfish in one tank. Three Lima shovelnoses would do well as a group in a large enough tank. This is especially true if all three are raised in the same tank together. Other tankmates must be chosen with great care. Large cichlids could be experimented with, but should not be aggressive species. Large plecos and other catfishes would be great tank-mates.
Breeding	The Lima shovel nose has not been bred in captivity. There is one report that a pair laid eggs in a nest they constructed in the aquarium, but no fry hatched.
Further Information
References	Systema Ichthyol. - pp384 Zootaxa 1422:1-29
Registered Keepers	(1) TP (k: 4), (2) synoguy (k: 2), (3) natefrog, (4) CFC, (5) daniel60, (6) Daniel Machado, (7) Lornek8, (8) Argentum (k: 3), (9) roy.bryan, (10) bukster, (11) Chi-Chi, (12) amiidae, (13) ani-mal-lvr, (14) amazonfishman (k: 3), (15) joe.juice13, (16) Kimmy73b, (17) Moosipher, (18) necrocanis, (19) doesdavid, (20) funkyj1313, (21) Sumners83 (p: 2), (22) Schmike, (23) tezr, (24) kameko, (25) jprp, (26) Redtailrob (k: 2), (27) GW_NL (k: 7), (28) Back (p: 2, k: 3), (29) Viktor Jarikov, who also notes: "Having hard time weaning off of live feeder fish but success appears in the view - danggling pieces of raw shrimp was met with partial success.", (30) jscoggs27, (31) steve_ansell1, (32) drgnfrc13 (p: 2), (33) musilvr4eva, (34) Sktchy, (35) Benjamin Goh, (36) browny85, (37) 2poc, (38) Hedorah (k: 2), (39) Pcpolo111, (40) CatfishPownage63, (41) merit, (42) miguel mitchel, (43) boostedhemi, (44) Pestey, (45) liamirons. 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	None.
Articles	- CotM 1999 June
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Last Update	2010 Nov 20 01:10 (species record created: 2001 Apr 22 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Sorubim lima (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Common Name(s)

Duck-beak Catfish, Duckbill Catfish, Hockey Stick Catfish, Lima Shovelnose

Type Locality

Rio Maranham, Brazil.

Synonym(s)

Platystoma lima, Platystoma luceri, Silurus lima, Sorubim latirostris

Pronunciation

sarw oo bim - lee mah

Etymology

Sorubi is the Brazilian local name for this fish (and several other pimelodids), latinised to become Sorubim. This specific epithet literally means "a file" (lima=a file) and refers to its exposed pre-maxillary tooth patch.

Species Information

Size

505mm (19.9") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

No other pimelodid genus possesses a dark horizontal stripe stretching entire length of head and body.

Some fish grow larger (particularly in the wild) than the size given here perhaps indicating a difference between the sexes or a group of species.

Sexing

Unknown

Habitat Information

Distribution

Sorubim lima is widely distributed throughout most of South America east of the Andes mountain range, including the Amazon, Orinoco, Paraná and Parnaíba river drainages. It is syntopic with S. elongatus in the Orinoco basin and with S. elongatus and S. maniradii in the upper Amazon drainage of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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

6.2 - 7.2

Temperature

23.0-30.0°C or 73.4-86°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

To best replicate this fish's natural habitat the water should be neutral and soft.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Carnivore that can be trained to accept most foods but patience is often required in this regard. Younger fish are more adaptable to new foods.

Furniture

Large pieces of driftwood placed so as to form "tree roots". This effect is easily accomplished by attaching suction cups to the driftwood and "sticking" the wood to the back and sides of the tank. Plants will have to be chosen carefully as S. lima will sometimes dig.

Compatibility

Predatory and thus unsafe with anything small enough to be eaten, but otherwise very peaceful.

Suggested Tankmates

They are quite sociable as big cats go and it is possible to keep a group of these catfish in one tank. Three Lima shovelnoses would do well as a group in a large enough tank. This is especially true if all three are raised in the same tank together. Other tankmates must be chosen with great care. Large cichlids could be experimented with, but should not be aggressive species. Large plecos and other catfishes would be great tank-mates.

Breeding

The Lima shovel nose has not been bred in captivity. There is one report that a pair laid eggs in a nest they constructed in the aquarium, but no fry hatched.

Further Information

References

Systema Ichthyol. - pp384
Zootaxa 1422:1-29

Registered Keepers

(1) TP (k: 4), (2) synoguy (k: 2), (3) natefrog, (4) CFC, (5) daniel60, (6) Daniel Machado, (7) Lornek8, (8) Argentum (k: 3), (9) roy.bryan, (10) bukster, (11) Chi-Chi, (12) amiidae, (13) ani-mal-lvr, (14) amazonfishman (k: 3), (15) joe.juice13, (16) Kimmy73b, (17) Moosipher, (18) necrocanis, (19) doesdavid, (20) funkyj1313, (21) Sumners83 (p: 2), (22) Schmike, (23) tezr, (24) kameko, (25) jprp, (26) Redtailrob (k: 2), (27) GW_NL (k: 7), (28) Back (p: 2, k: 3), (29) Viktor Jarikov, who also notes: "Having hard time weaning off of live feeder fish but success appears in the view - danggling pieces of raw shrimp was met with partial success.", (30) jscoggs27, (31) steve_ansell1, (32) drgnfrc13 (p: 2), (33) musilvr4eva, (34) Sktchy, (35) Benjamin Goh, (36) browny85, (37) 2poc, (38) Hedorah (k: 2), (39) Pcpolo111, (40) CatfishPownage63, (41) merit, (42) miguel mitchel, (43) boostedhemi, (44) Pestey, (45) liamirons.

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

None.

Articles