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Hi all,

i just bought this Heptaterid (or Pimelodid) from a local dealer. Unfortunatly i don't even know the country it was imported from. Standart length is 6,5 cm, the whole fish is 8 cm in length.
I guess it is a Pimelodella (or Brachyrhamdia, if one considers that genus valid) species. Does anyone know which ?
Pictures:
Pic 1
Pic 2

thanks,

Achim

Looks to me like a very pale P. (B.?) meesi.

Right, it looks to be <i>Brachyrhamdia meesi</i>. Only the strange thing is that it seems to be completely lacking the dark markings (save for a very small caudal peduncle spot). Are there many others like it? This could be interesting...

Heok Hee

Hi Coelanth,

i don't think its P. meesi. One could think its a very pale or frightened meesi, but even without flashlight and in a dark tank the fish shows no sign of a lateral stripe or the big shoulder spot (i just bought this fish today, but could take a look at it for some months at the dealer) that is typical for B. meesi.

Achim

Hi Heok Hee,

Are there many others like it?

unfortunatly not. The fish came back to the dealer from an aquarist that didn't want to keep it any longer. That is why he couldn't even tell me from where and when it was imported.

Achim

That's a real pity. Because it can either be an aberrant <i>B. meesi</i> that just lacks the dark color, or possibly an undescribed <i>Brachyrhamdia</i>. The only way to know for sure is if we had lots of similar fish (which would make it unlikely that this lack of dark color is a chance mutation).

Heok Hee

i just made another photo, this time without flash in the keeping tank .
After looking at some more Brachyrhamdia (i thought the genus was placed in the synonymy of Pimelodella ?) meesi i begin to think you may be right saying this is just a strangely coloured B. meesi. Really a pitty there aren't any more...
Btw: could you or someone else tell me the paper where the Pimelodidae where split in Pseudopimelodidae, Pimelodidae and Heptapteridae ?
Thanks for ur quick response to my mail Heok

Greetings... Achim.

Aha! Now it looks more like a regular <i>B. meesi</i>. I think it will revert back to the original coloration over time (I bought some juvenile <i>B. meesi</i> thinking they were one of the striped <i>Pimelodella</i> once, so the color pattern can change quite a bit).
Anyway, <i>Brachyrhamdia</i> is a valid genus. according to Lundberg & McDade (1986).
The original reference that divides the Pimelodidae into the three was de Pinna's Ph. D. dissertation (1993). There has never been any publication after that states the division formally, AFAIK. Most subsequent workers just agreed with Mario.
In any case, I think the correct name for the Heptapteridae is the Rhamdiidae.

Heok Hee

thanks for the info.

The original reference that divides the Pimelodidae into the three was de Pinna's Ph. D. dissertation (1993).

This explains why i couldn't find it...

I think the correct name for the Heptapteridae is the Rhamdiidae

why ? older name ?

...and another photo with flash. Looks different again i think.


Achim

why? older name?

I believe so.

Heok Hee

Hi all,

thanks to CLOFFSCA and a hint of Ingo Seidel to check that species i was able to identify this Brachyrhamdia. See here

Achim