The various shovel-nosed catfishes of South America are popular inhabitants of large aquariums and important food fishes in their native rivers. As their huge mouths would suggest, they are active predators, hunting for others fishes and crustaceans at night. They easily grow to over three feet.
No relation to sturgeons, this huge relative of the little “talking catfishes” (popular with aquarists) possesses similar looking bony scutes along its side, giving it a prehistoric appearance. One of its other aquarium shop names is in fact “Prehistoric catfish” and another is “Ripsaw”. Though exceeding three feet in length, they feed almost entirely on invertebrates and detritus, as one might deduce from their small mouths.
All of the many Red-tailed catfish at the DWA are donations from aquarists whose tanks they rapidly outgrew. Popular in the pet trade since the 1960s, this widespread South American fish is often sold at a length of two inches, but may eventually reach five feet and weigh over 100 pounds, potentially eating anything it can swallow.