I know it's a long shot, but has anyone ever seen or kept kalyptodoras bahiensis? They are a dream catfish of mine and are part of the doradidae family. I've seen a grainy photo on scotcat of one which doesn't do the fish justice, and a very short video of one on YouTube where it looks absolutely spectacular. All other pictures I've seen are of dead/preserved specimens.
kalyptodoras bahiensis anyone?
- Thread starter tongolino10
- Start date
I don't think they were the species you are looking for, but I saw some African catfish that looked very similar. It might be the same species, but I highly doubt it. Where are they from?
Haven't seen any brought into the US before. Haven't heard of them entering the East Asian market, either, though I don't really follow it closely (or know how to, for the matter). I find it unlikely that the eastern Brazilian region where they may be found is often collected, as I'm not aware of any species of the region that are brought in with any degree of regularity.
You could always check in with Wes to see if he's familiar with the species.
that's a real pity. I hope that they will be exported sometime, just like how wertheimeria maculata and franciscodoras marmoratus from the state just south of Bahia were exported, despite not from traditional ornamental fish collecting rivers.
I agree with
Fallen_Leaves16
that Wes is probably one of the best chances at sourcing these guys the other being Rod at Predatory fins. I've dealt with Rod on many occasions but never asked him to source anything for me. He was the one who brought in the Francisodoras you mentioned though I doubt he'll do that again. At least on his own accord as they sold poorly. And Wes is one of several to bring in Wertheimeria however they became available to the hobby because someone had managed to captive breed them. How it was accomplished if with hormones or not I don't know but they were as far as I know not imported from their naturally occurring source location. Wes also brought in Lophiosilurus Alexandri another rarely seen fish. Where he sourced them from though, I do not know but they naturally occur in the São Francisco River basin just like the Francisodoras marmoratus Rod sourced.Forgive me running off at the mouth. It's a bad habit. Anyway, just to reiterate the part that is most important to possibly helping you get some Kalyptodoras bahiensis I'd try Wes/Rare Fish. Wes is a great guy and a great vendor who'll work with you if he can, and he can get some very rare quality stock.
Thanks for the detailed reply! I understand why Franciscodoras (particularly if juvenile) probably don't sell as well. Their colouration and patterns tend to only become much more striking and apparent, just like Wertheimeria, of which I have one rapidly growing specimen. I believe Lophiosilurus is also captive bred nowadays but am not sure if those sold are wild caught or captive bred. I'd just need to see a Kalyptodoras to complete the trinity of Wertheimerinae!I agree with
Forgive me running off at the mouth. It's a bad habit. Anyway, just to reiterate the part that is most important to possibly helping you get some Kalyptodoras bahiensis I'd try Wes/Rare Fish. Wes is a great guy and a great vendor who'll work with you if he can, and he can get some very rare quality stock.
Yeah, I'm unsure of where the Alexandri come from. They've been bred in captivity a long time ago already as I know of at least one instance of a hobbyist breeding them. I think the story is on Planetcatfish. I'm not sure if someone's commercially breeding them or someone just managed to spawn a pair and that's where they came from the São Francisco River basin in my experience haven't really been available, in the US at least. Another dream fish of mine is also from the basin, Lophiosilurus Fowleri. I haven't seen them available since 2007 when I had gotten into Monsterfiish. George Fear/Shark Aquarium had some and was a place I regularly visited back then. I unfortunately I never grabbed one up.
Very cool, I have a Franciscodoras. I'm a big fan of Doradidae. Besides the Franciscodoras I've got a Platydoras sp. Maroni, Lithodoras dorsalis, Rhinodoras dorbignyi and gallagheri, Tellenus cristinae and a Megalodoras uranascopus. I think that's all the Doradidae I currently have. I am hoping to get a Wertheimeria to add to my collection. Speaking of Wertheimeria you mentioned yours is growing rapidly. Can I ask how fast his growth rate has been approximately. How big is he? How outgoing is he? Dora's are generally shy but I'm just curious does he at least come to eat? My apologies for the questions.
The price of Lophiosilurus has increased very significantly in a few years for a reason I'm not well aware of. As far as the breeding is concerned, I believe they are an esteemed food fish in their native region and I believe that this could be to cater to that demand. Yeah Fowleri are pretty scarce on the market nowadays I'd agree.
I did consider getting a Rhinodoras but was uncertain as to whether I'd get an adult with spots as opposed to bands if I were to grow out one a juvenile. I prefer the spotted variant. Would you consider both your Rhinodoras and Franciscodoras to be relatively model citizens with little aggression? This was also a concern of mine as I've seen a video of two Franciscodoras displaying what seems to be territorial aggression against each other.
As for my Wertheimeria, I'm presuming its female as its getting somewhat chonky. I'd say that it has roughly grown double the length when I first got it a year or so ago, and it is currently around 6 inches in length. In terms of growth rate, it's been non linear. Currently it's having a growth spurt both lengthwise and width wise and it has gained quite an appetite. I feed it massivore pellets and I believe it also does eat very small mollies and ghost shrimp opportunistically. As for shyness around food, I don't note that, but it could be due to generally peaceful, non competitive tank mates. It enjoys small spaces, constantly pressing itself against the glass on one end and an aquarium pot on another. I would say that it has been a rather peaceful fish thus far, and has also learnt to be accustomed to touch as well. All in all, one of my favourite fish!
I'm not sure either, I imagine it's probably due to availability and just general inflation increasing Alexandri prices.
Yes, in my limited experience they're both very peaceful tankmates. My experience with Rhinodoras is maybe 6 years or so, Franciscodoras maybe a year or so. They get along fine with each other and their other tankmates which includes other cats as well as Characin and a Osphronemus septemfasciatus. Minor aggression in my experience is bluff and grunts over hides. They all share a hide but apparently, they have their favorite positions in the huddle and will complain at each other when they're not in it but that's the extent of it. Feeding though is vigorous with Rhinos, they go ham for food. Quick to leave the hide with frantic motion in search of food and will headbutt and push each other to grab any and the morsels. So, if there's any issue it'd possibly be putting them with fish that don't have as aggressive feeding response, possibly outcompeting tankmates.
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with your Wertheimeria.
