Species profile - Brachyplatystoma Juruense

[amiidae]

Sci name : Brachyplatystoma juruense

Family: Pimelodidae

Common names-
Alianza cat, Golden tiger shovelnose, Flash Zebra , zebra catfish

Max Size-
known to reach up to 3ft in the wild but chances are it would reach abt 24" or slightly more in captivity

Temperature
22 - 27°C

Range-
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basin

Habitat-
demersal, freshwater

Description-
B.juruense has white/yellow vertical bands running down the body and depending on the river where the specimen is collected, the stripes could be very thick to almost non existent in some cases, these stripes run all the way down the jurenese's body and reaches the underbelly of the catfish. From my personal observation, the stripes seem to be more obvious under the belly as compared to those running vertically down the body. Thier faces are flatten and wide like most shovelnose catfishes.Juruense have 2 "feelers" (one on each side) located above the mouth and 4 "feelers" (two on each side) located below the mouth

Tank Size Recommendations-
A 5ftx2.5ft tank would be recommended considering the size that this catfish could reach up too, however smaller specimens could be kept in 3ft x 1.5ft tank until they outgrow the tank before transferring them to such a large tank.

Do note that juruense catfishes do fight among themselves and it would be recommended that u have a large floor area in ur tank if u are keeping more thn 1 to minimize fighting. Its suggested that u should keep at least 3 if u have any intention of keeping a community so as to minimize injuries on each catfish due to fights

Some Suggested Tankmates-
Other large catfish from the Pimolididae family or Arowanas, stringrays and polypterides

Personal Experiences-
Definately a cool fish to keep. The juruense does this tripod stance using its pactoral fins in the front and its tail and it sure has an artistic pose to it when they do thatt. B.Jurunese also seem to enjoy swimming against the current generated by powerheads and if u do observe them frequently u would notice that they do yawn at times.. and u could see how big their mouths could actually stretch when they do that.

by Mewmender