Leiarius pictus, juvenile and adult.
Photos © Sean Evans
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| Common name: | Sailfin catfish, Sailfin pim, Sailfin marbled pim |
| Scientific name: | Leiarius pictus |
| Synonyms: | Sciades pictus (not valid) |
| Size: | Usually 24" (60cm), but can grow slightly larger. |
| Origin: | South America: widespread in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. |
| Tank setup: | A very large tank (suggest 8' x 3' base area for adult), with plenty of open swimming space
and a large cave for a refuge. |
| Compatibility: | Highly predatory, will eat small fish. Territorial, and will be aggressive towards other similar
catfish, and sometimes towards other species. |
| Temperature: | 22-25oC (72-77oF) |
| Water chemistry: | Fairly soft, slightly acidic to around neutral (pH 6.5-7.2) is preferable. |
| Feeding: | Meaty foods such as whitebait, mussel, prawn and earthworm, and also sinking catfish pellets. |
| Sexing: | No obvious differences, but females are larger and thicker in shape. |
| Breeding: | Unknown - no accounts of aquarium breeding, mainly due to the size of tank that would be required. |
| Comments: |
This is a very confident and active catfish compared to many other large Pimelodidae catfish, and even juveniles become hand-tame very quickly.
It should not be kept with other Pimelodid catfish in home aquaria; suitable catfish companions could include large Dorad catfish
(e.g. Oxydoras, Megalodoras), though even these may be harrassed occasionally. Large but peaceful fish of the upper levels are usually tolerated.
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