Panaque nigrolineatus
(Peters, 1877) |
his large peacefull Loricariid was described
by C.H. Peters last century with a speciman collected by the German
collector Dr. C. Sachs in Venezuela and included in a monthly
report of the Academy of Science in Berlin.
As stated the type locality is Venezuela
(Calabozo). Most of the specimens that come into the hobby originate
from Colombia from Meta, near Villavicencio and it is not clear
if these fish are identical to the ones already mentioned in the
type locality in Venezuela. If there is an uncertanty the name
is usually given as Panaque
cf. nigrolineatus.
For its large attainable size the "Royal Panaque"
is a peacfull Loricariid. It
can be territotrial with its own kind so better to house it on
its own with similar sized tankmates in a large aquaria.
When a youngster its colouration with its
stripes and spots is indeed wondorous to behold but reaching adulthood
it becomes more of a dull grey/brownish colour.
The picture below shows the spoon shaped
teeth around the mouth which helps it to scrape algae of material
such as wood/roots and the glass on the aquarium walls. The shape
of the teeth of course tell us that this is predominately a vegetable
loving catfish and the Feeding section table
below will spell this out.
Bare in mind that this fish will produce
a lot of waste due to its diet so will need a large external filter
which will turn the tank contents around about six times in the
hour and give it a good water flow. A fully grown individual would
need a 5 or 6ft tank for it to function properly. You will need
driftwood or similar as this catfish likes to chew on it and its
long stage survival depends on this. It will tend to hide during
the day and come out at night and actively search out food.
There are a few similar species in the nigrolineatus-complex which
may or may not be the same species as they come from different
countries and river systems in South America but in the main it
is the Northern half of South America that houses these very impressive
catfish.
L190* is believed to be
Panaque nigrolineatus but
as mentioned there needs to be more work carried out on this and
the other similar looking Panaques. Below is the list so far:
Panaque
sp. (L027) |
From Brazil:
Rio Xingu, Rio Tocantins, Rio Lageado, Rio Tapajós
and Rio Jamanxim. All these destinations may turn out to house
different species. |
| Panaque
sp. (L090) |
Peru: Rio Ucayali
drainage and Tingo Maria. |
| Panaque
sp. (L190)* |
Colombia & Venezuela:
Rio Orinoco |
| Panaque
sp. (L191) |
Colombia: Caquetá,
Rio Caguán. |
| Panaque
sp. (L203) |
Peru: Ucayali drainage
to Colombia (Leticia) |
| Panaque
sp. (L330) |
Colombia: Meta, Rio
Guejar, This is believed to be predomately a wood eater. |
D. 1,7; A, 5; V, 1,5; Lat.l. 25-26. Short
and heavy, the depth one-fifth less than the width, which is about
3 in the length. Caudal peduncle comparatively slender, its depth
equal to one-third of the greatest depth. Head large, its width
at the opercles about equal to the length of the snout and orbit;
profile rather straight from tip of snout to the eye., the occipital
strongly arched; a depression above the eyes; a broad blunt ridge
from the eye forward; occipital bone truncate behind, margined by
a single, large nuchal plate; temporal shield forming the posterior
and half the upper margin of the orbit. Snout rather pointed, entirely
granular; the extreme sometimes naked. Orbit 5 in the snout, 7½
in the head, 4 in the interorbital. Lower surface of the head granular;
lips with short thick papillae; teeth large, broad tipped. Preopercle
large, its bristles slender, the longest varying from 1-2 diameters
of the orbit in length. Region between eye and gill opening entirely
granular. Humeral ridge obtuse; the lateral scutes with short marginal
spines which are largest and most numerous on the tail and on the
uppermost and lowermost series. Ventral surface entirely granular.
Distance of the dorsal fin from tip of snout about 2 in the length.
Base of dorsal fin equals its distance from the base of the middle
caudal rays. Caudal obliquely truncate, the central rays 2 in the
head. Anal short, placed under the interspace between the dorsal
and adipose fins. Ventrals inserted under the first dorsal ray,
reaching beyond base of anal. Pectoral fins reaching beyond base
of ventrals.
Dark brown, everywhere with wavy longtitudinal
lines of white; the fins all coloured and striped like the body.
Can be kept in a large community tank with
like sized tankmates such as Cichlids and
or Large Barbs who will swim in the upper layers of the tank, even
smaller congeners will come to no harm from the "Royal Pleco".
Not a good idea to house aggressive species
in with your P.nigrilineatus as
they will tend to upset this peaceful catfish.
Has seemingly been bred in the aquarium but
information is scarce.
| Sexual
Differences |
The males develop very
long interopercular odontes and hooked spines on the anterior
pectoral fin spines.
|
| Feeding |
Will feed/chew on driftwood and need such
in a tank. Vegetable foods are a must
for this herbivore such as algae, cuccumber,
courgette (zucchini), lettuce, spinach and vegetable tablet food.
It will also take flake food but if you can give it veg. flake,
all the better. You can feed it meaty foods such as the many varieties
of frozen but it is not a good idea to feed this too often as its
long digestive track is geared up for greens.
| Glossary
of Terms |
Opercles:
The bony covering of the gills of fishes.
Occipital:
A median bone on the upper surface of
the back of the head; pertaining to the occiput.
Nuchal: Area between the skull and dorsal
fin.
Humeral: Bony extension of the pectoral girdle.
Truncate: Cut off, blunt. (as in squared
off caudal fin).
|
| Etymology |
Panaque:
Venezuelan common name for plecostomus. Panaque
nigrolineatus was the first described and it is from central
Venezuela
nigrolineatus: Black
lines.
|
| References |
Sands, David; Catfishes
of the World. Vol.4. Aspredinidae, Doradidae, &
Loricariidae. p109-110
All L-Numbers Datz Special.
www.datze.de
Glaser, Ulrich sen; Aqualog
Special, Loricariidae. The most beautiful L-numbers
Verhoef-Verhallen, Esther;
The Complete Encyclopedia of Tropical Fish. Grange Books. 2000
Top: BigFrogFeet
Bottom: Vedran
Cuncic |
