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Rhamdia cinerascens (Gunther, 1860)

Image contributors to this species:

Windsor Aquirre (1) Daniel (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: This species is distinguished from other Rhamdia species in South America by a large head with head length 25.8–30.1% of standard length, base of the adipose fin 30.3–33.3% of standard length, outer mental barbels extending to the base of the pectoral rays, and presence of a faint lateral longitudinal band (Hernandez et al., 2015). It can be distinguished from Pimelodella in western Ecuador, which are morphologically similar to small Rhamdia, because the posterior projection of the occipital process does not extend to the dorsal fin origin (Glodek, 1978). Habitat: This species is very common in the Guayas River drainage, Portoviejo River and Esmeraldas River. Reproduction: Its reproduction is synchronised with the rainy season. Aquarium Care: In the aquarium you should treat this species as you would any "Pim" and house them with tank mates that are the same size or larger and who occupy a different layer of the tank be it mid water or top. Provide plenty of hiding places if you intend to keep more than one individual. This species will probably not be exported as an aquarium specimen as they do grow to a large size. Diet: It prefers slow moving waters and feeds on aquatic insects, small fish, and plant material that falls into rivers such as fruits, seeds and flowers. Remarks: Historically, there has been much taxonomic confusion on the identitity of the species of Rhamdia in western Ecuador and it had been recognised under the names R. wagneri and the broadly distributed R. quelen. It now appears that R. cinerascens is a valid species and is endemic to western Ecuador (Hernandez, 2015).

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Pimelodus cinerascens

Family:

Heptapteridae

Distribution:

South America: Ecuador, Guayas River drainage, Portoviejo River, and Esmeraldas River.

Size:

39.0cm. (15¾ins)

Temp:

24-26°C (75-79°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

Reference:

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2021. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (05/2021).
Hernández Torres, Carmen Liliana, "Species Delimitation, Phylogenetics, and Biogeography of the Catfish Genus Rhamdia Bleeker (Heptapteridae) of Central America and the Trans-Andean Region of Colombia" (2015). Dissertations. 87.
iNaturalist Ecuador (05/2021).
Windsor, Aquirre. Freshwater Fishes of Western Ecuador. (05/2021).

Family: Heptapteridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Rhamdia cinerascens
Chongon Reservoir near city of Guayaquil

Rhamdia cinerascens
Quevedo, Ecuador

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