Catfish – Jaguar Catfish Liosomadoras oncinus

Description

Jaguar Catfish
Liosomadoras oncinus

Native to: South America (Amazon)

Size: 7 – 10inches (17.8 – 25.4cm)
Tank Size: 30G young fish, 50G Adults
PH: 5.6 – 7.2
Hardness: dh range 0-15dH
Temp: 68°F to 82°F (20°-28° C) Optimum at 77°F to 79°F (25 – 26° C)

The Jaguar Catfish is a very stunning fish that cannot be mistaken featuring a pattern that resembles that of a Jaguar cat (feline). It will appreciate having plenty of places in the bottom of the tank to forage and explore. The Jaguar catfish will will swim all over the tank, but predominantly prefer to be near the bottom. It will do fine in most common gravel substrates, but it will especially do good in Sand/Fine Gravel.

Liosomadoras oncinus is a very shy fish that will generally only show itself during dusk and darkness initially, but after a month or two of getting used to it’s surroundings and new habitat they will appear later in the evening if lighting is subdued. This fish will readily accept hand feeding (which is an experience like no other) after they get used to you.

This fish can be kept with other fish from South America such as Tetras that are of the wider shape (Lemons, Pristella, Colombian Blue Flame, Skirts, etc) and can be kept with smaller plecos as long as every bottom feeder has it’s own wood or hiding spot.

Stocking: Some debate exists as to keeping more than 1 of these together, however the consensus is that most feel that with adequate hiding spaces and a Amazonian biotope tank, these can be stocked in numbers at about 1 for every 40 gallons.

Jaguar Catfish Diet:
This fish is super greedy and will happily eat all day long if offered food, but this is NOT healthy for them. Feed only a few times per week and allow it to forage the tank other day. It will accept bloodworms, catfish pellets and loves chopped prawn or mussels. They will eat algae wafers in 1 swallow. The Jaguar will only occasionally graze on veggies that would normally be offered to Plecos.