This
beautiful “freshwater shark” reached us from India. Formerly the
species was placed in the genus Arius. Like all these Arius-relatives
Nemapteryx nenga is not a shark at all, but a catfish. N. nenga attains a
length of about 30 cm and should be kept in large aquaria only.
These
“freshwater sharks” are animals that live in the mouths of large
rivers. So they can live as well in pure freshwater and in pure
seawater. We recommend to keep them in brackish water with a salt
content of 5-10 grams per liter.
Due to the nicely shaped
dorsal fin the popular name “whimple freshwater shark” could be used. As
far as it is known all species of the Arius-relationship are
mouthbrooders. The eggs are taken by the male in the mouth until they
hatch. One should keep these pretty catfish always in groups (5-10
specimens). Singly kept specimens do not thrive very well.
For our customers: the animals have code 438322 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photo: Frank Schäfer
