We obtain a very strange catfish on a regular basis from Nigeria: Gymnallabes typus. Sadly the fish has been given the name Channalabes apus in the hobby; this is a different species from the Congo. The catfish has an eel-like body, becomes 20-30 cm long, has an impressive mustache and tiny little eyes. In the natural habitat this species lives in wet leaves. The biotope often looks like anything but a water. Here Gymnallabes apus lives and he is perfectly adopted to that habitat. The catfish belongs to the very few species of fish that are able to leave the water and make prey on land. Moreove this fish is not beathing by gills alone but has an aditional beathing organ that allows the fish to breath atmospheric air.
In the wild, this fish feeds mainly on insects, but in the aquarium it feeds literally anything that fits the mouth and is meaty, even very small fish. But all in all this catfish can be characterized as a very peaceful animal. The only „must have“ of the fish are dark hiding places. In all other respects Gymnallabes typus is absolutely undemanding in aquaria.
For our customers: the fish have code 111501 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
