The frogmouth catfishes of the genus Chaca are very unusual fish. Only four species are known. The look quite similar to each other and form a catfish family on their own, the Chacidae.
Chaca lie on the bottom without any move for most of the day. They wait for shrimps or small fish that take them for stones and want to feed on Aufwuchs. As soon the potential prey sits down on a Chaca and wants to start to feed, a huge mouth opens and the shrimp or fish ends up as food itself. Some species of Chaca even have small lappets on the skin that imitate algae and makes their hunting strategy even more effective.
Chaca bankanensis is a blackwater species. Usually this species s reddish brown to brick red; it has only few skin lappets.
All species of Chaca become 15-20 cm long. During acclimatization the catfish often refuses food for quite a long time. So it is best to give number of live shrimps or feeder fish in the tank and to wait. Sooner or later the Chaca will start feeding.
For our customers: the fish have code 408253 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Singapur |
| Verfügbare Größe in cm | 15-20 |
