Once again we succeeded in importing some specimens of these strange, naturally almost blind banjo catfish, this time from Colombia. For our first import and further information see here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/10-catfishes/10c-catfishes-remaining-catfish-from-south-america/xyliphius-cf-lepturus/
This time there are apparently two species in the import. Unfortunately, only one specimen probably belongs to the species Xyliphius melanopterus, recognizable by the light dorsal stripe. The remaining specimens appear to be X. cf. lepturus. However, two color forms can be found here, which are described in the book “Banjos, Dorads and Woodcats” by Steven Grant (2021) as males (unicolored) and females (bicolored).
We have also made a small film about these fish, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-FaAFNxh_w
For our customers: X. cf. lepturus have code 203464, X. cf. melanurus has 299454 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
