All fish / Auchenipteridae

Manduba catfish

Ageneiosus inermis

Also known as manduba, bottlenose catfish, duckbill catfish, slopehead catfish, ageneiosus brevifilis, barbel-less catfish

A long, silvery-grey catfish with a flattened, duck-like head, a wide mouth and almost no visible barbels. It is kept mainly by monster-fish enthusiasts who have room for a large, active open-water predator.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

45 cm

Temperature

23 to 28 °C

pH

6 to 7.5

Smallest tank

1500 litres

Keep as

Singly or a small group in a very large tank

Diet

Carnivore: whole fish, prawns, mussels and other meaty foods

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Amazon, Orinoco and Paraná basins and rivers of the Guianas, South America

Breeding

It uses internal fertilisation, and males grow a thickened, spiny dorsal fin during the breeding season. Captive breeding is not recorded, and nearly all fish sold are wild-caught.

Good to know

It grows well over 50 cm in the wild and will eat any tankmate that fits in its large mouth, so it needs a huge tank with a tight lid. Juveniles are sometimes sold under other Ageneiosus names.