All fish / Pimelodidae
Piraiba
Brachyplatystoma filamentosum
Also known as piraiba catfish, goliath catfish, kumakuma, lau lau, filhote, giant amazon catfish, piraíba, ピライーバ, 巨鲶, 皮拉巴鲶
One of the largest catfish in the world, the piraiba has a long grey to silvery body, a flattened head and very long barbels, with dark spots on juveniles that fade with age. It is kept mainly by public aquaria and a few specialists with huge indoor ponds who want a true river giant.
Care at a glance
- Care level
- Hard
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Adult size
- 150 cm
- Temperature
- 24 to 30 °C
- pH
- 6 to 7.5
- Smallest tank
- 50000 litres
- Keep as
- Single specimen only
- Diet
- Carnivore: whole fish, prawns, mussels and sinking carnivore pellets
- Swims
- Bottom of the tank
- Lifespan
- 15 to 20 years or more
- Water
- Freshwater
- Wild range
- Amazon and Orinoco basins and Guianas rivers (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana)
Breeding
It is a long-distance migratory species that spawns in the upper Amazon headwaters. Captive breeding in home aquaria is unknown and essentially impossible.
Good to know
Wild fish can exceed 2.5 m and 150 kg, so small juveniles sold in shops quickly outgrow any normal aquarium; it will swallow any tankmate that fits in its mouth. Do not buy unless you can house a giant fish for life, and never release it.
More in Pimelodidae
- Barred Sorubim Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum
- Bolt catfish Aguarunichthys torosus
- Capaz Catfish Pimelodus grosskopfii
- Duckbill Catfish Sorubim lima
- Firewood Catfish Sorubimichthys planiceps
- Maracaibo pim Pimelodus coprophagus
- Marbled Pim Leiarius marmoratus
- Ornate Pimelodus Pimelodus ornatus