..................Black Doras catfish
Other names:...........Niger catfish, Dolphin catfish Origin:......................The Amazon basin Max size:..................33" PH:............-..............6.2-7.4 Temperature:...........72-79 F. Min tank size:..........90 gallons Food:.........................plants, fruits, small live foods, pellets |
Pseudodoras niger is what you would call a gentle giant. The body and fins are a uniform black to slate grey, fading to a lighter grey on the belly. There is also a single row of narrow, lateral plates that run along the body from behind the head to the caudal fin.
This catfish shows no aggression towards its tankmates. Small specimens are shy and spend the day hiding away, only coming out to eat at night. As they mature however, they start to cruise around the aquarium more boldy. Even though they are good scavengers and sift through the substrate looking for food, they usually won't bother uprooting plants.
P. niger prefers a temperature range of 72-79 degrees F. Being fairly active swimmers, they require plenty of oxygren in the water, so a powerhead or some sort of heavy water current is required. It will tolerate a large PH range, but, you should avoid extremes of the water hardness level.
In the roof and floor of the fish's mouth are several fleshy appendages, covered in taste receptors. These act as a tongue when the fish is sifting around looking for food. In the wild, P. niger eats plant material, fruits, and insect larvae. In the aquarium they can learn to eat pellets.
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