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Scientific Name | Amblydoras nauticus (Cope, 1874) |
Common Names | Marbled Talking Catfish Marbled Raphael Catfish, Marmoreret Tornmalle (Denmark) |
Type Locality | Nauta, Peru. |
Synonym(s) | Anadoras nauticus, Zathorax nauticus |
Pronunciation | am blee door ass - naw tik uss |
Etymology | Amblydoras: From the Greek amblys, meaning blunt and doras, meaning skin (also a word commonly used in forming generic names for doradids); in reference to the non-serrated dorsal spine. |
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Size | 75mm or 3" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
Identification | Reasonably easy to ID although young fish can look quite variable. Some degree of sexual dichromatism exists and the males bear a resemblance to the larger Anadoras grypus. Very often sold under the incorrect name of Amblydoras hancockii. |
Sexing | Some keepers report that the underside of female is creamy white, the male is freckled as shown below. Males are more slender than the wider (when viewed from above or below) females. |
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Distribution | South America: Upper Amazon River basin. Amazon, Upper Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map. |
IUCN Red List Category | Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2014. |
Other Parameters | This species is not fussy regarding water parameters. |
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Feeding | A nocturnal scavenger. Younger fish tend to be a little more active during the day, but the best way to ensure this fish is properly fed is to introduce sinking food into the tank after dark. Most foods are accepted gluttonously. Individuals will gorge themselves on food to the point of appearing fit to burst. User data. |
Furniture | Does not harm plants and all that is really required is a dark place in which the catfish can find refuge. Care must be taken that this is no where near the heater element as these fish will wedge themselves between the heater and the aquarium wall and may burn themselves. |
Compatibility | A perfect community tank resident. |
Suggested Tankmates | As all doradids, does well with its conspecifics and other members of the same family. Can be kept with anything from tetras to medium sized cichlids. |
Breeding | In the aquarium, this species is an egg scatterer. But reports exist of reproduction in the wild which involves a bubble nest built in plants which the male guards. The author has collected exceedingly small (< 10 mm SL) young Amblydoras in semi-aquatic reeds and partially submerged shrubs. No adults were collected in water about 45 cm deep. Youngsters were everywhere and one swipe of the net could turn up ten or more young. |
Breeding Reports | There is no breeding report. |
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Reference | Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 26, pp 133. |
Registered Keepers | There is no registered keeper. |
Wishlists | Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species. |
Spotters | Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 13 records of this fish being seen, view them all. |
Forum BBCode | |
![]() | Look up A. nauticus on PlanetCatfish.com |
![]() | Look up A. nauticus on Fishbase |
![]() | Look up A. nauticus on Encyclopedia of Life |
Look up A. nauticus on Global Biodiversity Information Facility | |
LFS label creator ARN ref:1.12.93.1059 | |
Last Update | 2025 Jan 18 00:44 (species record created: 2001 Apr 19 00:00) |