Brochis splendens (Castelnau, 1855)
Suggested pronounciation: bro-kiss splen-denz

 

PROFILE Common name Emerald Catfish ______________________________ Synonym Corydoras coeruleus ______________________________ Adult size in the aquarium.... both sexes reach about 8 centimetres. ______________________________ Sexing Females are slightly larger and plumper. Females also have pinkish bellies, while males have slightly yellowish bellies. ______________________________ Diet Omnivore in the aquarium.... they will generally eat live, frozen, flake and sinking pellet foods. in the wild.... they feed on aquatic insect larvae and other food they find shifting through the substrate. ______________________________ Swimming level They inhabit the bottom level of the tank, spending most of their time nosing through the substrate in search of food. ______________________________ Recommended for Peaceful tropical community tank; beginners to experienced fishkeepers; well-established tank; South American biotope tank; breeders.

Rating Availability Hardiness Overall appeal

Species description

• Physical description....
• Brochis splendens have a nice greenish-bronze body colour, which is where the common name of Emerald Catfish comes from.
• The underside is a yellowy cream colour, contrasting with the upper body colour of emerald green.
• The body is stocky and deep and they have an arched back.
• They have two rows of bony plates on either side of the body, with the upper row having more plates than the lower row.
• The fins are tan to bronze in colour.
• The first hard ray of the dorsal fin is longer than the other rays.
• The have a steeply sloping forehead and a long nose.
• Two pairs of barbels are located on the upper jaw.
• The caudal fin is crescent shaped, with longer extensions in adults.
• You may still see this fish named as Brochis coeruleus in some literature, a synonym which was used to describe juveniles of this fish, which are superficially different in colour to the adults.
• Taxonomy....
  • Kingdom: Animalia
    • Phylum: Chordata: Sub-phylum: Vertebrates - Group: Fish
      • Class: Osteichthyes (Bony Fish): Sub-class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fish)
        • Order: Siluriformes (Catfish)
• Family: Callichthyidae: Subfamily: Corydoradinae
• Genus: Brochis
• Species: splendens
• Geographical variants....
  • There are no geographical variants or colour forms of this species.
• Similar species....
  • Brochis splendens is similar to other Brochis species - B. britski and B. multiradiatus - all three species are available in Queensland.
  • Images:
    • Brochis splendens (below left); Brochis multiradiatus (below centre); Brochis britski (below right)

  
  

  • They also have a passing resemblance to the Bronze Cory.
  • Brochis splendens is larger than the Bronze Cory and can be distinguished by having more dorsal fin rays (10-12 rather than the 6-8 of the Bronze Cory) which gives them a longer dorsal fin.
  • Brochis splendens also has a more pointed head, is greener in colour and is deeper in body, with a higher arch in the back.
  • The shape of the caudal fin is also different, with it being more crescent shaped in Brochis splendens.
  • Images:
    • Brochis splendens (below left); Corydoras aeneus (below right)

  
  

Habitat information

• The habitat of Brochis splendens consists of soft, acidic, slower-moving waters that contain a lot of vegetation. Their native waters tend to have a sandy substrate.
• Brochis splendens are found in several locations:
  • in Brazil they are found in the Rio Tocantins;
  • in Peru they are found in the Upper Amazon near Iquitos, the Rio Ambiyacu and Rio Orosa and their tributaries; and
• in Ecuador they are found in the Rio Napo.

Aquarium care
The following information relating to tank size, decoration and tank mates is indicative and intended to be used as a rough guide only. Other possible tank mates are listed under Compatibility and there are many plants and decorations that can be used - just ask us.

• Tank ideas ....
  • The minimum size tank Brochis splendens should be kept in is around 60 centimetres (25 inches).
• A larger tank will be necessary if you want to keep them with larger tropical community fish such as Discus or Angelfish.
• Brochis splendens should be kept in tanks that are longer tanks with less depth, as they will make occasional runs to the surface to breathe atmospheric air.
• Tall column-shaped tanks aren't suitable for this fish as they need to be able to easily reach the surface.
• Biotope tank example -
  This tank recreates an Amazon rainforest stream. These streams contain fallen trees and branches and leaf litter. To reflect the lush vegetation of these waters use plenty of plants and driftwood to create a shadowy effect.
  
  • Tank capacity: 230 litres.
  • Tank type: HR-1000
    
    • 100 centimetres (40 inches)
    • 2 x 30W; 1 x 20W fluorescent tubes
  • Fish ideas:
  • 3 x Brochis splendens
  • 5 x Cleithracara maronii
  • 6 x Nannostomus marginatus
  • 3 x Otocinclus vittatus
  • 9 x Paracheirodon innesi
  • Building the tank:
    • Background - eg. external printed Amazon tree trunk background.
    • Substrate - 3mm Coffs Harbour gravel; black gravel; aquarium peat: 30:10 ratio and a bag of peat. Mix the two gravels and half the bag of peat toether. Spread the remaining gravel and peat on the surgface to create a dappled appearance.
    • Decoration - Driftwood; ancient ruins; river stones.
      
    • Plants - Suitable plants include Pygmy Chain Sword (Echinodoras tenellus); Milfoil (Myriophyllum aquaticum); Hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis).
• Maintenance and Disease....
  • It is important that the substrate in the tank is rounded as the barbels are importatnt to the fish in finding food. The barbels form a funnel into the mouth, allowing it to taste what it is eating and to identify things that shouldn't be eaten.
  • They need good water conditions and do not like nitrates in the water. Regular partial water changes will keep them happy.
  • Healthy fish will have an emerald green sheen over the body and their barbels will not show signs of abrasion.
  • In the wild, they are often seen feeding upon insect larvae, worms, small crustaceans, and whatever else inhabits the vegetation that lines the banks of their riverine homes.
  • In the aquarium they need a good balanced diet and should be fed a good quality flake or sinking pellet food (such as HBH Shrimp Pellets) everyday. Live black worms or frozen bloodworms can be fed as a treat. If feeding flake, make sue they are getting enough to eat if they are in a mixed community tank.
  • Water parameters:
    • pH: acidic to alkaline (5.8-8.0: optimum 7.0)
    • Hardness: soft to hard (2-30dH: optimum 10)
    • Temperature: 22-28oC.
      
• Compatibility....
  • Brochis splendens is a peaceful, undemanding fish that is ideal for tropical community tanks and beginners, as well as experienced fishkeepers.
  • The Emerald Catfish is a gregarious fish that likes to be with others of its own kind. It should be kept in groups of three or more fish.
  • Do not keep with substantially larger, aggressive fish such as large cichlids.
  • Fin-nippers may also damage their fins and tail and some Tetras and cichlids are known to attack the eyes of amoured catfish.
  • They will not harm other fish or plants.

• Breeding....
  • Spawning is initiated by adding cooler water to the tank.
  • The fish need to be conditioned before spawning. This can be done with live food such as blackworms and frozen food such as bloodworms.
  • If you want to spawn them, recommended values for the water are:
    
    • Temperature of 22oC
    • pH of 6.0, and
    • hardness of 2-4dH.
  • When ready to spawn, females will be very plump and her colours will be a lot brighter, with the green much more iridescent.
  • The Emerald Catfish usually spawns in groups consisting of one male and several females. Each spawning produces 5-12 eggs and lasts between 1-3 hours.
  • Brochis splendens is an egg-scatterer. In the aquarium, females will collect the fertilised eggs in a pelvic fin basket and deposit them individually on plants, rocks, driftwood and other objects. After spawning is done, about 200 eggs will have been laid on leaves, roots, stones and tank glass.
  • The parents don't look after the eggs, so they can be removed and placed in a rearing tank. The fry hatch in 5-6 days, at which time they swim immediately to the bottom. The fry should be fed fry food initially.
  • The fry have a high rounded dorsal fin that is nearly as tall as their bodies are long. The bodies are marbled until about four weeks, when they start to turn green.
  • Breeding the Emerald Catfish is reasonably difficult.
  • They may begin to breed at around a year and a half old and about seven centimetres in size.
    Special breeding notes....
  • Brochis splendens is harder to raise from eggs than many of the Corydoras and similar catfish.
  • The eggs have a tendency to fungus during the incubation period. The addition of methylene blue or a similar antifungal to an incubatory tank may be necessary to inhibit the growth of fungus.

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• References....
  Web sites
  Fishbase
  Books
  The Aquarium Fish Handbook (Silverdale Books, 2002)
  Baensch Aquarium Atlas Vol 1 (Mergus, 1996)
  Back to Nature Aquarium Guide (Cichlid Press, 2000)
  The Complete Encyclopedia of Tropical Fish (Grange Books, 2000)
  

 

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