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 e again welcome back to ScotCat, author and catfish expert Chris Ralph and a look at one of his favourite members of the Callichthyidae family, the Hog-nosed Brochis, Brochis multiradiatus (now Brochis multiradiata) for the month of March 2007. I now hand you over to Chris.

Brochis multiradiata is one of the largest of the Brochis group of catfish and is very popular amongst a number of catfish enthusiasts myself included. Unfortunately Brochis multiradiata is not commonly available to the hobbyist. When this truly majestic catfish is available expect to pay £15-£25 for an adult fish. When observing these catfish the aquarist is taken in by the ability of this catfish to almost “wink” at you (Brochis multiradiata along with its close cousins the “Cory’s” can roll their eyes), (see update at bottom of page).

Brochis multiradiata

Brochis multiradiata belongs to the family Callichthyidae from Ecuador; namely the eastern tributary of the Rio Lagartococha near the town of Garza- Cocha, in the Upper Napo river system; Peru; namely the Amazon basin Rio Samiria drainage: Quebrada Santa and Rio Yavari drainage: Benjamin Constant. Brochis multiradiata is also documented as being found in South America namely the western Amazon River basin (which covers Ecuador and Peru) and Bolivia.

The image below shows the longer head and barbel arrangement of Brochis multiradiata.

Brochis multiradiata - head view

Brochis multiradiata prefer to be kept in water which has a pH in the range of 6.0-7.2, and hardness in the range up to 15.0 dGH. This catfish is ideally suited to temperatures in the range of 21-24ºC.

I would suggest a tank of the minimum size of 30” x 15” X 12” for a shoal of these fascinating catfish. The preferred substrate for keeping these catfish should be good quality aquarium sand such as BD Aquarium Sand, or very smooth rounded gravel in order to prevent their barbels from being damaged. The aquarium should provide some shelter in the form of rocks, bogwood and aquatic plants. As with all other species of fish, water quality and general husbandry is very important, and I would recommend that a minimum of 25% water is changed on a fortnightly basis.

UPDATE (2020): Brochis was synonymised with Corydoras by Britto in 2003 but in time there will be a revision which will resurrect Brochis (Cope, 1871) to full genera again so in the meantime we are sticking with Brochis as there is marked differences with the both genera. Brochis is included in Lineage 8 (sub-clade 1) with the "intermediate long-snouts" with deeper bodies.

As of the latest revision (Dias et al 2024) Brochis multiradiatus has been placed in Lineage 8 sub clade 1 and keeps the genus name of Brochis and a change to the specific name to multiradiata.

Hog-nosed Brochis or Long-finned Brochis

Chaenothorax multiradiatus, Brochis multiradiatus

Corydoradinae

South America: Ecuador, Western affluent of the Rio Lagartococha, upper Napo system. zil, Paraguay (upper Rio Paraguay).

90mm s.l. (standard length – this is the measurement of the fish from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal peduncle).

21-24°C (69-75°F)

The body shape of Brochis multiradiata is triangular which is typical of most of the “Corydoras spp” within the family Callichthyidae. The body of this fish is deep, with adults having a noticeably longer snout. The dorsal fin has 15-18 soft rays; although Brochis multiradiata usually has 17 soft rays.

The base colour of the body and head varies from a dull brownish/grey to bluish or greenish metallic coloured. The lower half of the ventrolateral body scutes can be light yellow to light pink in colour. A good specimen will have a true emerald green colouration to the flanks and dorsal area, with a pinkish tinge to the ventral region. There can be a presence of colour in the fins of juveniles, but this disappears as the fish matures leaving perfectly clear fins in an adult. The pectoral fin spines are coloured.

Wherever possible I would recommend that the aquarist keep these catfish in groups of six, but as the absolute minimum I would suggest three specimens. In their natural habitat Brochis multiradiata would be found in very large shoals. Brochis multiradiata are quite at home with other members of the family Callichthyidae. These catfish are ideally suited to being kept in a community aquarium environment with other species of fish such as Cardinal tetras, other small catfish such as Corydoras and Dwarf cichlids such as any of the Apistogramma spp.

As far as I am aware there are no documented records of Brochis multiradiata having been spawned in aquaria to date (2007).

As with all the other Brochis that I have had the pleasure to keep over the years, Brochis multiradiata readily accepts a mixed and varied diet. I personally feed all of my Brochis on sinking catfish pellets, good quality flake foods, granular foods, cultured whiteworm and frozen foods such as bloodworm.

Brochis: a sling which is a reference to the structure of the barbels; from the Greek meaning inkhorn in reference to the fact that this catfish resembles one.
multiradiatus: Many (fin) ray.

Photo Credits

Images: Chris Ralph