Tiger catfish

Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum
As the name suggests, these catfish have bold stripey and blotchy markings along their sides, in shades of bronze and brown. Like other catfish they have a series of sensitive whiskers or barbels that surround the mouth and allow catfish to search out their prey after dark, or in very cloudy water. The eyes are small, also indicating that this is a species that relies less on sight and more on other senses. These fish can grow to 130 cm.
Tiger catfish live in river channels and areas of flooded forest in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, where they patrol the bottom looking for food. They are most active after dark, spending their days well hidden under stones or logs.
Tiger catfish spawn in January. The eggs are fertilised as they are shed into the water. A single female can produce millions of eggs: over 150,000 eggs per kilo of her body weight. Juvenile fish spend more time in flooded forests where, in amongst the branches and roots, they are safer from predators.
This fresh-water carnivore originates from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru and Venezuela.
Photos by Dusko Bojic.