are now on ScotCat, just one short of 300 factsheets
over the last 24 years from 1997 to 2021, and so to
the month of May 2021 we take a look at the African
catfish family, Schilbeidae and a small but easily
kept glass cat species Parailia pellucida. This
genera differs from the Asian Glass catfish of the
Siluridae, Kryptopterus, by having no dorsal
fin, whereas the Asian Glass cats do.
Parailia genus contains five species: P.
congica Boulenger, 1899, the type genus, P.
occidentalis (Pellegrin, 1901), P. somalensis
(Vinciguerra, 1897),P. spiniserrata
Svensson, 1933, and of course our catfish of
the month Parailia pellucida. They all inhabit
a vast amount of waters in West Africa with P.
being the exception in East Africa.
- shoal or school
This is not a
very common species in your local aquatic shop but
they are very abundant in the wild and are exported
on occasions, and if you have a large tank and are
looking for a species that swims in the upper layers
of your aquarium they will do the job admiringly,
but be aware that you will need to buy at least half
a dozen or preferably more of these glass cats as
they will not survive very long on their own as they
need company to form schools as they do in their natural
I personally house
a shoal of them in a 6ft tank alongside other African
glass cats such as the common "Debawi cats"
which mostly composes of the Pareutropius
genera, buffei or sometimes the more rarer
debawi. They will all school together with no
problem and are a delight to watch at feeding time.
Distrbution:Africa: Nile River,
Chad Basin, several west African river basins. Type
Omdurman, Nile River.
The type species of Parailia
pellucida is near theNile River city
of Omdurman. Omdurman is the most populated city
in Sudan and Khartoum State, lying on the western
banks of the River Nile, opposite the capital, Khartoum.
This is a wide-ranging species
known from the Senegal/Mauritania border to Sudan.
Central Africa: In Lower Guinea
it is known only from the Cross and Wouri River
basins. Northern Africa: It has
been recorded from Mauritania. North-eastern
Africa: It occurs in the upper White Nile.
This species is known from the basins of Chad, Niger,
lower Senegal, Boubo, Bandama, Agnébi, Volta,
Mono, Ouémé, Ogun and coastal lagoons
of Nigeria and Cross.
The standard length of this
species is reported to be 12.0cm. (4¾ins)
but aquarium specimens rarely reach this size.
Nile River, Chad Basin, several west African river
basins. Type locality: Omdurman,
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal
soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays:
60 - 78; Vertebrae: 44 - 50. Dorsal fin absent; adipose
fin always present; inner side of pectoral-fin spine
variably denticulate, with small to rather well developed
serrations; 60-78 soft rays in anal fin. Vomerine
In general no small dark
blotch at the base of the caudal fin. The body is
transparent thus the specific name of pellucida
meaning "transparent or translucent".
The swimbladder and spinal colomn are readily visible
inside the fish. Sometimes there can be dark melanophores
scattered randomly on the surface of the body. The
rest of the fins are clear.
Care & Compatibility
As with other members of this
genus it will fare better in a school of at least
four to six specimens and a good filtration with good
water quality. Provide some plants and a low light
to the aquarium.
are unguarded. One report in 1977 by Lauster on a
chance finding of 8 fry appearing among the Java fern.
Males have a genital
papillae which is cylindrical to conical. The females
has this short and withdrawn into the body, with a
broad pore at its tip.
In its natural habitat, feeds
mainly on small planktonic and benthic insects and
crustaceans. In the aquarium, small live foods such
as artemia, mosquito larvae (frozen) and
a good quality flake food.
Fleshy finlike projection without rays, behind the
rayed dorsal fin. Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally
located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on
the posterior half of the fish. Dorsal fin:The
primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body. Melanophores:
The pigment cells that permit colour change, and the
concentration of pigment granules within these cells
determine the type of colour that is produced. Pectoral fin: The paired fins just
behind the head. Vomerine teeth: Teeth present on
the vomer which is the anterior bone in the mid-line
of the roof of the mouth.
the Latin "pellucidus" (translucent, transparent),
referring to the translucent body in live individuals
of this "glass catfish"
H.A. and R. Riehl
1985 Aquarien atlas. Band 2. Mergus, Verlag für
Natur- und Heimtierkunde GmbH, Melle, Germany. 1216
p. De Vos, L., 1995. Results of a systematic
revision of African schilbeids at the species level.
p.113-364. In L. De Vos. A systematic revision of
the African Schilbeidae (Teleostei, Siluriformes)
with an annotated bibliography, Chapter 3. Ann. Mus.
R. Afr. Centr. Zool. vol. 271. Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist
of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes),
and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa
1418:1-628. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors.
2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, ( 12/2019 ). IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. Version 2020-2. Available at:
www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 13 June 2020). Seegers, L.
2008 The catfishes of Africa. A handbook for identification
and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany.