Ripsaw Catfish

Photo by Animals Through The Ages

Ripsaw Catfish

length: 39 in (100 cm)

weight: 29 lbs (13 kg)

Diet: Omnivorous

Scientific name: Oxydoras Niger

Geographical Range: Amazon Rainforest

Names

Oxydoras Niger is called the Ripsaw catfish because it has thorns that resemble a saw. They are used to try to damage a potential predator in order to protect itself. Other names include: Black doras, Black shielded catfish

Habitat

The Ripsaw catfish lives in the Amazon Rainforest rivers in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, Peru, and Brazil. It prefers to live in large rivers with lots of space for them to move around in. These fish can be found in aquariums and prefer temperatures that range in 75-85 °F (24-29.8 °C).

Diet

The Ripsaw catfish is omnivorous and will eat a lot of things including crustaceans, fruits, and seeds. It will not eat large fish like itself but it might eat smaller fish that can fit in its mouth. The fish has also been found to have mud and decomposing leaves in its stomach which would make it a detritivore as well.

Migration

This fish takes part in a migration called piracema. This migration takes place after many fish spawn in the lower part of the Amazon Rainforests and start to swim upstream back to where they usually live. This usually takes place around and lasts for about four months and about forty species of fish take place in this amazing migration.

Invasive Species

One Ripsaw catfish was found in Florida but no other population has been found and was probably due to an aquarium releasing this animal, so it is not invasive to Florida. It is not invasive to anywhere else that we know of.

Sources

Oldfield, Ron. “Oxydoras Niger (Black Doras).” Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Oxydoras_niger/.

“Seriously Fish.” Oxydoras Niger (Ripsaw Catfish) - Seriously Fish, www.seriouslyfish.com/species/oxydoras-niger/.

U.S Fish & Wildlife Service: Ripsaw Catfish (Oxydoras Niger) Ecological Risk Screening Summary. 1 May 2020, www.fws.gov/fisheries/ANS/erss/uncertainrisk/ERSS-Oxydoras-niger_FINALApr2020.pdf.

“Oxydoras Niger Summary Page.” FishBase, https://www.fishbase.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php? ID=12108&AT=Ripsaw%2BCatfish.