ARTICLE
Sucker mouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp):
A major threat to the aquaculture system
E. Hino Fernando1, A. Gopalakannan2 and A. Mathivanan3
1, 2, 3
ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Sikkal, Nagapattinam
Introduction
Sucker mouth catfish, a popular ornamental freshwater
fish kept in aquarium tanks is native to northern South
America, introduced to the aquatic habitats of at least 17
countries in the Americas, Asia and
Europe. Pterygoplichthys spp. have many life history traits
that make them successful invaders: they are covered in
armoured plates, can tolerate any environmental conditions
and the ability to colonise anthropogenically-disturbed
habitats, provide parental care through nest-building and
egg-guarding, and have the ability to breathe air in hypoxic
conditions. Because of their rapid maturation, high densities
and longevity, Pterygoplichthys spp. can rapidly monopolize
nutrient resources, change food webs, increase turbidity and
could damage the pond bottom through nest building,
compete for food and physically inhibit other aquatic
organisms. In addition to ecological impacts, the
socioeconomic losses to the fish farmers of introduced
population can be severe. In India majority of the inland
water bodies including farm ponds are dominated by wild
population of Pterygoplichthys spp. Sucker mouth catfish
are of little or no value as a food fish, although they are at
least occasionally consumed over their native range.
However, demand exists for them in the aquarium trade.
53 AQUA STAR www.aquastarmagazine.com
Research should focus more on the impact of invasiveness
of this species in the environment and the effect on the
indigenous species of the country.
Scenario in India
Pterygoplichthys pardalis and P. multiradiatus are among
the most popular tropical aquarium fish species found in
South India (Knight, 2010). It is difficult to keep them in
tanks when it grows to a bigger size and the traders find it
difficult to keep them in tanks and therefore release them
into the natural drainages. In India P. multiradiatus has been
reported from Vylathur and the Chackai Canal of Kerala
(Krishnakumar et al., 2009), wetlands of Chennai (Knight,
2010), Pterygoplichthys anisitsi from Bihar (Sinha et al.,
2010), Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus and P. pardalis from
Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
(Singh, 2014). Breeding populations of Pterygoplichthys
disjunctivus and Pterygoplichthys pardalis, were also
recorded in Gomokpota beel under East Kolkata Wetlands
(DARE/ICAR Annual Report, 2008–2009).
Pterygoplichthys spp. disperse in the pond embankment of
East Kolkata Wetland was also observed.
Global Distribution
Species of Pterygoplichthys are widespread invasive fish
known from many areas outside their native ranges. Several
factors that probably contribute to the successful invasion
of Pterygoplichthys (loricariids) world over are
O Ability to withstand poor water conditions (pollution),
O Toleration of poor oxygen content in water by means
of accessory respiration,
O Capacity to down regulate metabolism during periods
of scarcity of food,
O Less vulnerability to predation due to spiny fins and
hard external ‘armour’,
O Occasional migrations across land,
APRIL - 2020
 ARTICLE
O Prolonged reproductive period, batch spawning and
active parental care.
Native to the streams, floodplain lakes and marshes of
South America, the sucker mouth sailfin catfish
Pterygoplichthys spp. have successfully invaded inland
water bodies of various countries across the world, including
Florida, Mexico and continental United States, Europe,
Israel, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Turkey, Malaysia, Philippines,
Indonesia and Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India (Krishnakumar et al., 2009,
Knight, 2010, Sinha et al., 2010; Nico and Martin 2001;
Zworykin and Budaev, 2013; Sumanasinghe and
Amarasinghe, 2013). In many waterways Pterygoplichthys
have become a major component of the aquatic community
in terms of both numbers of individuals and fish biomass.
Sucker mouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus)
Sucker mouth catfish has been identified as a great threat
to global freshwater diversity. Occurrence of the species in
the wild is reported to alter the entire system and change
the physico-chemical nature of water. Furthermore, it will
out compete the native algae consumers and aggressively
drive them away from the system. It also creates serious
negative impacts on periphyton-feeding and bottom-
spawning fishes. Besides, it consumes the eggs of native
species, which leads to local extinction of indigenous
varieties. A study by Bijukumar et al. in the drainages of
Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, revealed a constant
declining trend in native species yield due to high invasion
of suckermouth fishes. The number of fishes collected by
the cast net each time varied from 3 to 27 throughout the
study period, which indicates the dominant biomass of the
species in the system. Interestingly, another species of sucker
mouth catfish Pterygoplichthys pardalis was reported to
cause huge damage to the native species diversity of
Vandiyur Lake, Madurai, southern India. The biomass of
Pterygoplichthys pardalis clearly shows the negative impacts
of this exotic aquarium fish on inland aquaculture in terms
of diminished production of edible fishes. Further,
Pterygoplichthys pardalis does not hold any market value.
So after harvest people discard the species on the banks of
54 AQUA STAR www.aquastarmagazine.com
the lake, where it is not even scavenged. Besides, the sucker
mouth catfish has also been reported to affect other biota in
the aquatic system. For instance, the physical cover and food
for aquatic insects are destroyed by the sucker mouth fish.
The strong dorsal and pectoral spines of the catfish cause
death of piscivorous birds such as brown pelican (Pelecanus
occidentalis). Furthermore, the bottom-plowing behaviour
of the suckermouth affects the composition of the aquatic
vegetation. The nesting behaviour of this species also leads
to small-scale bank/bund erosion. The sucker mouth is also
known to cause economic losses by damaging fishing gears,
especially cast and gill nets.
Entry route
The ever-increasing global trade of ornamental aquarium
fishes is one of the most important and yet poorly
documented pathways for aquatic invasion. Interestingly,
ornamental fish trade in India is dominated by several alien
fish varieties, such as angel fish, arowana, goldfish, gourami,
guppy, koi carp, oscar, pacu, platy, piranha, swordtail and
sucker mouth catfish. Besides, more than 200 alien aquarium
fish species are now bred in different parts of India by
untrained local vendors. Recently, researchers have
identified some of the important pathways for the entry of
ornamental fishes into the wild.
In most cases, the hobbyists release the healthy
ornamental fishes when they tire of them, or when they
become too large to be accommodated in their aquarium.
Besides, most of the species entered into the wild during
monsoon floods from the local breeding sites. Apparently,
most of the local breeding sites are in the form of small
cement cisterns or earthen ponds, plastic-lined pools,
homestead ponds and granite quarries. Obviously all the sites
are not properly protected/fenced and hence the exotic
ornamental fishes can easily enter into the adjoining natural
ecosystem during monsoon floods. Some of the ornamental
species even enter into the new geographical boundary
during the river-linking projects. For instance, Badis badis,
Pethia gelius, Osteobrama cotio and Lepidocephalus guntea
have invaded Chennai lakes only after the river-linking
projects.
APRIL - 2020
 ARTICLE
Impact on aquatic ecosystem
Several studies have clearly emphasized that alien fishes
frequently alter the aquatic ecology by changing water
quality (e.g. increase in nitrogen and phosphorus
concentration) and also cause the extinction of native fishes
by predation (destroying the eggs, larvae, sub adults and
adults), damaging the aquatic vegetation and exploiting the
food resources7,27,28 . Besides, a number of alien fish
species also hybridize with indigenous species in the wild,
diluting the wild genetic stock leading to long-term
introgression of gene pools27 . Mostly, the invasion of
aquarium fishes triggers the native species decline and
ecological destruction of the native system20 . However, in
India, there is no detailed study which discusses the impacts
of ornamental fishes in every tropic level. Majority of the
Indian studies reported about the occurrence of the species
in the inland water rather than its detailed impacts on the
system. Besides, it is worth mentioning here that the decline
of native fish variety will affect the livelihood, health and
general wellbeing of the rural and indigenous community28
. In order to create awareness among different groups about
the deleterious role of aquarium fishes in the wild, this article
discusses some of the important impacts (biological/
ecological) of ornamental species reported in several parts
of the world and in India as well.
Impact on native species
Many fish farmers are well aware about the ecological
threat already prevailing to the indigenous fish biodiversity
in India. The production rate of native carp species is
declining due to the illegal introduction of unwanted fishes
into the environment. The introduction will not only degrade
the ecology but also compete for space and food. Sucker
mouth catfishes, however, affect all of these ecosystem
components and processes. They degrade physical habitats
(i.e., removing algal cover, uprooting aquatic plants, altering
bank topography), compete directly with native fishes (i.e.,
small herbivorous fishes, larger crevice-dwelling fishes),
and could prey on native fishes (i.e., via incidental ingestion
of demersal eggs). However, they also affect ecosystems at
lower and higher trophic levels. By ingesting mud and
55 AQUA STAR www.aquastarmagazine.com
grazing, they impact primary productivity (e.g., via changes
in sediment size and algal standing crops) and secondary
productivity (e.g., bypassing consumer levels of food webs).
Conclusion
Global ornamental fish trade has emerged as a billion
dollar business which has increased the export at an average
rate of approximately 14% annually. During 2009, India’s
overall ornamental fish trade was about US$ 1.06 million.
On the other hand, ornamental fishes introduced into the
wild pose a serious threat to Indian aquatic diversity. Sucker
mouth catfishes are the popular species introduced into the
ecosystem and regarded as invaders worldwide. An adaption
to the wide variety of food availability, this species can
multiply in a short span of time and could become a threat
to indigenous fish diversity. Also, they have the ability to
breathe air from the surface of the water during dry periods
and those in which dissolved oxygen is too low. Although
multi-level impacts of this variety and magnitude have not
yet been properly documented in India, they are silently
mounting pressure on the already dwindling indigenous
fishes in many open waters particularly of peninsular India.
The National Committee on Introduction of Aquatic Species
is entitled to screen the entry of exotic aquatic species before
they are introduced into India. Besides, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India guidelines for the import
of ornamental fishes, which states the importance of pre-
quarantine certificate from the exporting countries. The
guidelines also reiterates the post-quarantine follow-up.
However, traders and hobbyists frequently breach the rules
in India and introduce several ornamental fish species,
including the notorious carnivorous piranha. Unless strict
measures to curb the introduction of exotic ornamental fishes
into the inland water bodies, our system will soon emerge
as breeding grounds for exotic ornamental fishes which will
eventually drive out India’s native, indigenous freshwater
fishes. Hence, innovative barriers, management techniques,
and public awareness programs especially aquarists, to avoid
releasing their unwanted fishes into open waters are urgently
required to protect our fish diversity from these nuisance
species.
APRIL - 2020