Taxonomy & naming
Amarginops ornatus was described by Boulenger in 1902 from Monsembé on the Upper Congo and the Ubangi River at Banzyville, as a Chrysichthys. The Catalog of Fishes places it in Amarginops, in the family Claroteidae, so the parentheses around the authority mark the move. The store label Chrysichthys ornatus is the older combination.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum of 10 in SL and the name ornate bagrid. It is a bagrid-shaped catfish with the usual four pairs of barbels and spines. Colour details are not recorded in the sources used here.
Habitat
FishBase lists the lower and middle Congo River basin, including the Ubangi, the Tshuapa, Pool Malebo and the Kwilu, as a demersal freshwater fish with a recorded temperature of 68–77 °F.
Feeding
Diet is not recorded in the FishBase entry. Chrysichthys-like claroteids eat invertebrates and small fish.
Mating
Courtship is not recorded.
Breeding
Breeding is not recorded.
In the aquarium
It suits a large tank with a sandy floor and shelter. Keep it at 68–77 °F, per FishBase, and do not combine it with small fish. Handle with care because of the pectoral spines.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Amarginops ornatus as Least Concern in 2009. No species-specific threats are listed in the sources used here.