Taxonomy & naming
George S. Myers described Brachyrhamdia imitator in 1927 from Caño de Quiribana near Caicara in Venezuela. It belongs to Heptapteridae, the long-whiskered catfishes of South America. The Catalog of Fishes lists the name as valid.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum of 2 in SL. Brachyrhamdia species wear bold dark and pale patterns, and the epithet imitator is Latin for one who copies. Like other heptapterids it has long, thin barbels and a naked skin.
Habitat
FishBase records the species from the Caura River basin in the Orinoco drainage of Venezuela, as a freshwater bottom fish of the tropics. It gives a temperature of 70–77 °F, a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, and a hardness upper limit of 18 dH.
Feeding
The cached FishBase entry has no diet. Heptapterids of this size eat small invertebrates and take sinking live and frozen foods, mostly after dark.
Mating
Mating behaviour is not described for this species.
Breeding
No breeding record is known to the atlas for Brachyrhamdia imitator.
In the aquarium
Keep it in a tank of soft to moderately hard, slightly acidic to neutral water at the FishBase range of 70–77 °F, with caves and a sand floor. It is a peaceful fish for its size, and it is best with other small, calm fishes. Offer food after the lights dim.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List carries Brachyrhamdia imitator as Least Concern, assessed in August 2017.