Taxonomy & naming
Eigenmann described this fish in 1912 as a species of Leptodoras, and it now stands in Tenellus. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, CAS) lists Tenellus leporhinus (Eigenmann, 1912) as valid, in Doradidae, the thorny or talking catfishes. The type locality is Tumatumari on the lower Potaro River in the Essequibo basin, Guyana.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum of 7 in SL. Like other doradids it has a row of bony plates along the flank, each carrying a spine, and long barbels. The species name joins the Latin lepus, hare, with the Greek rhis, nose, referring to the snout.
Habitat
FishBase records a freshwater demersal fish of the Orinoco, Branco and Essequibo River basins. It gives a pH range of 6.5 to 7.0, hardness up to 20 dH and a temperature range of 72–77 °F.
Feeding
FishBase records no diet. Small doradids eat bottom invertebrates and take sinking pellets and frozen foods such as bloodworm in aquaria.
Mating
Courtship and spawning behaviour are not recorded in the available sources.
Breeding
No breeding record is available for this species.
In the aquarium
A peaceful night-active catfish for a tank with sand or fine gravel, caves and roots. Doradids hide in groups by day, so keep several if space allows and feed after the lights go out. The plate spines tangle in nets, so move the fish in a container. FishBase gives 72–77 °F, pH 6.5 to 7.0 and hardness up to 20 dH. Keep tankmates too large to be swallowed.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assesses Tenellus leporhinus as Least Concern (assessment of 6 August 2020).