Hello fellow fishkeepers and hobbyists. I offer a special, 78-84 degree welcome (get it? a WARM welcome! HAHAHA) to the catfish enthusiasts out there. Can I get a shout out from my peeps? WAZZZAAAA!!!
So, why am I writing this article, and why are you reading it? This article is about one of, if not THE favorite catfish I have ever had the pleasure to own. So, without further ado, I present to you...
So, why am I writing this article, and why are you reading it? This article is about one of, if not THE favorite catfish I have ever had the pleasure to own. So, without further ado, I present to you...
ASTEROPHYSUS BATRACHUS!!!
aka: GULPER CATFISH
aka: GULPER CATFISH
Up until recently, this catfish was inaccessible to all but the wealthiest of fish keepers. Specimens as small as a couple of inches were already commanding prices in the hundreds of dollars. Fortunately for us more modest fish keepers, increased interest and demand for this fish has led to larger numbers of gulpers being imported and, therefore, lower prices. Keep in mind, however, that these are still expensive fish, ranging in prices from $60-120+ in the United States. Although these fish look great when kept with conspecifics, do not be intimidated to pick up only one. They do fine by themselves as well. 
Physical Description
The gulper reaches reported sizes of 12-13" in the wild. However, 10-11" seems to be more common in the average home aquaria. They, like most catsfish, are long lived animals, so with good care expect yours to live 15+ years. As the name suggests, this fish's most notable feature is it's extremely large, upturned mouth. This gaping chasm extends well past the gulper's small, beady eye, and permits the gulper to swallow prey much larger than themselves. At first look, they do not seem to have teeth. In reality their mouths are have rows of rough, sand-paper like bristles that help grab onto their meals.
Another feature of the gulper is it's soft, elastic skin, most notable after a large meal when the gulper rests on it's distended belly. The skin is velvety to the touch, and ranges from a light brown to a pitch black in color. The gulper also sports a fashionable white tummy. The gulper has small fins for a fish of it's girth. It sports a dorsal and adipose fin on top, a broad caudal fin, two small pectoral fins, two caudally situated pelvic fins, and an anal fin. One must also be careful when handling the gulper, since it has a sharp first ray on it's dorsal and pectoral fins. Often before transport, shippers will clip the end of these rays to keep the from puncturing the bag. the problem is that this may lead to infection if done incorrectly, so keep a close watch on newly imported specimens. The final touch are the gulper's three pairs of barbels. Avoid any decorations that might harm these charming, yet delicate, appendages. Your gulper will be thankful for it
Water and Tank Specifics
These fish hail from the mighty Amazon river. As such, you can expect their ideal conditions to be like that of other South American fish...
Temperature: 75-84F (24-29C)
pH: 5.6-6.8
Hardness: very soft, acidic water. Consider blackwater extract or driftwood to achieve this effect if you have hard water
A word of advice; these are tough fish. They can adapt to higher pH's and can tolerate cooler or warmer water. But be advised. Large and prolonged deviations from a fish's natural habitat conditions are almost sure to produce short or long-term detrimental effects on your gulper's health.
As for tank size, this is a debated issue. Despite being a relatively large fish, they do not require much room. These are lazy, goofy fish. Their idea of exercise includes playing king of the hill (where the hill is a fellow group of gulpers) and swimming into powerhead streams. When I decide to observe my gulpers at night, I usually find them in synchrony, bellies pressed on the glass and swimming against my filter's gentle current. During the day, however, they can usually be found loafing around the tank, taking big gulps of water in a way that makes it look like they're talking to each other. For a single gulper, a 40g tank should be adequate for life. Groups of 3-4 will be very comfortable in tanks 75g or larger.
Feeding
Aaaah, everyone's favorite part, and often the reason people buy gulpers. The gulper is not a picky fish, but it is greedy. I have yet to get them to eat veggies however. These fish cannot be bothered with small morsels, so put aside those flakes and bloodworms. I have gotten mine to eat shrimp (without the head or tail because of the sharp shell), strips of tilapia fillet, small bluegills, scallops, earthworms, nightcrawlers, and larger sinking pellets. Remember to keep the diet varied. Also remember that these fish are insatiable. Sure, it is fun to see them stuff themselves until they turn into little basketballs, but it is healthier and easier on their digestive systems to give them several smaller meals during the week than large meals with periods of fasting in between. Not much else to say here, so I included some interesting feeding videos
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Tankmates
Aaaaah, everyone's least favorite part. On second thought, I should have included this section in with feeding, but oh well. Gulpers WILL eat similar sized tankmates. Heck, they'll eat tankmates over twice their size given the opportunity. Gulpers will gobble gouramis, devour datnoids, bite bichirs, engulf eels, aspirate arowanas, chow down on catfish, peck at peacock bass, swallow silver dollars, and, well, you get the point. Unless tankmates are CONSIDERABLY larger than the gulper, they will not be safe. When I say larger, I do not mean just lenghttwise. There have been documented cases of gulpers as small as 3 and 6 inches eating arowanas as large as 8 and 13 inches, respectively. For a tankmate to be safe with a gulper, it should be at least as long as the gulper, and wider than the gulper's mouth. Even still it is not necessarily safe. These pictures and video are for your entertainme...er I mean education
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139416&highlight=koltsix
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130073&highlight=koltsix
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Breeding
Sorry, I have yet to breed my gulpers, or heard of anyone who has. I've heard rumors, but have seen no hard evidence. It probably is possible, but not too many people keep enough gulpers together for it to have happened yet. If you know of a case of gulper breeding, I would be delighted to know about it
Acquiring Gulpers
If you're looking for gulpers, I would suggest any number of our wonderful online vendors here on MFK. In particular I would like to point out Rich of Infinite Aquatics (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=212). He is a wonderful vendor who is selling gulpers for the cheapest price I have ever seen ($60). I have talked to him many times, and he has provided all of his customers with nothing but the upmost respect, consideration, and professionalism. Who knows, he might even throw in the occasional bonus with your order. If you do purchase gulpers from Rich, please mention my name so I can earn some fish credit
Final Words
My final words are that there are no final words. With the increasing availability and interest in these cats, perhaps is will a fish we can one day all enjoy. As for the information I've provided, it is based on my own experiences and that of fellow fish keepers. I will be more than happy to add to or revise what I've written for the benefit of all of us. If you own one of these cats, I hope you can learn from what I've written and share some of the experience and knowledge you've gained. If you don't own a gulper, I hope I've convinced you to go out and acquire one of the most interesting, personable, and interactive catfish out there. Thank you for taking the time to read and enjoy this article, and good luck
-Onion01
Physical Description
The gulper reaches reported sizes of 12-13" in the wild. However, 10-11" seems to be more common in the average home aquaria. They, like most catsfish, are long lived animals, so with good care expect yours to live 15+ years. As the name suggests, this fish's most notable feature is it's extremely large, upturned mouth. This gaping chasm extends well past the gulper's small, beady eye, and permits the gulper to swallow prey much larger than themselves. At first look, they do not seem to have teeth. In reality their mouths are have rows of rough, sand-paper like bristles that help grab onto their meals.
Another feature of the gulper is it's soft, elastic skin, most notable after a large meal when the gulper rests on it's distended belly. The skin is velvety to the touch, and ranges from a light brown to a pitch black in color. The gulper also sports a fashionable white tummy. The gulper has small fins for a fish of it's girth. It sports a dorsal and adipose fin on top, a broad caudal fin, two small pectoral fins, two caudally situated pelvic fins, and an anal fin. One must also be careful when handling the gulper, since it has a sharp first ray on it's dorsal and pectoral fins. Often before transport, shippers will clip the end of these rays to keep the from puncturing the bag. the problem is that this may lead to infection if done incorrectly, so keep a close watch on newly imported specimens. The final touch are the gulper's three pairs of barbels. Avoid any decorations that might harm these charming, yet delicate, appendages. Your gulper will be thankful for it
Water and Tank Specifics
These fish hail from the mighty Amazon river. As such, you can expect their ideal conditions to be like that of other South American fish...
Temperature: 75-84F (24-29C)
pH: 5.6-6.8
Hardness: very soft, acidic water. Consider blackwater extract or driftwood to achieve this effect if you have hard water
A word of advice; these are tough fish. They can adapt to higher pH's and can tolerate cooler or warmer water. But be advised. Large and prolonged deviations from a fish's natural habitat conditions are almost sure to produce short or long-term detrimental effects on your gulper's health.
As for tank size, this is a debated issue. Despite being a relatively large fish, they do not require much room. These are lazy, goofy fish. Their idea of exercise includes playing king of the hill (where the hill is a fellow group of gulpers) and swimming into powerhead streams. When I decide to observe my gulpers at night, I usually find them in synchrony, bellies pressed on the glass and swimming against my filter's gentle current. During the day, however, they can usually be found loafing around the tank, taking big gulps of water in a way that makes it look like they're talking to each other. For a single gulper, a 40g tank should be adequate for life. Groups of 3-4 will be very comfortable in tanks 75g or larger.
Feeding
Aaaah, everyone's favorite part, and often the reason people buy gulpers. The gulper is not a picky fish, but it is greedy. I have yet to get them to eat veggies however. These fish cannot be bothered with small morsels, so put aside those flakes and bloodworms. I have gotten mine to eat shrimp (without the head or tail because of the sharp shell), strips of tilapia fillet, small bluegills, scallops, earthworms, nightcrawlers, and larger sinking pellets. Remember to keep the diet varied. Also remember that these fish are insatiable. Sure, it is fun to see them stuff themselves until they turn into little basketballs, but it is healthier and easier on their digestive systems to give them several smaller meals during the week than large meals with periods of fasting in between. Not much else to say here, so I included some interesting feeding videos
[YT]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/483EaKmAvNA&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/483EaKmAvNA&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YT]
[YT]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sq2iZ2TzFUw&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sq2iZ2TzFUw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YT]
Tankmates
Aaaaah, everyone's least favorite part. On second thought, I should have included this section in with feeding, but oh well. Gulpers WILL eat similar sized tankmates. Heck, they'll eat tankmates over twice their size given the opportunity. Gulpers will gobble gouramis, devour datnoids, bite bichirs, engulf eels, aspirate arowanas, chow down on catfish, peck at peacock bass, swallow silver dollars, and, well, you get the point. Unless tankmates are CONSIDERABLY larger than the gulper, they will not be safe. When I say larger, I do not mean just lenghttwise. There have been documented cases of gulpers as small as 3 and 6 inches eating arowanas as large as 8 and 13 inches, respectively. For a tankmate to be safe with a gulper, it should be at least as long as the gulper, and wider than the gulper's mouth. Even still it is not necessarily safe. These pictures and video are for your entertainme...er I mean education
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139416&highlight=koltsix
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130073&highlight=koltsix
[YT]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YBeD1BGorAI&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YBeD1BGorAI&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YT]
Breeding
Sorry, I have yet to breed my gulpers, or heard of anyone who has. I've heard rumors, but have seen no hard evidence. It probably is possible, but not too many people keep enough gulpers together for it to have happened yet. If you know of a case of gulper breeding, I would be delighted to know about it
Acquiring Gulpers
If you're looking for gulpers, I would suggest any number of our wonderful online vendors here on MFK. In particular I would like to point out Rich of Infinite Aquatics (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=212). He is a wonderful vendor who is selling gulpers for the cheapest price I have ever seen ($60). I have talked to him many times, and he has provided all of his customers with nothing but the upmost respect, consideration, and professionalism. Who knows, he might even throw in the occasional bonus with your order. If you do purchase gulpers from Rich, please mention my name so I can earn some fish credit
Final Words
My final words are that there are no final words. With the increasing availability and interest in these cats, perhaps is will a fish we can one day all enjoy. As for the information I've provided, it is based on my own experiences and that of fellow fish keepers. I will be more than happy to add to or revise what I've written for the benefit of all of us. If you own one of these cats, I hope you can learn from what I've written and share some of the experience and knowledge you've gained. If you don't own a gulper, I hope I've convinced you to go out and acquire one of the most interesting, personable, and interactive catfish out there. Thank you for taking the time to read and enjoy this article, and good luck
-Onion01
or I'll have the wizard remove you from my circle.
