I see it all the time, not sure ifs natural or a result of having to much light
Gulper Catfish Slime Coat Coming Off
- Thread starter skypilotthecat
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- catfish gulper cat
The tank I currently keep it in does not have any light at all, just ambient room light.
When do you think I should start to try to offer it food?
I'd try and hand feed it a chunk of fish, which it probably won't accept right away, so I'd offer it a live cichlid by hand or tongs
I see viper is confusing you by not choosing his words wisely. He’s correct in the sense it can be beneficial to some species but it isn’t necessary. I’ve seen plenty of gulper set ups where it seems to lack tannins. Then again not many people manage to keep them alive long enough for them to get to max size. I’m sure if you search you can find a thread where someone tried tannins and the updates stopped eluding to either a dead fish or rehoming of the fish. Far as feeding, from what I see, most people give gulpers large meals less frequently. I’m sure either is fine honestly.
I had a quick look around online. Not much info on the preferred depth. SeriouslyFish though states they prefer shallow waters. Lots of other not-commonly-known info can be gleaned:
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/asterophysus-batrachus/
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/...the-gulper-catfish-asterophysus-batrachus.htm
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...-keep-the-ogre-catfish-asterophysus-batrachus
https://roaring.earth/gulper-catfish-swallows/
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=961
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/asterophysus-batrachus/
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/...the-gulper-catfish-asterophysus-batrachus.htm
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...-keep-the-ogre-catfish-asterophysus-batrachus
https://roaring.earth/gulper-catfish-swallows/
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=961
Do these fish have a bad record of living in captivity? If so, do you know why?
I already did my research with those websites early on, just wondering if I should do anything about the slime coat peeling off at the moment.
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Depends on the cause of stress, as stated. If you don't know your water parameters by a liquid test, we can't even start eliminating the most basic things. But you are pretty knowledgeable. You know.
Yes, their keeping record is horrendous. Either we are inapt at keeping them or they are touchy... in any case the long term keeping, like for longer than a year, is reported exceedingly rarely. 99% of gulper threads and stories don't go much further than Look y'all! I got me a gulper! Of course, people's reporting in general is miserable.
I think we touch on it in my thread too: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/gulper-catfish-trio-7.678741/
Yes, their keeping record is horrendous. Either we are inapt at keeping them or they are touchy... in any case the long term keeping, like for longer than a year, is reported exceedingly rarely. 99% of gulper threads and stories don't go much further than Look y'all! I got me a gulper! Of course, people's reporting in general is miserable.
I think we touch on it in my thread too: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/gulper-catfish-trio-7.678741/
Alright, ill do a bit more research on them.
I feel like that once the slime coat is all off and the new epidermis starts to heal up, the fish should be fine.
Maybe the short lifespan in captivity is due to the fact that feeder fish(mostly goldfish) does not provide the nutrients that it gets from eating large South American cichlids in the wild, so the fish wastes away due to a nutrient deficiency?
As far as I know, the native barb (Cypriniformes) population is low and do not seems to be what these guys eat in the wild.
...
to add on, thank you for the compliment.
I am currently in college pursuing a major in marine biology and aquatic and fishery sciences.
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I feel like that once the slime coat is all off and the new epidermis starts to heal up, the fish should be fine.
*****Maybe I am not getting you right but I'd say slime and skin or the outer skin layer aka epidermis are not the same thing. Slime is a mucus produced by the skin. Slime coming off doesn't mean the skin is damaged or is affected or is diseased, etc.
Maybe the short lifespan in captivity is due to the fact that feeder fish(mostly goldfish) does not provide the nutrients that it gets from eating large South American cichlids in the wild, so the fish wastes away due to a nutrient deficiency? As far as I know, the native barb (Cypriniformes) population is low and do not seems to be what these guys eat in the wild.
*****I think this has been discussed, perhaps even in my thread too, linked above for you.
*****Maybe I am not getting you right but I'd say slime and skin or the outer skin layer aka epidermis are not the same thing. Slime is a mucus produced by the skin. Slime coming off doesn't mean the skin is damaged or is affected or is diseased, etc.
Maybe the short lifespan in captivity is due to the fact that feeder fish(mostly goldfish) does not provide the nutrients that it gets from eating large South American cichlids in the wild, so the fish wastes away due to a nutrient deficiency? As far as I know, the native barb (Cypriniformes) population is low and do not seems to be what these guys eat in the wild.
*****I think this has been discussed, perhaps even in my thread too, linked above for you.
I think so.
