Just want to make sure before I buy it. Is this a real mekong catfish or another hammerhead. I noticed it has dropsy
Mekong catfish or not
- Thread starter Jiyowel
- Start date
Looks like an iridescent shark to me. I would be highly suspicious of anybody claiming they have a legit Mekong giant catfish since they are critically endangered.
I agree with Magnus, even though
-- the photos are not ID friendly to say the least,
-- IDK what "hammerhead" means in your post, and
-- the catfish doesn't have a dropsey but you probably are referring to the eyes looking down which is quite usual for many fish taken out of water, nothing wrong with that.
-- the photos are not ID friendly to say the least,
-- IDK what "hammerhead" means in your post, and
-- the catfish doesn't have a dropsey but you probably are referring to the eyes looking down which is quite usual for many fish taken out of water, nothing wrong with that.
Certain species have their eyes turned downwards more then others. Such as the iridescent sharks, hammerhead catfish and Mekong giant catfish. Their eyes are turned more downwards due to their mostly vegetarian diets and the fact that they have very few predators in their native areas. So the down turned eyes are completely natural for these species atleast.
I know when it comes to the Mekong giant it would be illegal to purchase this specie just due to how endangered they are in the wild. As far as I know you would nee to be a biologist of some kind in order to get your hands on one, let alone getting government permission to take one out of its natural habitat.
I mean Iridescent shark not hammerhead lol
There is at least one farm in Thailand that has been breeding MGC and/or hybrids of MGC so it's not entirely impossible to get your hands on a real MGC. The better question would be why you would want one? @Jiyowei you never replied to my question on your other post about the albino catfish. Is that Cong's picture/fish?
That is true. I honestly don't know why anybody would want to keep one anyways since they can get well over 6ft. That and being an almost exclusive vegetarian I can't even imagine how much it would cost to feed the thing, let alone the cost of a pond large enough to house it permanently.
Granted I did see a pic of a Amazon red tail cat x Mekong giant cat hybrid before and that fish was just gorgeous. It had the body design of the MGC with the color/pattern of the RTC. No clue how big that cat could get though. I would imagine it would have the potential to be larger then either parent.
They may be able to assimilate cheap pellets well enough, pellets such as aquaculture Zeigler at $1 per pound, which consist of large amounts or terrestrial plant matter.
To those who live in tropics and have some land and a lake / pond, it may not cost anything.
Some people want to keep them. If you never kept a fish, you don't know about them much, if no one else ever kept them, no one knows anything about keeping these fish. Some people are content with textbooks and television, some are not.
vincentwugwg
thought he kept one.
GiantFishKeeper101
thought he kept several.
ichthusfish
thought he had some or was looking for them. I'd get one if they were ever available. I don't believe Vince or GFK had MGC, with all due respect, for the lack of compelling evidence. They grow quick. Once they get to 6 feet in 5-6 years, I'd become a believer. They are a contender for the quickest growing fish in the world, 150-200 kg (330-440 lbs) in 6 years.A lot of fish we keep get over 6 feet (alligator gar, piraiba, arapaima to name a few) but almost no one is able to keep them long enough and in a large enough tank / pond so many could learn from their success, which is a great pity.
The hybrid you speak of I know as paroon x RTC, nothing to do with MGC. It's not a viable fish, praise the Lord, meaning they start perishing at a huge rate from the fertilization and likely none survive to adulthood, and even if some do, they have no longevity, nor good health, no way to know their max size, which I am also thankful for. We have enough abominations already. Just sharing my opinion as you have, nothing more.
My post from here, thank you Matteo for finding it: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/found-a-giant-mekong-catfish.724974/#post-8179962
IMO, this is a stunted or poor quality / health (because of the oversized eyes) iridescent shark catfish aka Pangasionodon hypophthalmus, junior synonym Pangasius sutchi.
All I know about the MGC ID is here: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...s-how-to-id-mekong-giant-catfish-juvi.584508/
I personally don't believe anyone of us ever had one (I think it is a hoax or a scam, more or less elaborate, to get money out of hobbyists) but some claimed and still insist they did / do, so they can chime in with their opinion too
bobVillanueva
Sometimes some hybrids seem to become available of unknown Pangasiidae species, which too confuses people. It seems there is a laboratory activity in Asia exploring hybridization of MGC with other species and the products of such (IMHO illegal, immoral, and wretched) activity are spilled over into our trade.
So this guy here is part Paroon not Mekong? Either way it's a gorgeous cat to me. Lol just no way I would be able to house one.They may be able to assimilate cheap pellets well enough, pellets such as aquaculture Zeigler at $1 per pound, which consist of large amounts or terrestrial plant matter.
To those who live in tropics and have some land and a lake / pond, it may not cost anything.
Some people want to keep them. If you never kept a fish, you don't know about them much, if no one else ever kept them, no one knows anything about keeping these fish. Some people are content with textbooks and television, some are not.
A lot of fish we keep get over 6 feet (alligator gar, piraiba, arapaima to name a few) but almost no one is able to keep them long enough and in a large enough tank / pond so many could learn from their success, which is a great pity.
The hybrid you speak of I know as paroon x RTC, nothing to do with MGC. It's not a viable fish, praise the Lord, meaning they start perishing at a huge rate from the fertilization and likely none survive to adulthood, and even if some do, they have no longevity, nor good health, no way to know their max size, which I am also thankful for. We have enough abominations already. Just sharing my opinion as you have, nothing more.
