Jumpin' Jellies and Leapin' Lophiosilurus...?

[jjohnwm]

I am toying with the idea of a re-organization of my basement fishroom/workshop, and of the possible plans available to me there is one which is the clear favourite. However, it hinges upon an idea which gives me pause: keeping my Lophiosilurus Jelly Cat in an open-topped pond.

This fish will look great from above, and his habit of hovering vertically at the surface when expecting food...or in other words, whenever I walk by...will make him very observable and easy to monitor. But this only really works if the pond is completely uncovered. I have successfully maintained some very "jumpy" fish...swordtails, etc...in an open pond by making a partial cover out of a ring of clear plastic that overhangs the interior perimeter of the pond by 5 or 6 inches all the way around, but with the entire centre open. Virtually all jumping occurs at the sides, so this narrow barrier did the trick. But the Jelly will be hanging out right next to the side, so even a narrow cover will spoil the view. I want to enjoy his company.

So, what say the Catfish Gurus? Has anyone had experience with a Jelly, or any other sedentary predator cat, actually leaping from the water? He seems like just about the least likely fish imaginable to go aerial.

thebiggerthebetter Yellowcat Fishman Dave and my apologies to all experienced catfish guys and gals whose usernames did not immediately come to mind.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Can’t see you having an issue personally, that’s where mine is going when he is large enough, into my open topped pond.

However, if you are that concerned then,
a) build the pond slightly deeper but don’t fill fully, that’s how mine is, it’s 4 ft deep filled to 3 which makes it to perfect to stand at , and with the viewing pane at the front I will get the best of both worlds when he hovers vertically at the front, or as I have an arrowana in there too
b) install a fly nett curtain. This simply rolls down from the roof and velcros to the front wall of the pond for when I am not there interacting with them, and when I am, I simply roll it up.

 

[jjohnwm]

All good points, but this pond already exists and is in use. It's a round stock tank, about twenty inches deep, standing on concrete blocks so that the top is just under waist height, and in the middle of the room allowing one to walk almost all around it. It is beside a desk on which sits a 40breeder, drilled and plumbed so that a submersible pump in the pond pumps filtered water into the 40, which then overflows back into the pond. Both containers make up one filtered and heated system of about 300 gallons; I suppose it would be accurate to say that the stock tank is technically a sump for the 40breeder.

It's just occurred to me that I can build a "fence" about 10 or 12 inches high that will sit in the groove that runs around the lip of the stocktank, adding that extra height to keep the catfish from propelling his lithe, graceful body out of the tank.

My only other concern is water depth; he has 22 inches of depth now, and likes to hover vertically while demanding food. At his current size of about 15 inches, he will still have lots of space to do that in the pond; but as he grows, the shallow pond (about 19 inches maximum water depth) may cramp his style a bit.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

We've kept three apus in an open top 4000 gal basement rubber liner pond but it was covered with leaf netting when I wasn't around. I doubt very much apus jump. Never saw it nor experienced it. But you won't have much time due to the very limiting depth, maybe several months... Plus, I think you underestimate how cool they look through glass wall as well. Although I get the appeal of the pond at waist level vs tank at eye level and the need to haul around a stepstool...

 

[jjohnwm]

We've kept three apus in an open top 4000 gal basement rubber liner pond but it was covered with leaf netting when I wasn't around. I doubt very much apus jump. Never saw it nor experienced it. But you won't have much time due to the very limiting depth, maybe several months... Plus, I think you underestimate how cool they look through glass wall as well. Although I get the appeal of the pond at waist level vs tank at eye level and the need to haul around a stepstool...

Lol, that's the problem; they look cool from both viewpoints.

The impetus behind this proposed re-organization is a desire to limit and consolidate my "warm-water" fish that require heaters, leaving the rest of my "cool-down, ambient basement temperature" tanks on separate systems. An open-top heated pond will be very wasteful of energy compared to a covered aquarium.

Still gotta mull this over a bit more. Right now, the Jelly has a sort of "place of honour" in my basement; his tank is the first you see when you come down the stairs. I may simply remove the small sump that runs his tank and replace it with the biggest tank that will fit under there, likely around 70 gallons. That tank would act as the sump for the Jelly, with all the filtration and heating in one end of it behind a Matten filter screen. The return pump would be behind the screen, would pump filtered water up to the Jelly's tank, which would overflow back down into the opposite end of the bottom tank/sump. My Red Wolf could comfortably live in that bottom tank, and those two fish are essentially all I need to worry about keeping at traditional "warm" temperatures.

Decision, decisions...