My favourite flavour of jelly: Lophiosilurus apurensis!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
- Start date
For a time while I worked at an LFS, I enjoyed the pleasure of caring for one of these cats. It was about a foot long. I really grew to like that fish. Often it was fed the stores latest deceased and on one occasion I was feeding it a several inch Bala shark. I was holding it by the tail and wiggling it underneath with my middle finger. In an instant it was holding the fish and my finger just as far in as it could go.
.
Your right! There is a moment of surprise... followed by a moment of wonder... as I considered whether or not I'd ever see my finger again.
.
It was an endearing moment, a "kiss from your favorite cat...", which has always left me wishing I'd been the one to take that fish home.
.
Your right! There is a moment of surprise... followed by a moment of wonder... as I considered whether or not I'd ever see my finger again.
.
It was an endearing moment, a "kiss from your favorite cat...", which has always left me wishing I'd been the one to take that fish home.
And, meanwhile, it left the cat wishing that he had been able to get all of you into his mouth.
Yeah...I know how these cold-blooded rascals think...and endearing themselves to you isn't on their agenda.
Time flies. I haven't updated this thread mainly because nothing of note has occurred since my last post. Lumpy continues to do his thing: sitting/eating/pooping/meditating. As expected, his initial rapid growth has slowed down dramatically. He went from 5 inches to just over a foot in his first year with me; added another 5 inches in his second year; and now, 6 months further down the road, he's a wee bit under 20 inches. I have no doubt that I could have achieved faster growth if I "powerfed" him, but I personally don't think that's healthy or in any way beneficial.
He began to use his 12x12x6 inch ceramic tile "house" less and less as time passed, preferring to either lie in the shadows of the Amazon swords or else, more often, propped up along the front wall. I eventually removed the ceramic structure altogether, leaving no decor other than a half-dozen swords in individual pots. He is pretty hard on those plants; doesn't eat them or intentionally damage them in any way, but simply moving his bulk around results in a fair number of broken leaves. I love Amazon swords but these poor specimens will never lose their bedraggled look as long as they are in with this fish. They provide lots of shade and cover and he seems to be completely unstressed, despite being quite visible for observation.
Catfishing season is winding down, so I have a couple dozen large frozen raw shrimp (shell still on) in the freezer that I use as bait for channel cats; Lumpy's diet will be supplemented with these for the next few weeks. He also seems to be somehow aware that my backyard pond, stocked this year with some feeder goldfish, has produced several hundred rapidly growing goldfish fry that are being moved into the basement as they are caught. He fixes me with that baleful glare that makes me feel as though he is attempting to beam mental commands directly into my brain: "Feed me! Feed me! FEED ME!!!"
I am weak; I usually break down and feed him something...
Lumpy's tank/sump system is now the only remaining system I have that is heated to typical "tropical" temperatures; I keep it at 75-76F. Filtration continues to be provided entirely with Poret foam; a large airlift-powered free-standing Poret tower (6x6x19 inches) in his tank, plus a Poret mattenfilter in the tank beneath his, which functions as a sump and also a refugium/grow-out tank. The mattenfilter has its own airlift circulating the water from/to the lower tank, while a submersible pump behind the matten also sends water back up to the cat's tank. I can, if required, turn this pump off and still have two fully-functioning tanks. It's been a very effective system, but it does require "spot-cleaning" of giant turds when they appear, using either a small net or a large turkey baster. Poops the size of the ones produced by this fish are best taken out when seen, rather than just waiting for the filter to grab them. Even so, the mattenfilter and the Poret tower are still removed and power-rinsed maybe every three months, which is much more often than would typically be required.
Water changes are done twice weekly, usually comprising about 90% of the total volume each time. I basically take the level down to maybe an inch of water in the lower tank, and about 4 inches in the cat's tank, just to keep him covered and wet. I've recently upgraded my water-change pump to a larger-capacity model, so emptying the tanks takes a couple minutes, and re-filling not much more.
Well worth it for my favourite fish!
He began to use his 12x12x6 inch ceramic tile "house" less and less as time passed, preferring to either lie in the shadows of the Amazon swords or else, more often, propped up along the front wall. I eventually removed the ceramic structure altogether, leaving no decor other than a half-dozen swords in individual pots. He is pretty hard on those plants; doesn't eat them or intentionally damage them in any way, but simply moving his bulk around results in a fair number of broken leaves. I love Amazon swords but these poor specimens will never lose their bedraggled look as long as they are in with this fish. They provide lots of shade and cover and he seems to be completely unstressed, despite being quite visible for observation.
Catfishing season is winding down, so I have a couple dozen large frozen raw shrimp (shell still on) in the freezer that I use as bait for channel cats; Lumpy's diet will be supplemented with these for the next few weeks. He also seems to be somehow aware that my backyard pond, stocked this year with some feeder goldfish, has produced several hundred rapidly growing goldfish fry that are being moved into the basement as they are caught. He fixes me with that baleful glare that makes me feel as though he is attempting to beam mental commands directly into my brain: "Feed me! Feed me! FEED ME!!!"
I am weak; I usually break down and feed him something...
Lumpy's tank/sump system is now the only remaining system I have that is heated to typical "tropical" temperatures; I keep it at 75-76F. Filtration continues to be provided entirely with Poret foam; a large airlift-powered free-standing Poret tower (6x6x19 inches) in his tank, plus a Poret mattenfilter in the tank beneath his, which functions as a sump and also a refugium/grow-out tank. The mattenfilter has its own airlift circulating the water from/to the lower tank, while a submersible pump behind the matten also sends water back up to the cat's tank. I can, if required, turn this pump off and still have two fully-functioning tanks. It's been a very effective system, but it does require "spot-cleaning" of giant turds when they appear, using either a small net or a large turkey baster. Poops the size of the ones produced by this fish are best taken out when seen, rather than just waiting for the filter to grab them. Even so, the mattenfilter and the Poret tower are still removed and power-rinsed maybe every three months, which is much more often than would typically be required.
Water changes are done twice weekly, usually comprising about 90% of the total volume each time. I basically take the level down to maybe an inch of water in the lower tank, and about 4 inches in the cat's tank, just to keep him covered and wet. I've recently upgraded my water-change pump to a larger-capacity model, so emptying the tanks takes a couple minutes, and re-filling not much more.
Well worth it for my favourite fish!
Lumpy continues to do well, and is displaying even more of his trademark sparkling charm lately. Both my feeding and his growth are slowing down; he's over 20 inches, so has gained only about 6 inches in the past two years or so. I wish that I had kept better records...i.e any records!...of his growth. I have switched him over from Massivore to Northfin jumbo pellets, based upon the list of ingredients and also the simple fact that they are a Canadian product which has recently become easy to source locally. The pellets remain the mainstay of his diet, which continues to be supplemented with...just about everything...
I long ago removed his ceramic-tile cave, simply because he was getting a bit too big to really utilize it. I had toyed with the notion of building him another, twice as long at 24 inches, but in the end decided that he seemed quite comfortable without the bulky construct in his tank. Same with driftwood; just takes up too much room, plus he periodically got into spats with this or that piece and attempted to beat them up, which often resulted in scratches and scrapes on him, so it had to go. His tank now contains a half-dozen flowerpots, each siliconed to a flat piece of ceramic tile to prevent tipping, and each containing a single Amazon Sword. When he was closer to a foot in length, the Swords did very well; now, sadly, they are battered and beaten, with many snapped and dying leaves, caused by his bulky body continually forcing itself into gaps that are just a wee bit too small for it, or simply coming to rest on top of the plants. They are still healthy and growing well, but they are no longer pretty.
Lumpy likes to split his time between resting vertically propped up against the tank side, and reclining like a mini version of Jabba the Hut on the bottom. His head is almost always pointed towards the top and/or the front; ya never know when food is in the offing. He's managed to get hold of me a couple more times in the past year, always releasing at once but still waking me right up. He is beyond fearless; when I am scraping the front glass, I must fend him off with a net at all times. He comes forward immediately and...usually...stops an inch away and just sits there grumbling, watching my hand intently and following it closely as I move around. You can practically hear him thinking: "Is that a worm...or a finger. Maybe I should test it to be sure..."
I am very careful to wash my hands ahead of time, and to handle no food or other fishy stuff before cleaning the algae. I don't want him to grab hold sometime...and then not let go...
I usually keep a large net right in front of him to prevent surprises; if I mistakenly use a net too small, as I did yesterday, he just grabs my hand and/or the scraper and engulfs a corner of the net at the same time. Loads of fun.
I've noticed that
thebiggerthebetter
's big Jelly Cat seems to display a squarer, more blocky head profile than Lumpy has for most of his life, but now he too seems to be getting that "look". Is it a sexual dimorphism of some sort? I don't believe Lumpy is obese, as I am careful with his food intake, and his slower growth makes me think I'm striking a good balance. Perhaps just a normal change that comes with age and size? I don't recall my old Jelly, way back in the day, looking this way...but I had nothing to compare him to, not even in pictures, so maybe I'm way off in that thinking.
Thought I'd have some pics, but messed them up badly. Soon...I'm hoping one of our catfish gurus can determine sex with a close-up of Lumpy's naughty bits.
I long ago removed his ceramic-tile cave, simply because he was getting a bit too big to really utilize it. I had toyed with the notion of building him another, twice as long at 24 inches, but in the end decided that he seemed quite comfortable without the bulky construct in his tank. Same with driftwood; just takes up too much room, plus he periodically got into spats with this or that piece and attempted to beat them up, which often resulted in scratches and scrapes on him, so it had to go. His tank now contains a half-dozen flowerpots, each siliconed to a flat piece of ceramic tile to prevent tipping, and each containing a single Amazon Sword. When he was closer to a foot in length, the Swords did very well; now, sadly, they are battered and beaten, with many snapped and dying leaves, caused by his bulky body continually forcing itself into gaps that are just a wee bit too small for it, or simply coming to rest on top of the plants. They are still healthy and growing well, but they are no longer pretty.
Lumpy likes to split his time between resting vertically propped up against the tank side, and reclining like a mini version of Jabba the Hut on the bottom. His head is almost always pointed towards the top and/or the front; ya never know when food is in the offing. He's managed to get hold of me a couple more times in the past year, always releasing at once but still waking me right up. He is beyond fearless; when I am scraping the front glass, I must fend him off with a net at all times. He comes forward immediately and...usually...stops an inch away and just sits there grumbling, watching my hand intently and following it closely as I move around. You can practically hear him thinking: "Is that a worm...or a finger. Maybe I should test it to be sure..."
I am very careful to wash my hands ahead of time, and to handle no food or other fishy stuff before cleaning the algae. I don't want him to grab hold sometime...and then not let go...
I usually keep a large net right in front of him to prevent surprises; if I mistakenly use a net too small, as I did yesterday, he just grabs my hand and/or the scraper and engulfs a corner of the net at the same time. Loads of fun.
I've noticed that
thebiggerthebetter
's big Jelly Cat seems to display a squarer, more blocky head profile than Lumpy has for most of his life, but now he too seems to be getting that "look". Is it a sexual dimorphism of some sort? I don't believe Lumpy is obese, as I am careful with his food intake, and his slower growth makes me think I'm striking a good balance. Perhaps just a normal change that comes with age and size? I don't recall my old Jelly, way back in the day, looking this way...but I had nothing to compare him to, not even in pictures, so maybe I'm way off in that thinking.Thought I'd have some pics, but messed them up badly. Soon...I'm hoping one of our catfish gurus can determine sex with a close-up of Lumpy's naughty bits.
Again, awesome write up, I love the updates. Glad to hear Lumpy is still doing well. I forgot to mention it in my other post, but an Apurensis was my first monster. My first trip to George Fears Shark Aquarium I saw a tank full of Jellys and fell in love and couldn't help myself and took one home. Unfortunately, I did mention his fate in my last post. Recently though I did manage to get a very tiny Jelly thanks to Wes. Little guys around 3 inches and eats from my hand. Again, thanks for the awesome read. I hope to see more updates from you and Lumpy.
Great read as always JJ! And much appreciated info there too. I've never looked into sexing them. Unfortunately, I am as careless as they come when it comes to sexing our fish. I've never asked myself this question w.r.t. the jello catfish we have had, in part, because I've not gotten down even the basics of their keeping. As you know we kept a lot of them, around 10, only 2 at present. I lost 3 on a cross country move, and then 4 or 5 to what I believe in retrospect was thiaminase and the ensuing B1 deficiency. Shamefully, none of these we had managed to keep over 5 years. The last 2 are doing adequate one is around 6-7yo 2ft+, the other 2-3yo 1.5ft+ and I don't know their genders. They don't seem to exhibit an obvious sexual dimorphism and I am not paying for their underwater ultrasound.
Lumpy continues to do well; he hasn't made any new friends, which is just the way he likes it. He is temporarily housed in smaller tank, a 2x2x4 foot 120gallon which is a stand-alone unit rather than part of a system. His supposedly permanent home was an oddball construction built to fit under the stairs leading to my basement; those stairs require re-building now as part of a reno of my porch and mudroom. I toyed with the notion of leaving him in situ but eventually chickened out and moved him. I've damaged tanks before by not moving them far enough away from construction work; not about to take chances with this guy.
Should have taken the opportunity to measure him, but of course didn't. I'm sure he is still no more than 20 inches in length, although he continues to get chunkier. His appetite remains undiminished; if I actually adhered to that old saw about "as much as the fish can eat in five minutes", then this fish would be completely spherical. In actual practice, it's closer to "as much as he can eat in 5 seconds"!
He continues to keep me on my toes when I work in his tank. I must plunge my hand and arm in quickly and with gusto; dabbling my fingers in the water, or even just lowering them slowly and gradually into the tank, results in an instant bite, usually accompanied by an explosive popping splash as a gallon of water lands on the floor. The trick is to get as much of my body mass into the tank as quickly as possible. Ideally, I want as much John in the water as there is Lumpy; when I manage that, he usually just follows me around, hovering an inch or so away and glaring balefully at my hand while I clean algae or whatever else I need to do. I am scrupulous about washing my hands before this job; he has never grabbed me other than immediately when I enter the water, but if I ever had any food odour on my hands it might be different. And I'm here to say that when he grabs you...well, it's not really that painful, often leaves no mark other than a mild abrasion...but I defy anybody not to jump out of their skin when it happens. He's probably had my hand in his mouth a dozen or more times now, and the absolute best I can do is not to make any sound when it happens...but the flinch is uncontrollable and frankly embarrassing; instant adrenaline dump.
Moving him was a piece of cake. I used a rubber-coated landing net, which he made no effort to avoid; actually he swam into it as if he was going to the fridge to grab a beer. Lifted him up, no thrashing, walked across to the temp tank, lowered him in, and he swam out as if nothing had happened.
In the smaller confines of his current digs, he doesn't cruise much; in the larger tank he would go on patrol a few times each day, making sure that everything met with his approval. He had completely destroyed the half-dozen potted Amazon Swords in his main tank, simply by crushing them with his body weight when he came to rest on one. I need to re-think the decor.
Is he a Wet Pet? I dunno; we definitely interact, but maybe not in the way I would choose if I had my druthers. There is absolutely no part of the fish/human dynamic here that could be described as "affection", and affection is IMHO an integral part of owning a pet. Without it...he's an incredible specimen, a cranky and crotchety neighbour who doesn't want me on his lawn, a link to nature right in my house...but it's kind of hard to think of him as a "pet".
Anybody remember the old TV show "The Munsters"? Remember Spot, the giant fire-breathing dragon that lived under the stairs?
Yeah...it's like that...
Should have taken the opportunity to measure him, but of course didn't. I'm sure he is still no more than 20 inches in length, although he continues to get chunkier. His appetite remains undiminished; if I actually adhered to that old saw about "as much as the fish can eat in five minutes", then this fish would be completely spherical.
In actual practice, it's closer to "as much as he can eat in 5 seconds"!He continues to keep me on my toes when I work in his tank. I must plunge my hand and arm in quickly and with gusto; dabbling my fingers in the water, or even just lowering them slowly and gradually into the tank, results in an instant bite, usually accompanied by an explosive popping splash as a gallon of water lands on the floor. The trick is to get as much of my body mass into the tank as quickly as possible. Ideally, I want as much John in the water as there is Lumpy; when I manage that, he usually just follows me around, hovering an inch or so away and glaring balefully at my hand while I clean algae or whatever else I need to do. I am scrupulous about washing my hands before this job; he has never grabbed me other than immediately when I enter the water, but if I ever had any food odour on my hands it might be different. And I'm here to say that when he grabs you...well, it's not really that painful, often leaves no mark other than a mild abrasion...but I defy anybody not to jump out of their skin when it happens. He's probably had my hand in his mouth a dozen or more times now, and the absolute best I can do is not to make any sound when it happens...but the flinch is uncontrollable and frankly embarrassing; instant adrenaline dump.
Moving him was a piece of cake. I used a rubber-coated landing net, which he made no effort to avoid; actually he swam into it as if he was going to the fridge to grab a beer. Lifted him up, no thrashing, walked across to the temp tank, lowered him in, and he swam out as if nothing had happened.
In the smaller confines of his current digs, he doesn't cruise much; in the larger tank he would go on patrol a few times each day, making sure that everything met with his approval. He had completely destroyed the half-dozen potted Amazon Swords in his main tank, simply by crushing them with his body weight when he came to rest on one. I need to re-think the decor.
Is he a Wet Pet? I dunno; we definitely interact
, but maybe not in the way I would choose if I had my druthers. There is absolutely no part of the fish/human dynamic here that could be described as "affection", and affection is IMHO an integral part of owning a pet. Without it...he's an incredible specimen, a cranky and crotchety neighbour who doesn't want me on his lawn, a link to nature right in my house...but it's kind of hard to think of him as a "pet".Anybody remember the old TV show "The Munsters"? Remember Spot, the giant fire-breathing dragon that lived under the stairs?
Yeah...it's like that...
I like lumpy.Lumpy continues to do well; he hasn't made any new friends, which is just the way he likes it. He is temporarily housed in smaller tank, a 2x2x4 foot 120gallon which is a stand-alone unit rather than part of a system. His supposedly permanent home was an oddball construction built to fit under the stairs leading to my basement; those stairs require re-building now as part of a reno of my porch and mudroom. I toyed with the notion of leaving him in situ but eventually chickened out and moved him. I've damaged tanks before by not moving them far enough away from construction work; not about to take chances with this guy.
Should have taken the opportunity to measure him, but of course didn't. I'm sure he is still no more than 20 inches in length, although he continues to get chunkier. His appetite remains undiminished; if I actually adhered to that old saw about "as much as the fish can eat in five minutes", then this fish would be completely spherical.
He continues to keep me on my toes when I work in his tank. I must plunge my hand and arm in quickly and with gusto; dabbling my fingers in the water, or even just lowering them slowly and gradually into the tank, results in an instant bite, usually accompanied by an explosive popping splash as a gallon of water lands on the floor. The trick is to get as much of my body mass into the tank as quickly as possible. Ideally, I want as much John in the water as there is Lumpy; when I manage that, he usually just follows me around, hovering an inch or so away and glaring balefully at my hand while I clean algae or whatever else I need to do. I am scrupulous about washing my hands before this job; he has never grabbed me other than immediately when I enter the water, but if I ever had any food odour on my hands it might be different. And I'm here to say that when he grabs you...well, it's not really that painful, often leaves no mark other than a mild abrasion...but I defy anybody not to jump out of their skin when it happens. He's probably had my hand in his mouth a dozen or more times now, and the absolute best I can do is not to make any sound when it happens...but the flinch is uncontrollable and frankly embarrassing; instant adrenaline dump.
Moving him was a piece of cake. I used a rubber-coated landing net, which he made no effort to avoid; actually he swam into it as if he was going to the fridge to grab a beer. Lifted him up, no thrashing, walked across to the temp tank, lowered him in, and he swam out as if nothing had happened.
In the smaller confines of his current digs, he doesn't cruise much; in the larger tank he would go on patrol a few times each day, making sure that everything met with his approval. He had completely destroyed the half-dozen potted Amazon Swords in his main tank, simply by crushing them with his body weight when he came to rest on one. I need to re-think the decor.
Is he a Wet Pet? I dunno; we definitely interact
Anybody remember the old TV show "The Munsters"? Remember Spot, the giant fire-breathing dragon that lived under the stairs?
Yeah...it's like that...
Watched the episode last Saturday when Herman tried to get Spot to come from under the stairs for Eddie's show and tell lol.
