Hemibagrus questions

[Renegade Aquatics]

I have always loved Hemibagrus wyckii and nemurus, and I was reading a thread. In one of the posts it was said that H. wyckii don't usually grow past 24in in captivity, even in large aquaria. So my question to those who have kept wyckii is: is it true that wyckii don't normally grow more than 24in. in captivity?. As for nemurus I have heard a very similar story for them except they don't normally grow more than 12in. in captivity, is this true? In terms of care what would be required to keep them as a wetpet

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I have always loved Hemibagrus wyckii and nemurus, and I was reading a thread. In one of the posts it was said that H. wyckii don't usually grow past 24in in captivity, even in large aquaria. So my question to those who have kept wyckii is: is it true that wyckii don't normally grow more than 24in. in captivity?. As for nemurus I have heard a very similar story for them except they don't normally grow more than 12in. in captivity, is this true? In terms of care what would be required to keep them as a wetpet

Only sociopaths don't like sociopathic Hemibagrus maniacs. Stupid Quote of the day

What you say I find agreeable on all points.

I have heard / read about 2.5' wyckii but only once. It was offered for sale in SE Canada in 2011. Unfortunately, we were moving to FL from upstate NY.

My albino "nemurus" and those of others that I know of have not broken 1' or not by much anyway.

The reason for quotation marks is the new revision by Dr. H. H. Ng where he went from 3 species - nemurus, wyckii, and wyckioides - to 32 species in 2013 - a fruit of his graduate studies 17 years in the making. I have not worked up the courage or found the time since then to familiarize myself with all the new species and their traits.

Dr. Ng arranged the genus in 7 groups or so and one group is that of nemurus. Anyhoo, long story short, IDK if my fish remains a nemurus in the new classification.

Care.

They are pretty easy, hardy, generally not fussy. There are exceptions, like my extremely fussy 16" ARTC. But my "nemurus" has always, always been very easy to feed. Wyckii too.

Community.

"Nemurus" are more laid back. Wyckii will generally have to be alone for life unless in a Public Aquaria caliber tank. A arapaimag could tell us much more and better!

 

[Renegade Aquatics]

ahhh yes that reminds, when I was looking at nemurus, seriously fish said most nemurus for sale are actually H. spilopterus. I assume this is what you're getting at with the quote marks around "nemurus"

 

[moe214]

I remember arapaimag saying for wyckii, their aggression will be as its lead to be in anything under 600 gallons. And I had an artc once, he lived up to his reputation only leaving my leporinus alone due to the fact he couldn't catch him. For a nemurus comfortably I'd say a 180, for a wyckii I'd say a 600, must be if it'll leave other fish alone. But I think a wyckii will be comfortable in a 300g, alone of course, someing like an 8x3x2 to keep a wyckii for life, they aren't skittish, don't have long whiskers, and aren't the most active specimen. If you read back on them, you'll find arapaimags threads,night ve had some on pcf too so just use google lol, he grew one to 24" in a 180, one to 24" in his largest tank, and another to 22" I believe this one started off in his second largest tank and then moved to his largest one. According to the only consistent updates we had on a wyckii was justarn his grew to 18-20" in 2 years, i think that's how long he had it might of just been one year but he got it at 12-14" he said. I've only heard of 2'+ wyckii, never seen proof of one. But I don't doubt some specimens getting there, though I think those have good genes and are exceptionally old specimens.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

ahhh yes that reminds, when I was looking at nemurus, seriously fish said most nemurus for sale are actually H. spilopterus. I assume this is what you're getting at with the quote marks around "nemurus"

Yes. Spilopterus rings a bell.

V victor448 keeps his 2' wyckii alone in a 8x2x2. Seen it in person a few times. Gorgeous catfish. I personally would not go smaller. Jeff, throw us a bone, man! A few photos, if you will, of course

 

[Renegade Aquatics]

Dang, I was really hoping to get away with something smaller
oh well, I guess I will go with the original plan

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

That's just my opinion, mate! Don't give so much weight to one man's opinion.

You may have 2-3 years before you will have to worry about a 450 gal tank.

 

[Renegade Aquatics]

I was hoping to get away with maybe a 180
if I'm even able to get one, that is

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I was hoping to get away with maybe a 180
if I'm even able to get one, that is

Ask V victor448 aka Jeff or let's hope he will chime in, he usually does. That's exactly what Jeff's done - kept his wyckii in a 180 before upgrading to 450 gal this year.

...You may have 2-3 years before you will have to worry about a 450 gal tank.

Funny there is a school of thought with strict followers who don't do grow outs, etc. but introduce their fish into its forever home from day one. So they'd have a 2" fish in a very large tank from day one. They have their reasons, which does not hurt to know and digest.

 

[moe214]

I think you can do a 180 for a number of years I just honk they'd benefit from a larger width, 6' by 30" at a bare minimum imo.