Amazon catfish problems

[Ashlyn]

Hello, I have a RTC, HTSN and a TSN which are all 1.5ft in length and are 5 years old in a 6000L pond. The problem is my HTSN attacked my TSN leaving torn fins and multiple bruises, which led me to remove the stressed out TSN to my indor tank which is 10ft and (The TSN refuses to eat for 2 weeks) any advice on getting him to eat again.

Going a month back all three grew in the 10ft since they were 5 inches long and a couple months old. They outgrew the tank and led me to build a 6000L pond to house them. This is where the weird stuff happen. I have no idea why my HTSN attacked the TSN despite them living together for several years. Could it be possible that the HTSN thinks of the RTC as a mate due to the move to the pond and therefore attacked the TSN ?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated, Thank you.

 

[tlindsey]

Hello, I have a RTC, HTSN and a TSN which are all 1.5ft in length and are 5 years old in a 6000L pond. The problem is my HTSN attacked my TSN leaving torn fins and multiple bruises, which led me to remove the stressed out TSN to my indor tank which is 10ft and (The TSN refuses to eat for 2 weeks) any advice on getting him to eat again.

Going a month back all three grew in the 10ft since they were 5 inches long and a couple months old. They outgrew the tank and led me to build a 6000L pond to house them. This is where the weird stuff happen. I have no idea why my HTSN attacked the TSN despite them living together for several years. Could it be possible that the HTSN thinks of the RTC as a mate due to the move to the pond and therefore attacked the TSN ?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated, Thank you.

thebiggerthebetter

 

[moe214]

5 years old and only 18"? They've gotta be extremely stunted some how. As for the tsn if he's real beat up he's gonna focus on healing before he starts feeding again and the fact that you moved him means he has to settle in again which will add to the time. If it's been two weeks you still have plenty of time I wouldn't worry. Just don't leave the food you throw in there to spoil the water.

Why your hybrid attacked the tsn could be a number of reasons. Could be as simple as he was having a bad day. Some days my wolf is grumpy and chases everyone other days he lets everyone push him around as they swim by. But the time of year it is, makes spawning aggression a factor.

 

[Ashlyn]

5 years old and only 18"? They've gotta be extremely stunted some how. As for the tsn if he's real beat up he's gonna focus on healing before he starts feeding again and the fact that you moved him means he has to settle in again which will add to the time. If it's been two weeks you still have plenty of time I wouldn't worry. Just don't leave the food you throw in there to spoil the water.

Why your hybrid attacked the tsn could be a number of reasons. Could be as simple as he was having a bad day. Some days my wolf is grumpy and chases everyone other days he lets everyone push him around as they swim by. But the time of year it is, makes spawning aggression a factor.

Hi, Thanks for the advice. With regards to the size, hes stunted because he lived in a 10ft for most of his life. He's healing well. There's no left over food, I added feeders so he can eat when he chooses.

 

[moe214]

10ft tank wouldn't cause stunting. Could just be there genetics. Be careful with the feeders as well.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

What are the dimensions of the 6000 L = 1500 US gal tank / pond? Physical footprint is very important with catfish as they need the space to get away from each other when some misbehave.

As Moe stated, it's anyone's guess why and when wild predators attack. Ask Siegfried and Roy. Or any zoo keeper in charge of wild predators. Rather, it is a huge surprise that we are able to keep them, so many of them together, in small enclosures and usually only have a torn fin or a mild abrasion of a bite mark. But once in a while they attack in earnest and with a purpose other than "get out of my way / face".

It's not a fair parallel but this is not too dissimilar to keeping a lion, a tiger, bear, leopard, mountain lion, a pack of wolves, a pack of hyenas, etc. in one cage. At some point something will give.

I've been keeping them large cats for a decade now and many times I know why an attack occurred while in many other instances I'm clueless. Like my most recent case - I've had this 2'-2.5' Marbled Pim in this 4500 gal tank for over a year with a bunch of other cats. The Pim has done ok, actually well, but a week ago someone decided to eat him alive, although they could never swallow a comparably large catfish like Marbled Pim. IDK why it happened. No one should have been particularly hungry but one doesn't always know. For instance, right now is the spawning season for many fish and fish can suddenly want to pig out because making milt and eggs requires a lot of biomaterial and energy. But this behavior is unpredictable because most years most fish don't exhibit any mating / spawning behavior in captivity, in my hands anyway.

This is the tank to give you a sense of what I am referring to, shot just before the Marbled Pim got ripped up:

Your TSN will feed when its appetite returns. I'd just watch its wounds, behavior, etc. and make sure the water is pristine. That's all that's needed in 99% cases for a fish to recover from physical injuries.

 

[Ashlyn]

What are the dimensions of the 6000 L = 1500 US gal tank / pond? Physical footprint is very important with catfish as they need the space to get away from each other when some misbehave.

As Moe stated, it's anyone's guess why and when wild predators attack. Ask Siegfried and Roy. Or any zoo keeper in charge of wild predators. Rather, it is a huge surprise that we are able to keep them, so many of them together, in small enclosures and usually only have a torn fin or a mild abrasion of a bite mark. But once in a while they attack in earnest and with a purpose other than "get out of my way / face".

It's not a fair parallel but this is not too dissimilar to keeping a lion, a tiger, bear, leopard, mountain lion, a pack of wolves, a pack of hyenas, etc. in one cage. At some point something will give.

I've been keeping them large cats for a decade now and many times I know why an attack occurred while in many other instances I'm clueless. Like my most recent case - I've had this 2'-2.5' Marbled Pim in this 4500 gal tank for over a year with a bunch of other cats. The Pim has done ok, actually well, but a week ago someone decided to eat him alive, although they could never swallow a comparably large catfish like Marbled Pim. IDK why it happened. No one should have been particularly hungry but one doesn't always know. For instance, right now is the spawning season for many fish and fish can suddenly want to pig out because making milt and eggs requires a lot of biomaterial and energy. But this behavior is unpredictable because most years most fish don't exhibit any mating / spawning behavior in captivity, in my hands anyway.

This is the tank to give you a sense of what I am referring to, shot just before the Marbled Pim got ripped up:


Your TSN will feed when its appetite returns. I'd just watch its wounds, behavior, etc. and make sure the water is pristine. That's all that's needed in 99% cases for a fish to recover from physical injuries.

The dimensions of the pond are 3.8 long x 2 wide x 1.2 high, in meters. Do you think it is possible to reintroduce my TSN after he has fully recovered ? One last question, what is the lowest temperature that these cats can withstand, its winter here in South Africa and i just want to be cautious ?

Your Knowledge and help is greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[AnthonyFish20]

70-72 they should be fine for a little bit

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The dimensions of the pond are 3.8 long x 2 wide x 1.2 high, in meters. Do you think it is possible to reintroduce my TSN after he has fully recovered ? One last question, what is the lowest temperature that these cats can withstand, its winter here in South Africa and i just want to be cautious ?

Your Knowledge and help is greatly appreciated, thank you

Those are nice dimensions, ~13'x7' physical footprint. I think it is possible but again don't be surprised if what had happened happens again. If nothing changes, there is no reason to expect the outcome to change plus these guys learn what they can or cannot do. You could do a shake up too - introduce / change the stock, furniture if there is any, and also order of introduction. The more victimized fish should go in first, the bullies well after the former have established themselves.

Just as stated above, ~70 F is tolerated ok for some time, like a few months, even 65-68 F for a short while, say a few weeks. Ideally though, it shouldn't drop below low 70-ies. Reduce the feeding exponentially with a temp drop.