Electric Cat Fish - adult size?

Hendre

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Hopefully he wont grow beyond that then and should be all good, hes got a real character my wifes been hand feeding him
Great! In my books they're referred to up to 20" :)
 
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thebiggerthebetter

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There are many species in that genus, about 19, and they are hard to tell apart for a layman.

Some are said to be dwarfs, others - up to 3'.

Problem is as Hendre said there appears to be very, very few of them raised to adulthood for the number sold, like one in a million.

Charney Charney succeeded, from the thread Tlindsey linked. His is currently at 2'+. But I am afraid he is the ONLY MFKer out of active ones that I know of that has succeeded.

There is a thread here discussing possible reasons for their untimely deaths.

Your wife is a good sport :) Feeding ecat by hand is gutsy. They zap pretty good. The bigger they are, the higher the voltage. But they are smart and social and learn to recognize and interact with their owner and feeder.
 

Charney

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there seems to be two groups. The true dwarfs that hit about 8 inches and the giants. I have a true dwarf that is 8 inches or so. I also have what is believed to be a macrostoma which is the smallest of the big guys. My big guy is about 2.5 ft and thick. I hope he is full grown but not positive he is. The dwarfs can be differentiated from the big guys by their lateral lines. Oh and the true dwarfs are really rare.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Wow. This is phenomenal! Great job.

At 2.5', it should be able to put out 250-275 volt.

I didn't know you had a true and proven dwarf too. This is also a first reliable case for me. I wish I could see them and compare.

... The dwarfs can be differentiated from the big guys by their lateral lines...
Can you please elaborate on this a bit? What's in their lateral lines?
 

Charney

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Wow. This is phenomenal! Great job.

At 2.5', it should be able to put out 250-275 volt.

I didn't know you had a true and proven dwarf too. This is also a first reliable case for me. I wish I could see them and compare.



Can you please elaborate on this a bit? What's in their lateral lines?

I got really lucky with the dwarf. Josh from batfish aquatics had entered it into an auction as a dwarf and I told my buddy not to buy it figuring it was labeled wrong. Naturally he did not listen to me and bought. Think he had it for about a year before passing it on to me. I have now owned him at least a year. Definitely a dwarf

I think the big guys have a lateral line the length of the body and the dwarfs 3/4 but I might have that backwards
 

thebiggerthebetter

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There a thread going with pics of this beast? I'm to lazy to search today
Nope. Charney Charney has a dark side and he likes to keep us drooling and imagining :)
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Petitioning for pics of the beast immediately! Charney Charney
Nah, he won't budge, short of a retirement-worthy bribe or a blackmail I imagine... Michael is a professional veterinarian. These are quirky, unpredictable folk with a flexible, agile psyche. Or at least so I gather from watching one half episode of "The great Dr. Scott". We need to start a gofundme page or dig for dirt... that is those who are desperate enough...

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