Hemibagrus wyckii/ black devil cat info

thebiggerthebetter

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A small write-up on my 3 wyckiis I did for some other thread:

... Cat-eLog states these (wyckiis) can be combined with other large fish in public-size aquaria. Does not explicitly say if with each other. Don't know how big a tank should be to attempt the latter but I've had two ~1.3' wykiis in my 25'x6'x3' pond. Beautiful black fish with coquettish white bands on the upper caudal lobe. Easy to handle, they let me lift them up and out of the water with one bare hand for a moment and put them back, all without a wiggle or a fight. They can easily defend themselves from 4-5 times bigger (by weight) hungry predators like my 2.5' TSN Terroristo and 2.5' TSNxRTC hybrid Evans. They attack them back, if those try, and send them flying across the whole pond. Needless to say no one goes into their holes and if they do they dart out of there as if on fire.

For several months my wyckiis did nothing but hid only 1-2 meters away from each other in two clay pots. Never knew of each others existence and proximity (it is a supposition but I've never seen them fight each other and never any physical damage on them). Then, one day when I was vacuuming for an n-th time and lifted their pots, they, eventually, found each other. There is some serious dislike between those two. They would not stop fighting and even after I separated them by chasing one away into his farthest clay haven, I found them fighting 15 min later. Eventually, one of them had to go behind the divider to join 1.5' wallago leerii, two 2' alligator gars and Co. He let me lift him out of the water and throw behind the divider. So peace was gained back...

This may be helpful too: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32376&hilit=+wykii

Here is one of mine at ~1':

Lopa.jpg
 

wayne the pain

Fire Eel
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Nice write up :thumbsup:
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Thanks, guys. It was a bit tangenial.

C: Ive read about them being highly aggressive which Is why I want one...
TBTB: As Wayne says, mature fish is a nightmare in a small tank. The link in my post above describes the same.

C: What I really want to know is how active are they during the day?
TBTB: In my pond I'd never seen them unless during vacuuming or finding them in between big rocks. I'd imagine you need a bare tank.

C: Are they very interactive?
TBTB: IDK how to answer. Mine were much fun. Allowing me to handle them barehanded appears to be an exception, to which I have no explanation; I need more reports from keepers of sub-adults and adults.

C: What is there growth rate?
TBTB: Moderate. Perhaps 0.5"-1" a month in the first year. Slowing down from there. 2.5' TL max is usually listed. Someone was talking about their 3' wyckii but I have never seen a proof.

C: What tank size do they need
TBTB: Depends on your philosophy. They swim a lot at night all over the place, people say. I don't think mine did because they would have found each other the first night and I'd only have one in the morning. It could be that the presence of big predators in my pond caused them to stay on their caves always.

C: Are they easy to get off live food
TBTB: Mine never were on live. Readily accepted all kinds of fleshy foods. Never fasted them to see if they'd take a liking to pellets.

C: I currently have a 200x60x60cm 700l tank, how long would it last in there?
TBTB: I'd imagine 1-2 years.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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