Monster Catfish!
- Thread starter necrocanis
- Start date
yesterday we bought what we were told was a hi-fin silver catfish (which to me looks just like a paroon shark) but the lady in the shop insisted it wasnt. Once i came home i searched the net for a hi-fin silver catfish but it appears theres no such thing!! Im presuming now we have a paroon shark. We had one of these before but unfortunately it died. I had done research into the paroon shark and decided it wouldnt be fair to keep one now i know how big and how quick they grow but as it happens we have been sold one again!
We have a 50g tank at the moment with a paroon shark, a spotted gar, small plec and a random ciclid. We wanted an unusual set up but it seem that all the shops we go to employ sales people that dont know what they are talking about!!
We have a 50g tank at the moment with a paroon shark, a spotted gar, small plec and a random ciclid. We wanted an unusual set up but it seem that all the shops we go to employ sales people that dont know what they are talking about!!
One thing is for sure. The paroons grow slow for their adult sizes, but will definitely outgrow a 55 very fast. They are powerfull swimmers, and needs lots of room. I'd say the tank size for an adult is at a minimum 5' x 10' x 4'. That's just me though. They are tall bodied catfish that get huge, and need tons of swimming space. That would be the bare minimum though for me. I don't have one for this reason. I have fish that get larger than paroons, but they are not as active, and I'm building a massive tank. Hope you got something bigger in the works for the next couple of months.
Thats not Hassar, thats for sure, would like to see a side on pic, but it looks like a pim for sure. the long high adipose reminds me of Pinirampus, but would like to see better pix first.originalsurf;1596491; said:
Great thread really enjoy it. You did a lot of reading to come up with your fish descriptions. Well done.
One observation I have on redtails is that they swim in all depths of water and if you give them a tank 9 feet deep you will find them at various times swimming at all levels, so the suggestion that 2 1/2 to 3 feet depth of tank is something to reconsider.
They are one of the species of catfish that actually live in the main channel of the amazon and thus swim in water that is actually very deep. They can actually be found in depths from close to the surface to 200 or more feet down. They of course also can be found on the flood plains during high water.
Another thing to consider is that although all of us feed them fish as their diet in fact their normal diet in the wild consists of crabs and fruit during the high water season and will eat fish during the low water period. Information of this type normally is not found in tropical fish books we read. I discovered this in a book called "The catfish connection" by Ronaldo Barthem and Michael Goulding. This is book written by two scientists studying the 13 large predatory fish found in the Amazon basin and into central America over a 17 year study and focuses a lot on the catfish.
In the regions of Brazil where they are found in, the most common name for the red tail catfish Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is the Pirarara. Elsewhere in South america they have several other common names I have never heard of.
Another book you might consider reading is "Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes" from Pontificia Universdade Catolica Do Rio Grande Do Sol.
I find this a good book studying all species of fish found in the Amazon but very good in the Siluriformes. Both small and large catfish.
With sections on:
The phylogenetic Relationships of Neotropical Silriformes: Historical Overview and Synthesis of Hypothesus.
Monophyly and Interrelationships of the Centromochlinae
Systemics Biogeography, and the fossil record of the Callichthyidae
There are also chapters on Loricariidae for those interested (Phylogenetic relationships of the Loricariidae based on Mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences)
I am not a scientist but was able to read and learn most of the material presented and I find helps in the knowledge I have in the study and keeping of large catfish. I hope you do also.
Make sure you request the english version if that is your preference. I would assume the original is in Portuguese.
Here is one of 36"+ Phractocephalus hemioliopterus
swimming at 5 feet and heading down to the 9 foot level. This one was obtained at 2" in April 2005 from The Tropical Fish Room (Jerry Draper) in Brantford Ontario Canada.
One observation I have on redtails is that they swim in all depths of water and if you give them a tank 9 feet deep you will find them at various times swimming at all levels, so the suggestion that 2 1/2 to 3 feet depth of tank is something to reconsider.
They are one of the species of catfish that actually live in the main channel of the amazon and thus swim in water that is actually very deep. They can actually be found in depths from close to the surface to 200 or more feet down. They of course also can be found on the flood plains during high water.
Another thing to consider is that although all of us feed them fish as their diet in fact their normal diet in the wild consists of crabs and fruit during the high water season and will eat fish during the low water period. Information of this type normally is not found in tropical fish books we read. I discovered this in a book called "The catfish connection" by Ronaldo Barthem and Michael Goulding. This is book written by two scientists studying the 13 large predatory fish found in the Amazon basin and into central America over a 17 year study and focuses a lot on the catfish.
In the regions of Brazil where they are found in, the most common name for the red tail catfish Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is the Pirarara. Elsewhere in South america they have several other common names I have never heard of.
Another book you might consider reading is "Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes" from Pontificia Universdade Catolica Do Rio Grande Do Sol.
I find this a good book studying all species of fish found in the Amazon but very good in the Siluriformes. Both small and large catfish.
With sections on:
The phylogenetic Relationships of Neotropical Silriformes: Historical Overview and Synthesis of Hypothesus.
Monophyly and Interrelationships of the Centromochlinae
Systemics Biogeography, and the fossil record of the Callichthyidae
There are also chapters on Loricariidae for those interested (Phylogenetic relationships of the Loricariidae based on Mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences)
I am not a scientist but was able to read and learn most of the material presented and I find helps in the knowledge I have in the study and keeping of large catfish. I hope you do also.
Make sure you request the english version if that is your preference. I would assume the original is in Portuguese.
Here is one of 36"+ Phractocephalus hemioliopterus
swimming at 5 feet and heading down to the 9 foot level. This one was obtained at 2" in April 2005 from The Tropical Fish Room (Jerry Draper) in Brantford Ontario Canada.
Thanks arapaimag I do have both of those books, but at the time the profiles were written I didn't. I would say that they are very highly suggested reading for anyone into big cats. Want to be a member of the Monster Catfish League? Nice RTC BTW which tank is it in? They also cover filamentosum in those books, and show some size and distribution maps.
