Firewood Catfish
Sorubimicthys planiceps
family: Pimelodidae
Adult length-4-5ft.
Adult weight-25-40 lbs.
Size sold in stores-not often seen in stores, Sold mostly around 6-10inches
This in my opinion is truely one of the most gorgeous catfish in the family of Pimelodidae. Maybe even in any family of catfish. That's a bold statement, but after keeping one for 5 months now, I am amazed. It continues to be more and more gorgeous the larger it gets. This seems to be a hard fish to come by unless you have the right connections. I searched for 8 years until finally I was able to convince a member on this site to ship his to me. They can be quite expensive, but not that bad for what you get in return. This fish is commonly called the firewood catfish, for the bright amber colors on it's back. If you look at it from above when it is sitting still it looks like a piece of red hot firewood. This catfish has a growth rate that is pretty amazing as well. They generally grow between 1-3 inches per month when small, and tapers to around 1/2-1 inch per month after it attains 18-24 inches. It is sometimes mistaken for a tiger shovelnose catfish, and vice versa. One general rule of thumb is the length of the fish. The planiceps is much longer and leaner generally.Also the planiceps head is larger for it's body size. Although patterns may be similar the barbells of a planiceps can be longer than the entire length of the fish. The barbells are also much thicker on the planiceps than the tsn. The tail may have filaments, but usually this is in younger individuals and they go away at a large size. The head is low and flat on a planiceps. They are very skinny but don't let that fool you. They can engulf fish that are about 3/4ths their own size. They look rather famished as juveniles, but thicken up nicely when at a larger size. Still far slimmer than the rtc, or tsn. As for tank size, minimum foot print is the same as for rtc or tsn. 4ft x 10ft, or 8-12ft or more dia tropical pond. Other members on this site tell me that their planiceps are very active, but I have found that mine is the most motionless fish I have ever owned. I sometimes poke him with a peice of air tubing to make sure he is still alive. lol. He sits so motionless waiting for food that he sometimes seems to be only a statue. As for food requirements. They are generally a little more difficult to ween off of live fish than are other catfish. This is partially due to the fact that they are seen at a larger size when imported. They are use to live foods when imported, and thus should be weened if at all possible to krill, shrimp, pellets, or other meaty foods. Beef heart is said to work great. Mine likes chicken hearts and gizzards, along with jumbo shrimp. Keep the water clean as possible as with all pimelodids. Grow these beauties large, and enjoy them if you can house them.
. What about asain RTC. Those have been mentioned quite a bit here lately.
.
