Our 2 foot, 5 year old wyckii

[thebiggerthebetter]

I take maydelli back. Keep forgetting maydelli is an Indian fish and the folks holding the fish are not Indian. So microphthalmus remains possible as it also occurs in the Mekong.

These are not Sperata of any species. The head and snout are way too wide, the eyes too small, the adipose is too small, the dorsal is too short (though collapsed in the pics), etc. The head alone as well as the body and fin proportions are pretty specific to Hemibagrus.

Hemibagrus from our database:

ARTC	Hemibagrus wyckioides.Greek,hemi=the_half+Mozarabic,bagre,Greek,pagros=a_fish,Dentex_sp.	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes (Catfish) > Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)	Max 130 cm TL; common 50 cm SL; max 86 kg. FWR 120-185 cm; 32-100 kg; 16+ years.	Freshwat.; demersal; potamodromous	Subtropical	Asia: Mekong basin. Reported from Chao Phraya, Maeklong & Peninsular Thailand river systems.	Occurs in large upland rivers. Common in areas with rocky bottoms & irregular depths. Apparently does not migrate but reproduces locally & enters the flooded forest during high water in Jul-Oct. Feeds on insects, prawns, fish & crabs. Marketed fresh. Max 86 kg reported for a fish caught in Mae Klong River, Thailand (J-F. Helias, pers.comm., 07/2002).
Krishna Mystus	Hemibagrus maydelli	Actinopterygii>Siluriformes > Bagridae	165 cm TL; 59 kg. FWR 100-165 cm; 19-59 kg.	Freshwat.; demersal	Tropical	Asia: middle reaches of the Krishna river drainage in southern India.	Inhabits rivers. In Nagarjunasagar reservoir, this species contributed to the commercial fishery to the extent of 1 to 3 t per annum during 1976-80.
Irrawaddy Mystus	Hemibagrus microphthalmus	Actinopterygii>Siluriformes > Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)	Max 133 cm TL m./u.; max 80 kg. FWR 50-180 cm; 2-80 kg.	Freshwat.; brackish; demersal; potamodromous	Tropical	Asia: Manipur drainage in India, Irrawaddy & Sittang drainages in Myanmar and, Salween River of Thailand. Recorded from Mekong River system in southern Laos.	Occurs in deeper rocky areas & tree roots. Caught t/o the year. Enters flooded forest during the months of high water (Jul-Oct). Feeds on fish, shrimps & crabs. Fisheries: minor com.
Yellow catfish	Hemibagrus nemurus	Actinopterygii>Siluriformes > Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)	Max 65 cm SL male/unsexed. FWR 64-80 cm; 3-7 kg.	Freshwat.; brackish; benthopel.; pH 7.0-8.2; dH 10-25; potamodromous	Tropical 22 - 25°C; 19°N-6°S	Asia: Mekong, Chao Phraya & Xe Bangfai basins; also from the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo.	Occurs in most habitat types, but most frequent in large muddy rivers, with slow current & soft bottom. Enters flooded forest. Feeds on exogenous insects, aquatic insect larvae, shrimps, other crustaceans & fishes. Moves into flooded forests to spawn & the young are usually first seen in Aug. Returns to rivers in Nov-Dec. A highly priced aquar. fish. Food fish high in nutritive values esp. omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA). Fisheries: com.; a/c: com.; aquar.: com.
Crystal-eyed or forktail catfish	Hemibagrus wyckii	Actinopterygii>Siluriformes > Bagridae	Max 71 cm SL m./u. FWR 65-80+ cm; 3.5-6 kg.	Freshwat.; demersal; potamodromous	Tropical 22 - 25°C	Asia: Thailand to Indonesia	Lives in large rivers with fast flowing water over muddy substrate. Appears to be restricted in the middle reaches of rivers. Feeds on insects, prawns & fishes. Food fish. Fisheries: com.

 

[CC N]

yeah its kind of like that. i agreed with you about the adipose. i also take back the Sperata. A picture of large microphthalmus for comparision. pretty resemble.

this is the list of Hemibagrus in southeast asia(Vietnam+Mekong delta)

Hemibagrus camthuyensis - Cá lăng Cẩm Thủy
-Hemibagrus centralus - Cá lăng Quảng Bình
-Hemibagrus chiemhoaensis - Cá lăng Chiêm Hóa
-Hemibagrus dongbacensis - Cá lăng Đông Bắc
-Hemibagrus filamentus - Cá lăng hầm
-Hemibagrus guttatus - Cá lăng chấm
-Hemibagrus hongus - Cá lăng sông Hồng
-Hemibagrus nemurus - Cá lăng vàng
-Hemibagrus microphthalmus - Cá lăng chiên
-Hemibagrus planiceps - Cá chốt trắng
-Hemibagrus pluriradiatus - Cá lăng Bắc Giang
-Hemibagrus songdaensis - Cá lăng sông Đà
-Hemibagrus taybacensis - Cá lăng Tây Bắc
-Hemibagrus vietnamicus - Cá huốt
-Hemibagrus wyckii - Cá lăng ki
-Hemibagrus wyckioides - Cá lăng đuôi đỏ
These are Vietnamese names

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

thebiggerthebetter sorry for your loss. What a solid cat that is.
I forgot to update my find, 21kg monster

View attachment 1484374

Just in case, I asked for the ID confirmation on the PCF: https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50647

We have had this bacterial problem with way too many fish since 2018. I've become firmly convinced of the need for UV sanitization of water. I am considering this in earnest, especially now, having lost so many precious, show kind and size fish. A turn key UV system would be $10K-$20. As a DIY, we might get away with several thousand $. Up until now, we have not used UV sanitization on our water.

The bacterial killer lives in our tanks+15K filter system and I am pretty sure it came with other fish, most likely in 2018 with the walking catfish from the wild, who were undertreated in QT. The 26K system of the two 4500's, one 1800, and the 15K sump hosts the majority of larger rescue fish that come and go. No surprise, with my lazy man QT procedures, that we have been losing precious, rare fish (while most of the cheap and hardy fish remain ok). But most of all since 2018. Until then, it had been far better. As for the what kind of bacteria, I am not saying it was the columnaris or only columnaris or that the columnaris was the primary cause, not secondary or tertiary. Some fish we have lost in 2018 and since then showed symptoms consistent with columnaris and some didn't. Columnaris is a complex animal and has several known strains, acting quite differently.

My gut feeling says reason #1 is that the wyckii was sickened and killed by a dangerous bacteria. A less likely reason is dirty 15K sump and as a result a high bacterial count in water column, but after I cleaned the 15K sump thoroughly twice over one year, there was no improvement whatsoever. Thus, I am inclined to discard this as the primary cause. A compounding factor it may be. I have planned to make a rearrangement in the sump, take out half the shade cloth media to make the hiding of detritus and bacteria harder and the vacuuming of the sump easier and faster and will continue cleaning the sump more frequently.

View attachment 1486898View attachment 1486899View attachment 1486900View attachment 1486901View attachment 1486902View attachment 1486903View attachment 1486904

I also think that insufficient water changes contributed too. I waited too long to buy 6 new RO membranes. The WC was like 100% in 3-4 weeks, versus 3-4 days when the RO membranes are fresh. Even though the TDS was still around 300 ppm, that is quite acceptable, I think this is at least one significant compounding factor in the wyckii passing.

 

[Aqua Anteater]

I believe they are holding two Hemibagrus maydelli, about 5-6 feet long and 40-50 kg each.

Smaller top fish in picture is easily 7ft and way way over 50kg.. closer to the posted weight, the larger bottom fish looks much heavier.

 

[fishguy1978]

Comparing the face in the op with images online I don't think it's a B. Wyckii. I'm not an expert on these at all. The posted fish has a very rounded snout and B.W. look to have a more square snout. Slightly willing to be corrected.?

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I am unsure about what you are saying. Are you saying our ID may be incorrect? Which fish? All three?

Also wyckii is from the Hemibagrus genus. I don't know what you mean by B. wyckii.

 

[fishguy1978]

I am unsure about what you are saying. Are you saying our ID may be incorrect? Which fish? All three?

Also wyckii is from the Hemibagrus genus. I don't know what you mean by B. wyckii.

Sorry, the 4fter is the one I was commenting on

 

[dingning]

Do you think this is a huge Hemibagrus wyckii ？

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

It doesn't strike me as a wyckii, more so some other large-growing species from the same genus.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Agree, whilst the bulk of the fish is Wyckii like , along with the white edge to the pectoral and the lower body colour, the dorsal is not Wyckii shape (albeit damaged) and the jaw/ mouth is not either from this photo.