We put away 1.5' mullet yesterday - 4 apurensis
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Some minor scuffs and abrasions happen. But this is not the paroon thread.
"Hey, Mister...YOU GOT A DEAD FISH IN HERE!!!" Wow...what a flashback; for a second there I was transported back to my teen years working in a LFS...
Viktor, watching your fish in those giant tanks really highlights some of the differences between small tanks, big tanks...and BIG TANKS. Some fish seem to adapt well to being surrounded by crowds of assorted other species around them, but the Jelly always seems a little bit out of its element here. It's the fish I am always searching for when I see one of your videos, and seeing it in the role of the "little guy" is almost saddening. It seems, as you mentioned, almost uneasy; when it moves the length of the tank, it hugs the wall or floor, whether horizontal or vertical, almost as though cringing. Contrast that to a Jelly in a relatively small home tank, where it moves confidently when and where it wishes. I'm always going to think of this species as a perfect single-fish-alone species, where it can comfortably be the Big Guy.
Thanks for all the information you have provided in this thread, and to
Yellowcat
,
F
fishdance
,
kendragon
and others for adding other useful tidbits. This is the kind of data that just isn't available on most other sites. The nutritional requirements and feeding idiosyncrasies of fish whose length is measured in feet and lifespan in decades is not something that comes up often on websites devoted to bettas and neon tetras.
Yes, Jello is not too comfortable in this 4500 gal, as evidenced by its behavior that you sharply observed, as well as by slight tatter on the tail fin every now and then. Piraiba is one of the tank mates periodically testing if Jello can be of nutritional value. Never caught anyone else do it but it doesn't mean everyone else surely leaves it alone.
As described above, Jello was found to be uncomfortable in the 240 gal on the latest stay. So the current plan has been to wait until i glue together those 240's to make 600's and 1200's and then give her one 600 gal.
As described above, Jello was found to be uncomfortable in the 240 gal on the latest stay. So the current plan has been to wait until i glue together those 240's to make 600's and 1200's and then give her one 600 gal.
Apurensis again, for the second time, leaves the 4500 gal tank as a result of tank mate aggressive taste-testing. No plan to place it back in there.
I made another mistake. Turns out apurensis is nasty to tank mates in small tanks now. Many years ago at smaller size and age it shared a tank with a Distichodus sexfasciatus for a year just fine. But overall, yes, having kept it in large tanks lately, I forgot that they can be and usually are aggressive to most tank mates in smaller tanks:
This is an unfortunate update. Hopefully that cat will recover from its newest injuries.
I wonder if providing the apurensis with a secure hiding spot would calm it down and reduce aggression? Also...is there any chance that the sudden addition of another fat catfish cruising around in the 240 has possibly spurred some aggressive tendencies in that other large cat (RTCxTSN?) and perhaps that is the culprit?
My apurensis, Lumpy, terrified my wife a week ago by throwing a hissy fit. Apparently he flew into a rage, similar to the activity described in some of the articles I have read. The catfish has a retreat made of ceramic tiles siliconed together to form a cave with two openings. It is placed in the centre of the tank, so that the cat can swim all around it on all sides and I can more or less see through it and monitor him when within. It's heavy, but he has grown large enough to move it, and if it gets shoved too close to either front or back it creates a cul-de-sac which forces him to swim over rather than through...and he doesn't like that! He continues to ram the ceramic construction, shoving it around on the bottom, so I took a strategically-shaped chunk of waterlogged driftwood and placed it on top in such a way that it lodged the cave firmly in position. Problem solved...
...except that, shortly after I departed for a work rotation, he apparently took a dislike to the driftwood and decided it had to go. My wife said that he was constantly trying to shove and push it, to the point where he sustained a large abrasion on the top of his head. The wood wasn't budging and he wasn't backing down. She said that dropping in food would make him take a break, eat, rest for a bit in the cave, and then...right back to attacking the wood. I managed to convince her (no easy task!) to reach in and remove the wood, at which point he immediately calmed down and became his normal mellow lovable self.
They present their challenges, but the joys of associating with them far outweigh the negatives. In case you are wondering whether I am referring to Jelly Cats or wives...it's both!
I wonder if providing the apurensis with a secure hiding spot would calm it down and reduce aggression? Also...is there any chance that the sudden addition of another fat catfish cruising around in the 240 has possibly spurred some aggressive tendencies in that other large cat (RTCxTSN?) and perhaps that is the culprit?
My apurensis, Lumpy, terrified my wife a week ago by throwing a hissy fit. Apparently he flew into a rage, similar to the activity described in some of the articles I have read. The catfish has a retreat made of ceramic tiles siliconed together to form a cave with two openings. It is placed in the centre of the tank, so that the cat can swim all around it on all sides and I can more or less see through it and monitor him when within. It's heavy, but he has grown large enough to move it, and if it gets shoved too close to either front or back it creates a cul-de-sac which forces him to swim over rather than through...and he doesn't like that! He continues to ram the ceramic construction, shoving it around on the bottom, so I took a strategically-shaped chunk of waterlogged driftwood and placed it on top in such a way that it lodged the cave firmly in position. Problem solved...
...except that, shortly after I departed for a work rotation, he apparently took a dislike to the driftwood and decided it had to go. My wife said that he was constantly trying to shove and push it, to the point where he sustained a large abrasion on the top of his head. The wood wasn't budging and he wasn't backing down. She said that dropping in food would make him take a break, eat, rest for a bit in the cave, and then...right back to attacking the wood. I managed to convince her (no easy task!) to reach in and remove the wood, at which point he immediately calmed down and became his normal mellow lovable self.
They present their challenges, but the joys of associating with them far outweigh the negatives. In case you are wondering whether I am referring to Jelly Cats or wives...it's both!
Thank you JJ. Your stories are worth a hardcover book, as usual. I think the Pim will recover. It'd be risky and hard to make a hidey hole for our JellO inside a glass box because she is way too big and strong. She could throw anything around. And she will one way or another, sooner or later, as your story demonstrates as well.
Your and
koltsixx
stories about your apurensis are strikingly similar. When an apu meets an obstacle or something it doesn't like furniture wise, it just wants to shove it out of the way or annihilate it.
No, the biter is JellO. My also-pleasant-to-associate-with wife and I both saw it on several occasions. As I reported in the video, the hybrid also received a little fin tatter but JellO attacks sedentary tank mates first and foremost, perhaps in analogy to the furniture. Hybrid does not like being in the 240 gal timeout and has been swimming almost non-stop since the introduction, so JellO pays it little mind. The rock-like pleco also receives JellO's attention. The less you move, the more likely you are to receive JellO's wrath.
Your and
koltsixx
stories about your apurensis are strikingly similar. When an apu meets an obstacle or something it doesn't like furniture wise, it just wants to shove it out of the way or annihilate it.No, the biter is JellO. My also-pleasant-to-associate-with wife and I both saw it on several occasions. As I reported in the video, the hybrid also received a little fin tatter but JellO attacks sedentary tank mates first and foremost, perhaps in analogy to the furniture. Hybrid does not like being in the 240 gal timeout and has been swimming almost non-stop since the introduction, so JellO pays it little mind. The rock-like pleco also receives JellO's attention. The less you move, the more likely you are to receive JellO's wrath.
