Wels catfish, albino, ~10"
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Definitely it was wels ripping koi tails. Out of the blue he increases his eating by 10x and in the wrong season, judging from his prior preferences:
The Wels eating habits are so strange. Mine has random changes in appetite as well. I assumed it was temperature related, but mine doesn't seem to be affected by the temperature as it pertains to how much it eats. Maybe the addition of the arapaima has increased his aggression/feeding habits.
Mr. Wels is definitely my favourite fish on MFK, and has been for a long time....so much so that I start to take him for granted, but I always check out this thread when it pops up. The single sentence you wrote in this last post really caught my eye and made me wait for the video to load; not very often I do that. I was worried for Mr. Wels!
Those soft floppy nets are way more prone to damage from teeth than the stiffer nylon ones. A fish flopping around in the soft net can easily get a bunch of the fabric into his mouth and do some damage if he has teeth; I'm thinking here mostly of Pike and Muskie, which sometimes seem to just blast right through what appears to be a solid net with hardly any resistance. I think those external teeth on the leerii would be at least as bad as Esox teeth. The stiffer nets are less liable to actually get into the mouth and are more resistant to cutting when they do.
I have moved entirely towards rubber-covered nets; they seem to be much easier on the slime coat than the older styles. Plus, scooping a fish into a rubberized net is less like slipping a flippy, floppy bag over it and more like scooping it into a flexible collander; way yes chance of getting the material bitten. Sadly, there seems to be quite a range in quality and it's hard to tell good from bad. I have a couple that are almost like new after lots of use on Wallleye, which are very toothy, prickly fish...but I have one that failed on maybe the third outing. It was admittedly a cheapie, and more evidence in support of "you get what you pay for!"
The rubber makes the netting easier on the fish...but it also seems to allow the makers to use any crappy material they want before coating it. Buyer beware!
PS: does Mr. Wels still have carte blanche to eat any tankmates he wants with impunity? I hope so...
Those soft floppy nets are way more prone to damage from teeth than the stiffer nylon ones. A fish flopping around in the soft net can easily get a bunch of the fabric into his mouth and do some damage if he has teeth; I'm thinking here mostly of Pike and Muskie, which sometimes seem to just blast right through what appears to be a solid net with hardly any resistance. I think those external teeth on the leerii would be at least as bad as Esox teeth. The stiffer nets are less liable to actually get into the mouth and are more resistant to cutting when they do.
I have moved entirely towards rubber-covered nets; they seem to be much easier on the slime coat than the older styles. Plus, scooping a fish into a rubberized net is less like slipping a flippy, floppy bag over it and more like scooping it into a flexible collander; way yes chance of getting the material bitten. Sadly, there seems to be quite a range in quality and it's hard to tell good from bad. I have a couple that are almost like new after lots of use on Wallleye, which are very toothy, prickly fish...but I have one that failed on maybe the third outing. It was admittedly a cheapie, and more evidence in support of "you get what you pay for!"
The rubber makes the netting easier on the fish...but it also seems to allow the makers to use any crappy material they want before coating it. Buyer beware!
PS: does Mr. Wels still have carte blanche to eat any tankmates he wants with impunity?
I hope so...
He does but probably only once It hasn't happened yet in the 4 years it's been in the 25K, despite him getting himself pretty hungry sometimes with the moodiness and sensitivity.
He quit eating many mullet every day and went down to a few every 2-3 days...
It hasn't happened yet in the 4 years it's been in the 25K, despite him getting himself pretty hungry sometimes with the moodiness and sensitivity.He quit eating many mullet every day and went down to a few every 2-3 days...
Why would you feel uneasy?
The fish is obviously coming to the realization that during his time with you, he has grown considerably and is continuing to do so with each passing day...whereas you have remained more or less the same size the entire time. The difference in relative sizes...yours and his...is growing smaller and smaller...
Can you see where this is heading? The Wels obviously can!
You're a fish guy...as am I...as are most of us on this forum. We look at that video, especially the overhead views, showing a big sinuous eerily-white fish gliding smoothly towards you while you scrub away at the glass. The motion of the fish is almost seductive as it slips through the water. Cool!
I showed my wife the video clip; her reaction was very informative and revealing: "HOLY CRAP! Is that guy nuts? That fish is as big as a friggin' canoe! Can't he see what it's thinking??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!???"
The fish is obviously coming to the realization that during his time with you, he has grown considerably and is continuing to do so with each passing day...whereas you have remained more or less the same size the entire time. The difference in relative sizes...yours and his...is growing smaller and smaller...
Can you see where this is heading? The Wels obviously can!
You're a fish guy...as am I...as are most of us on this forum. We look at that video, especially the overhead views, showing a big sinuous eerily-white fish gliding smoothly towards you while you scrub away at the glass. The motion of the fish is almost seductive as it slips through the water. Cool!
I showed my wife the video clip; her reaction was very informative and revealing: "HOLY CRAP! Is that guy nuts? That fish is as big as a friggin' canoe! Can't he see what it's thinking??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!???"
Ahhh… nothin sinister goin on here
jjohnwm
lol… thats the corner hes been trained to feed in. Just posted up lookin for a meal as usual. These guys are pretty friendly IME. Mine literally wore its front face down begging for food when id walk by.
jjohnwm
lol… thats the corner hes been trained to feed in. Just posted up lookin for a meal as usual. These guys are pretty friendly IME. Mine literally wore its front face down begging for food when id walk by.
Oh, I recognize the "feeding corner"...and I know that he's just cruising over expecting a meal.
Just wondering how long it will be until he decides that he's found one...despite the fact that it has a snorkel and swim trunks wrapped around it.
Absolutely not sinister...just the natural order of things...
Just wondering how long it will be until he decides that he's found one...despite the fact that it has a snorkel and swim trunks wrapped around it.
Absolutely not sinister...just the natural order of things...
