Bagarius bagarius

KenMan · Post by **KenMan** » 18 Sep 2007, 19:59

Ive read some conflicting eventual size estimates for this fish and was just wondering if it is infact the "dwarf" of the genus. Im confused because here on Planet Catfish it says a size of 7.9" whereas fishbase states a "max size" of 200cm...Anyone have any thoughts on what it may actually attain and how best to keep it (i.e a good sized tank, I wouldnt keep it with anything for fear of it being food...)
All help much appreciated. Cheers

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 18 Sep 2007, 20:04

it's Bagarius yarelli that's the Big un.

maybe Fishbase synonyms these 2 species?

KenMan · Post by **KenMan** » 18 Sep 2007, 20:15

Possibly, however it specifically names it as "dwarf goonch", so it does recognise it as a separate species.
Thanks for the reply

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 18 Sep 2007, 22:59

You probably missed it, but this is written under Biology for Bagarius bagarius:

Reported length of 200 cm (Ref. 4537) is incorrect (Maurice Kottelat, pers. comm. with hint to Roberts 1982 (not seen).

KenMan · Post by **KenMan** » 19 Sep 2007, 08:04

Yeah I didnt see that part... Thanks for the info Marc
I asked someone who has kept them before what size theirs got to and they said it maxed out at 12", and he kept it in a 55g, and said that he wasnt aggressive.

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 20 Sep 2007, 18:04

As far as i can tell there seems to be a bit of confusion in Bagarius to say the least (at average hobbyist level, anyway). As Sid points out Yarelli is the giant (& B.Bagarius should be the dwarf) but who's to say that is what is accurately labelled in the shop? Additionally there may well be unidentified species imported. I have seen specimens recently at 5-8" which could've been any of 'em - partially as the colour pattern seems to develop over time & body size & also because if there are any key distinguishing features i don't know what they are

They are great looking fish & need to be kept in tanks with vast areas of substrate - they are fish-eaters but are not the killers like the asian redtail & can suffer from large boisterous tankmates when initially introduced

grokefish · Post by **grokefish** » 20 Sep 2007, 21:41

I didn't know there was a dwarf one.

Matt

KenMan · Post by **KenMan** » 22 Sep 2007, 16:43

Apparently B.Rutilus and B.Suchas differ from B.Yarrelli and B.Bagarius and the only way to tell the differance between yarellis and B.Bagarius is by size...Colour patterns depend on locality and substrate too I belive. Theyre for sale in Wildwoods though so I would imagine they have some kind of an idea (the also have yarrellis on the list at the moment too).