Clarias Nieuhofi

[Redtailrob]

Hi all.
Had a look on here & Im the only registered keeper of one of these brutes!
I've also looked it up on the Cat-a-Log and it says final size 19", well mine is clearly not listening as its about 22" maybe even 24" inches.

Any suggestions as to the final potential size of this beast!
Many thanks

Rob

[Birger]

I've also looked it up on the Cat-a-Log and it says final size 19", well mine is clearly not listening as its about 22" maybe even 24" inches.

Have you taken into account that the Cat-elog shows measurements in SL which is from the tip of the nose to the base of the caudal fin as opposed to TL which is total lenght that includes the tail.

Birger

[Silurus]

Interesting. I have seen a lot of C. nieuhofii (probably more than anyone else in this forum), yet I have not encountered anything larger than 15" SL.

FWIW, the length in the Cat-eLog comes from Fishbase, which is TL. Fishbase cites Rainboth (1996) as the source of this value, but I know for certain that Walter never encountered anything of this length (I know for a fact that at the time he wrote the book, he had not even encountered this species in Cambodia).

[MatsP]

A clear photo of the fish alongside a ruler/tape-measure would allow me to update the Cat-eLog, such that we can determine:
1. The actual length of the fish in Standard Length.
2. That it really is the correct species ID.

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Mats

[Redtailrob]

Ok, will see what i can do.
Anu suggestions on how to get a rather active fish to pose alongside a tape measure???

[MatsP]

Anu suggestions on how to get a rather active fish to pose alongside a tape measure???

Not really, but it's often easiest to catch the fish when doing this sort of thing, and perhaps putting it in a long/thin container. But yes, it's not easy.

Plecos tend to lay still if out of water, but I'm not sure Clarias are doing the same.

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Mats

[Redtailrob]

Lay still are you kidding??
the blighter never stops moving!!
he has now taken to launching himself out of the water when i feed him - watch those fingers

[MatsP]

I mean OUT OF WATER, not just jumping up to catch food... Most catfish do a "play dead" routine when they find themselves on "dry land".

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Mats

[Silurus]

Most catfish do a "play dead" routine when they find themselves on "dry land".

Not Clarias (or any air-breathing clariid), unfortunately. These will immediately begin “walking” all over the place once they are out of water.

[Richard B]

too true - they're not called walking catfish for nothing!!!

[Redtailrob]

Will try to get a picture at some point, but dont want to damage or stress the fish out by netting it just to measure the beast!
And NO chance it will stay still, when moved previoulsy- it goes mental!!

[jscoggs27]

I doubt it will get too stressed. I think perhaps the one getting stressed will be you when you end up chasing it around your fish house floor! However, try catching it then holding it still in a big wet towel. Very tough animals not much really hurts them, I dont know much about that particular species but be carefull of the spines, any wound you get from them could lead to a nasty painfull infection.
jason

[Redtailrob]

I know pictures still to follow off this beauty!

The beast nearly took my fingers when feeding him this week!! ha ha

[Redtailrob]

Hi all
Well finally here are some pictures of the beast (aerial shots I'm afraid)
he is currently still residing in my cracked 8foot!
Please note that the tank width is 30" so you get a good indication of this fishes size

[Silurus]

This is

Clarias gariepinus

.

[Stackdeck]

Silurus , how do you tell them apart? Never seen anything other than batrachus and garienpinus here.

[Silurus]

None of the Southeast Asian Clarias species would have a mottled color pattern like that. Only the African ones do (and over here, they are almost invariably C. gariepinus).

[Redtailrob]

I will double check with the retailer today as to where these fish where Imported from, my understanding is that they where from Thailand which would rule out Gariepinus no??

[racoll]

Clarias gariepinus has been introduced to Thailand, but more likely it could have come from a farm and exported via Bangkok.

[Silurus]

Clarias gariepinus is farmed in large quantities throughout Southeast Asia. I've seen farmed fish in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (they even farm a C. gariepinusXC. macrocephalus hybrid in Thailand).
One can easily obtain C. gariepinus in Singapore. Just go to any LFS and buy a bag of baby Clarias being sold as food fish. If you want larger fish, just go to any store that sells live bait for fishing.

[Stackdeck]

I was under the impression that feeder catfish were C.batrachus? Didn't know they were garienpinus.

[exasperatus2002]

You can also use a piece of plexiglass as a make shift cattle shoot to help keep him straight infront of the front glass for a picture. just have the ruler taped to the tank. Something they do though not like feasable for you is with venomous snakes they'll put them into a clear plastic tube to keep them straight.

[MatsP]

You can also use a piece of plexiglass as a make shift cattle shoot to help keep him straight infront of the front glass for a picture. just have the ruler taped to the tank. Something they do though not like feasable for you is with venomous snakes they'll put them into a clear plastic tube to keep them straight.

Yup, that would work. However, I believe we have determined that it's not the species originally thought, and the size of C. gariepinus is about 5ft/1500mm, so a fish that is about 24" is quite a bit off the maximum size.

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Mats

[Redtailrob]

Oh Jesus!! You aint kidding Mats
What the hell am I going to do with a 5 foot gariepinus ???

[MatsP]

Oh Jesus!! You aint kidding Mats
What the hell am I going to do with a 5 foot gariepinus ???

Put it in the same pond where you are going to keep the RTC? ;)

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Mats

[Redtailrob]

Well Im hoping that works, but whenever its been introduced to some of my bigger Cats in the ponds its too dam aggressive, chases every thing!
Here's hoping

[Stackdeck]

Garienpinus are popular food here , haha just joking , but iv'e seen many large garienpinus in ponds with other fish and i dont notice much aggression.

[MatsP]

Fish barbecue is always an option! ;) That's certainly what Sidguppy would suggest!

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Mats

[Redtailrob]

Maybe with a little Carribean marinade......

[MatsP]

I've had "Blackened catfish" - Lousiana style - which is VERY nice. It's pan-fried with a good mix of spices... And Clarias from Asia are generally "food-fish". Of course, that's only if you can't keep it...

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Mats