somebody please tell me what catfish this is?

[nick6425]

hello all. right...... i bought these catfish about 3 months ago they were advertised as bumblebee catfish. since i have had them they have doubled in size and are now around 7 inches long. having now done some research into bumblebee catfish it turns out that mine arent them. i cannot find any pictures online that look the same as mine so im wondering if anybody here could help me name them. they are quite aggresive and will have a pop at a parrot fish that is much bigger than them. can anybody help me please??? http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/nick8886/fish/

[nick6425]

i should also add that they are both pink and black in colour.

[Bijn]

Clarias batrachus

[nick6425]

perfect!! thanks very much. dont suppose anybody wants to buy them do they??

[ColumbianChocolate]

I dont want to worry you too much but as is gets bigger it will eat whatever it will get its mouth around. I homed a clarius cat fish for a short period and it was still a baby at 12". It had a great personality it would watch me and follow me as i walked past but a fish would go missing every night and most the other catfish hid all the time. I would only keep them with other large aggressive or similar species or on its own. Mind you one fellow aquarist told me how his adult clarius decided it wanted to eat its other clarius buddy

[nick6425]

i knew nothing about them when i got them so they got put into my communal tank. they have managed to double in size in 3 months as they have eaten 5 mollys, a 5" silver shark, a 2 year old angel fish and about 7 plattys. they have now started bugging my moonlight guoramis and im pretty sure one of them will not survive tonight as he is swimming almost upright. so they have got to go. they are great fish and i love to watch them but they are just too aggresive for my communal tank and im pretty sure if i put them in my other tank which is just full of breeding adult angels that they would kill them and all of the eggs too.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I agree ~100% with the remarks and 100% with ID. Have experience with this exact kind. Also, they are not called walking catfish for nothing: they are escape artists and will use any opportunity given to get out and go for a walk on your living floor carpet or what not...

Great, rewarding personality though. If you can find a way, keep them - you won't regret it.

[ColumbianChocolate]

Oh no sorry to hear that. My local garden centre/aquarium has about 50 baby ones ready to sell to any unlucky people. They look cute when they are young and people put them in the average sized fish tank unaware (why would they be aware if they are not told or sold as something else). My friend had kept one in a 3ft tank and grew quickly to 12" and it constantly banged itself on the lid to get out so I offered to put it in my 5ft tank. It was much happier but unfortuately was too happy with all the available live food! I then found a local aquarist who had an even larger tank with other clarius to rehome it. There is a large english website that i use sometimes to buy, sell or swap tropical fish. You will find local people with monster tanks and tropical ponds who could rehome the clarius

[Viktor Jarikov]

I should be sorry for being ambiguous - mine never got out, or not yet. But such stories abound...

There is a large english website that i use sometimes to buy, sell or swap tropical fish. You will find local people with monster tanks and tropical ponds who could rehome the clarius

could you please provide a link? Is it confined to UK, no USA?

[MatsP]

I suspect:
www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk

--
Mats

[ColumbianChocolate]

Yes thats the one. I have had mostly positive experiences with this website. People will show you their aquariums and the health of the other fish before you buy or swap. I realised i am not the only person addicted to plecos in my country . Obviously you will get the odd person messing you around but thats bound to happen anywhere. Sorry its just UK