Did you know fantastic help is an anagram of Planet Catfish? This forum is for those of you with pictures of your catfish who are looking for help identifying them. There are many here to help and a firm ID is the first step towards keeping your catfish in the best conditions.
(it may be P.disjunctivus, but only being able to see the belly would confirm). Either way, you have a fish that has the potential to reach in excess of 12".
Good news:
I probably ID'd it correctly, or very close on the first try.
Bad news:
Oh boy.... we got a whopper
Two questions:
1. What distinguishing feature of the belly allows you to tell the difference between the pardalis and disjunctivus?
2. How long will it take this guy to outgrow his 20 gallon tank? He is about 2 inches long ATM.
I will try to get a pic of the belly when I get home.
From the Cat-eLog data sheet: The pattern on the abdomen is the most useful external key: P. pardalis has a spotted pattern, where P. disjunctivus has a vermiculated pattern.
If you click on the purple name in Martin's post, you'll get to the data sheet of the fish.
And welcome to PC of course.
This is where it all goes down hill, you will fall in love with the quirks of your catfish and decide that he/she needs a bigger home, after that it is only a matter of time until your car lives on the street and your garage is full of tanks.
Welcome to PC.
Motorcycles are not an expensive hobby, try keeping L-cats in Australia
AFAIK, Pterygoplichthys pardalis is the only loricariid species whose growth rate has been well-studied (albeit in their introduced range in Florida). They have been found to grow about 10 cm/4 in each year, in which case it may even be wise to rehome it before next year, as 6" is a pretty big fish for a 20 gallon.
- Milton Tan
Research Scientist @ Illinois Natural History Survey
