New member getting a vulture tomorrow

[Pdandy]

Hi all! I came over here from MFK. I ordered a vulture from Jeff rapps. Should be here in the morning. Can anyone share their experiences?

[Birger]

Hi, welcome to PlanetCatfish.

Here is the link to the COTM on this species http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm. ... cle_id=331

Birger

[Richard B]

Welcome to Planet Catfish.

These are super looking fish (& secretly ive dreamed of something like an 8x3x3 with a dozen of these).

just a word of caution, & this is not necessarily always the case.....These can be quite docile & appear to be great tankmates but they are greedy. If they don't get enough food they will just take a chunk out of a tankmate. The article by Jools hints at this & the compatability feature on the species page says it it possible etc etc but it definately does happen on occasion.

IMHO feeding regime needs to be experiemented with to find the correct amount and adjusted as the fish grows.

If tankmates are present, only the most heavily armoured fishes should be considered.
Fast swimming species like large dollars, tinfoils, pacu can be hunted down pretty easily within the confines of an aquarium.

[Pdandy]

Thank you for the info guys! The vulture showed up yesterday and is doing great!

[Redtailrob]

Truly wonderful but crazy catfish these!!
Super, super active & with the exception of the Asian family/Species Clarias probably just about the most greedy fish you can own.
This fish grow very fast & max out around 24" +
My 1st one I had for around 5 years which unfortunately I lost during a winter disaster.
Im now the proud owner of a another around 10".
I have posted several posts here on PC about these catfish.
As per Richard B's comments they are called " Vulture Cats" & with good reason, if not fed accordingly they will take bites from your other fishes & will harrass & kill anything that is too small to be eaten in one go.
My previous Beauty was housed in a 6'x4'x3' Heated Pond along with a few Bigger Cats.
These where feed once maybe twice a week only on a mixture of Prawns, Squid & white fish fillets, the bigger cats would be hand feed Large single fillets.
On occasion I would view the Pond the morning after Only to find the Bellys on one or two of the bigger Cats, my Leiras Mammoratus in particular would be empty & would have Horseshoe shaped bite marks on their flanks!!! Lying in the pond would be the Vulture cat as fat & as round as you like!! It was biting the swollen sides of the bigger cats making them regurgitate their recent meals & then eating the contents himself! So beware!!
Obviuolsy with a fish of this size & appetite pay particular attention to providing excellent filtration & water quality as despite their size & temprament they are particulary vunerable to poor water quality.
Good Luck

[ErikO]

" It was biting the swollen sides of the bigger cats making them regurgitate their recent meals & then eating the contents himself! So beware!!"

[arapaimag]

I've owned 3 of which 2 are still in my tanks.

I find them to be very peaceful.

The first I got January 3, 1988 from Big Al's Aquarium Services in Mississauga Canada at 15.2cm and I kept it alive until 2002 at which time it was 63.5cm. I raised it in a 180 and later moved it to my largest tank. A great swimmer and very peaceful.

The second I bought January 4, 2000 from Pets Plus in Lockport New York at 12.7cm and like the first raised it in a 180 and moved it to my second biggest tank because the first one was still alive at the time and I did not want to bother the old one with a young kitten. I have not measured it in more than 10 years but it is probably a little over 55cm. Again it is very peaceful. The only fish I ever saw it chase was my young Sperata aor which is about 50cm. No damage done.

The third I bought March 13, 2012 from Aquatic Kingdom in Mississauga, Ontario at 11.4cm and like the others placed it in a 180 to raise it. I have not measured it but it appears to be about 30 cm or so now. Again no aggression.

A really enjoyable fish to own. Good luck with yours.

[necrocanis]

this is good info. Mine is doing quite well and have owned it for less than a month. Mine thus far has not been very active except to eat and then go back to his hiding spot. Becomes very active after lights out though. Gets picked on by other fish, but just totally ignores them. He will just swim off to another spot and avoid conflict. Is about 11.5" currently.