Take suggestions for catfsh of the month?

[knifegill]

I notice the COTM is a sporadic thing, but wondered if we could call on our members to suggest catfish each month? Clearly, you'd have to search the COTM archive to verify that a species hasn't been featured yet. Would it be helpful, would it help us have one every month?

[Silurus]

There was a much older similar thread on this. Don't know how many of those eventually got fulfilled.

[Birger]

Making a suggestion is the easy part, we still need someone to do the writeup. If you or anyone else are volunteering to write one up that would be awesome.

Birger

[knifegill]

Oh, wow. I'd love to do some now and then, that would be awesome.

[knifegill]

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water!

I present to you a true beast, a thorny monster of the Amazon, Acanthicus Hystrix.

pic-20041214213208.jpg (17.16 KiB) Viewed 8140 times

Carachama mama, brazil.
-Acanthicus Hystrix


(pic from google searches)


Size/age:
Many Plecostomus species have been put forth as being potentially “the largest”, and while panaque species are certainly more massive, it is possible that A. hystrix may well be the longest, at up to 42” reported in some sources, while more commonly reaching 24” to 30”. Longevity of these fish from what I’ve found is not known, but one would suspect at least ten years for something so large.


Aggression:
Many aquariums can be seen with A. Adonis being cohabbed with large groups of plecos, however, fewer people are keeping A. Hystrix in general, so it’s risky to extrapolate this apparently peaceful behavior to our fish. With many profiles warning of high aggression, territoriality and outright homicidal nature of this fish on occasion, the aquarist should be prepared to keep it alone if necessary. They also become more aggressive with age, so young specimens may fare better in a busy aquarium than older specimens.
One source reports repeatedly trying to add small fish to their hystrix tank, but the hystrix would wait at the edge of the tank and impale the little fish with his opercular spines against the glass. Wouldn’t eat the fish, just wanted them dead.


Housing:
With an adult size of about 3 feet, you’d ideally be looking at a minimum holding tank of 6 feet by at least 12 feet, the height of the tank normally not terribly important for bottom-living animals, given the LONG leading rays of the dorsal fin and the length of this fish in general, one would want at least 3 or 4 feet of depth so the fish can attach vertically to the walls, and lie flat on the floor of the tank without the dorsal fin emerging from the water. This puts you solidly in the 500g+ aquarium sizes.
Temperature can vary from 72 to 80, my hystrix is healthy and growing rapidly at 74 degrees.
Decorations should be kept to a minimum, nothing heavy enough to break the tank when the fish throws it around. Objects as large as bricks can be moved quickly by adult specimens, so normally just driftwood or heavy cavework (immobile or lightweight) are recommended.


Diet:
Most sources agree these fish are opportunistic omnivores, leaning toward the carnivorous side. Frozen shellfish and other meaty foods are usually taken without hesitation, while vegetables may be eaten but with less fervor. Pellets are a fine staple but watch the ingredients, the author lost a specimen to bloat once and boiled the causes down to either excessive temperature or cheap fillers in the feed, no parasites were found upon autopsy.. You’ll love watching them eat, their massive fins bobbing up and down as a result of their exaggerated chewing techniques. My hystrix actually does eat a lot of wood, but is young.


------------------------------------------------------

What am I missing, what should be changed?

[Jools]

I notice the COTM is a sporadic thing, but wondered if we could call on our members to suggest catfish each month? Clearly, you'd have to search the COTM archive to verify that a species hasn't been featured yet. Would it be helpful, would it help us have one every month?

Yes, I did manage to write or source one every month for well over a decade. But I have run out of steam a little. That said, I just need a bit of encouragement (and a little time, the world cup doesn't help right now! ) and I can get these going. It is my plan to back fill the gaps too. I have one for Pseudohemiodon sp. for this month; just haven't published it yet.

Jools

[Jools]

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water!

I present to you a true beast, a thorny monster of the Amazon, Acanthicus Hystrix.

pic-20041214213208.jpg
Carachama mama, brazil.
-Acanthicus Hystrix


(pic from google searches)


Size/age:
Many Plecostomus species have been put forth as being potentially “the largest”, and while panaque species are certainly more massive, it is possible that A. hystrix may well be the longest, at up to 42” reported in some sources, while more commonly reaching 24” to 30”. Longevity of these fish from what I’ve found is not known, but one would suspect at least ten years for something so large.


Aggression:
Many aquariums can be seen with A. Adonis being cohabbed with large groups of plecos, however, fewer people are keeping A. Hystrix in general, so it’s risky to extrapolate this apparently peaceful behavior to our fish. With many profiles warning of high aggression, territoriality and outright homicidal nature of this fish on occasion, the aquarist should be prepared to keep it alone if necessary. They also become more aggressive with age, so young specimens may fare better in a busy aquarium then older specimens.
One source reports repeatedly trying to add small fish to their hystrix tank, but the hystrix would wait at the edge of the tank and impale the little fish with his opercular spines against the glass. Wouldn’t eat the fish, just wanted them dead.


Housing:
With an adult size of about 3 feet, you’d ideally be looking at a minimum holding tank of 6 feet by at least 12 feet, the height of the tank normally not terribly important for bottom-living animals, given the LONG leading rays of the dorsal fin and the length of this fish in general, one would want at least 3 or 4 feet of depth so the fish can attach vertically to the walls, and lie flat on the floor of the tank without the dorsal fin emerging from the water. This puts you solidly in the 500g+ aquarium sizes.
Temperature can vary from 72 to 80, my hystrix is healthy and growing rapidly at 74 degrees.
Decorations should be kept to a minimum, nothing heavy enough to break the tank when the fish throws it around. Objects as large as bricks can be moved quickly by adult specimens, so normally just driftwood or heavy cavework (immobile or lightweight) are recommended.


Diet:
Most sources agree these fish are opportunistic omnivores, leaning toward the carnivorous side. Frozen shellfish and other meaty foods are usually taken without hesitation, while vegetables may be eaten but with less fervor. Pellets are a fine staple but watch the ingredients, the author lost a specimen to bloat once and boiled the causes down to either excessive temperature or cheap fillers in the feed, no parasites were found upon autopsy.. You’ll love watching them eat, their massive fins bobbing up and down as a result of their exaggerated chewing techniques. My hystrix actually does eat a lot of wood, but is young.


------------------------------------------------------

What am I missing, what should be changed?

A lot of work has gone into this, so, I could edit it a little and I think it would be good to publish. I'd perhaps mention how you tell this apart from A. adonis? I could also tell a good story about this one as I have found it in the wild - I could add that to this too?

Jools

[knifegill]

Yes, friend, modify and add as you please. Thank you for accepting my work, in any format.

[knifegill]

Oops, there's a "then" that should be a "than", I'll edit it now...

[Jools]

How about this for starters?

Forum user “Knifegill” went to the considerable effort of writing up most of this CotM and inspired me to write the rest. The clear majority of fishes that I’ve written about for the monthly slot are those which I have kept. This is not one of them, but only for domestic reasons which will become clear.
In the world of aquarium catfish, there is a beast, a thorny monster of the Amazon, and it is called Acanthicus hystrix. Known locally in Brazil as Carachama mama (the mother pleco) the species name just means hedgehog. And for good reason.

There are many large loricariid species and while Panaque spp. are certainly more massive, A. hystrix may well be the longest, at up to 42” reported in some sources, while more commonly reaching 24” to 30”. Longevity of these fish from what I’ve found is not known, but one would suspect at decade or two for something so large.


Many aquariums can be seen with the other species of Acanthicus, A. adonis living with large groups of plecos, however, fewer fishkeepers keep A. Hystrix in general, so it’s risky to extrapolate this apparently peaceful behavior to our fish. Furthermore, not many of those keep larger specimens beyond 20” or so. With many warning of aggression, territoriality and outright homicidal nature of this fish on occasion, the aquarist should be prepared to keep it alone if necessary. They also become more aggressive with age, so young specimens may fare better in a busy aquarium then older specimens. One source reports repeatedly trying to add small fish to their A. hystrix tank, but the pleco would wait at the edge of the tank and impale the little fish with his opercular spines against the glass. It wouldn’t eat the fish, it reportedly just wanted them dead. While not a predator, this seems unlikely given the carnivorous tendencies of this species.


With an adult size of about 3 feet, you’d ideally be looking at a minimum holding tank of 6 feet by at least 12 feet, the height of the tank normally not terribly important for most bottom-living fishes but given the long leading rays of the dorsal fin and the length of this fish in general, one would want at least 3 or 4 feet of depth so the fish can attach vertically to the walls, and lie flat on the floor of the tank without the dorsal fin emerging from the water. This puts you solidly in the 500g+ aquarium sizes. Seemingly an adaptable fish the temperature can vary from 72 to 80, my individual is healthy and growing rapidly at 74 degrees.

Decorations should be kept to a minimum, nothing heavy enough to break the tank when the fish throws it around. Objects as large as bricks can be moved quickly by adult specimens, so normally just driftwood or heavy cave work (immobile or lightweight) are recommended.

Most sources agree these fish are opportunistic omnivores, leaning toward the carnivorous side. Frozen shellfish and other meaty foods are usually taken without hesitation, while vegetables may be eaten but with less fervour. Pellets are a fine staple but watch the ingredients, I lost a specimen to bloat once and boiled the causes down to either excessive temperature or cheap fillers in the feed, no parasites were found upon autopsy. You’ll love watching them eat, their massive fins bobbing up and down because of their exaggerated chewing techniques. My individual actually does eat a lot of wood, but is young and this is more likely the search for food than anything else.

Jools tells the story of when he encountered this species in the wild….

[more from me]

[Peixes]

Hi, I don't think Carachama mama is a brazilian name.

In Brazil the commom names are

Cascudo cauda de lira / Cascudo espinho / Canana capeta

I think carachama is a peruvian name

[Lycosid]

Many aquariums can be seen with the other species of Acanthicus, A. adonis living with large groups of plecos, however, fewer fishkeepers keep A. Hystrix in general...

Typo: "Hystrix" should not be capitalized. It's correct elsewhere.

[Jools]

I've added the CotM, I still need to change the picture on the article and fix a few things (including adding italics) but have run out of time for now.

I hope it reads well, I really enjoyed editing and reading it.

Jools

[Jools]

I've now finished the full edit and added the final picture (took me a while to find it).

Job done!




Jools