vundu catfish, Heterobranchus longifilis

fwlion · Post by **fwlion** » 03 Jun 2005, 16:45

has anybody ever kept these cats they are supposed to be VERY aggressive and I know they get huge a 78 pounder was caught on three day old tiger fish fillets in a lake in africa WHERE CAN I GET MY HANDS ON THESE GUYS

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 03 Jun 2005, 16:59

Within the United States, you legally cannot.

From my understanding of this fishes status, the entire family Clariidae has been labeled as a Noxious Invasive species by U.S.F.W. They are illegal to keep, own, transport or sell within the U.S.

Post by **Silurus** » 03 Jun 2005, 17:07

They are not illegal to own if you have a permit. However, the chances of successfully acquiring a permit if you intend keeping the fish as a pet are virtually nil.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 04 Jun 2005, 10:01

Fwlion, why try to get a fish that even if it wasn't illegal cannot be kept in a tank at all???
these monsters reach 2 meters or so (they're the biggest freshwaterspecies in Africa :O ), twice the weight of an adult SA Redtail Catfish, and even a sizeable pond will be too small.

just because it has a high "croc-hunter" image or something?
Keeping unkeepable fish solely for the purpose of boosting one's ego (look what I have in MY tank) or because it has this "though monster Steve Irwin shark croc discovery-channel"-image is SEVERELY frowned upon on this site......

It's like the Piranha/Tarantuala/big snake/house gator-keeping crowd (not that I mean there are no truly dedicated Piranha/Tarantula/big snake keepers out there; I know there ARE).
If you wanna look tough; grow a beard and a beerbelly, or do serious bodybuilding, get a load of tattoo's, buy a harley but don't cram unkeepable animals in a too small space.

just in case you know.