A few pictures of some of my cats

catfishcrazy · Post by **catfishcrazy** » 01 Jul 2005, 16:47

Ageneiosus magoi male

A.magoi female

Ageneiosus brevifilis

front view showing huge mouth

Malapterus microstoma

Post by **corybreed** » 01 Jul 2005, 18:59

Nice fish. Have you noticed any spawning activity from the Ageneiosus?

Mark

catfishcrazy · Post by **catfishcrazy** » 01 Jul 2005, 20:08

Not yet but they are still fairly small with the male being around 5" and the female slightly bigger, they are also housed in a community type setting with other cats, a couple of stingrays and a arowana so i wouldnt really expect breeding behaviour but at some point i will probably move them into a species tank, its just a case of sorting out the room for another largish tank. I only have one of the A.brevifilis unfortunately as i didnt have the money to buy a pair so left them at the store for a couple of weeks and on my return someone had bought the male fish

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 01 Jul 2005, 21:55

Nice pix, nice fish. Of course you knew that Ageneiosus have internal fertilisation, didn't you? You're couple has to grow some more and then you'll notice the dorsal spine of your male getting larger, the barbels getting thicker and the first few rays of the analfin becoming a kind of gonopodium. After mating (if you might see it) you only have to keep an eye on the female and put her in a seperate tank where she can lay her eggs. There's no objection at all why they shouldn't mate in a community tank. Good luck with them.
I wish someone over here would import fish like that again.
It has been decades since I last enjoyed these fish.

catfishcrazy · Post by **catfishcrazy** » 02 Jul 2005, 08:07

Yeah i knew that Ageneiosus like most Auchenipterids use internal fertilisation, the male already has the modified first ray of the anal fin, however i didnt expect them to attempt breeding with other fish around. Has anyone successfully bred them and raised their fry in captivity and at what size would you expect them to be sexually mature? I've found information to be quite difficult to find on the A.magoi and i'm not even certain of their full adult size, i expect it to be around 12 inches (30cm).

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 02 Jul 2005, 10:11

I've witnessed several mating sessions but never took the female out of the tank (only had one then), so I can't say I have bred them. Mine were already rather large (and sexually mature)when I bought them, so I can't tell you when they start getting interested in eachother. May be pretty quickly though, but matings can only be succesfull if the male has its adaptations.
I think you total lenght of 30 cm is correct; I've never seen them any bigger (but then: I haven't seen too many).
Females are bigger than males.
Best of luck with your fish.