PlanetCatfish.com

Hi folks,
Just a quick one to those who keep or have kept the Psudodora niger or Ripsaw cat.
Please tell me all that you know about it I have had one for a few months now but still only know what I have read on the cat-elog section.
Thanks in advance.


Mike

Whilst open-ended questions are sometimes good, it would probably be a better idea if you ask specific questions on the areas that aren't covered in the Cat-eLog. So what do you actually want to know?

[The problem with an open-ended question is that you may very well get many answers to your question, but not a single one actually telling you what you wanted to know - but more importantly, since you're not asking a specific question, someone who knows the answer to your question may think that they don't need to answer, because what they know "isn't important"].

--
Mats

Big doradids are the dogs blarks, first thing I would do is:-

try your best to determine which 'niger cat' you have as there are different species and some grow bigger than others, post a picture of him on here, there are some people that regularly use this site that will really spend time to properly ID him.

Next, I don't know if you have a really big tank or not but if you don't, start saving and planning now. Big tanks are a lot more work/outlay/maintenance cost/sturdy foundations than you may think, go for a wide tank rather than tall I would like to point out that I have kept large dorads in my big tank and I wouldn't keep one of the big nigers again in it because they really do get as big as you have heard. I have found that megladoras do not tend to grow really big in captivity but I am convinced that there are more than one type of megladoras. I passed on all my big cats when I moved house so as to not stress them out too much, basically I only kept what I could keep in one of my tanks while I took my time to set up my other tanks anyhoo I digress....

Take a trip down to the blue planet aquarium in chester. This is how they should be kept, I have watched them for hours before and they really do like the company of others of their kind.

Big dorads are fabulous fish, you really can keep them in with small fish, once they get big they don't care what time of day it is they just come out anyway and it is really amazing listening to them 'rumbleing', have you ever heard a costatus 'talking'? well wait till you have heard your big dorad, my girls mother was kipping on our sofa once when the dorads started grumbling, a big megladoras and a centrodoras and she crapped herself it was hilarious she thought the tank was going to explode, ha ha!

Read all the stuff that the guy from practical fishkeeping has to say about keeping them. He's had them for ages (in a pond) and is the guy I learnt all my stuff about keeping big dorads (from his articles).

There is someone on this site I think it is clare that keeps them, have a look at her album (its on the second page just below Matsp) and maybe pm her, she may be able to help.

They are great fish and I hope that you are going to provide him with a suitable home because there is nothing sadder than seeing a big dorad stressed out and unhappy, their tails sag and they really look sad.

They grow fast.
They eat loads, and I mean loads it will cost you a lot of money just to feed him, and therefore really stink up the tank (but not as much as my six inch panaque strangely)

Get the biggest filter you can. I use pond filters as they have a self cleaning system whereby the water is pumped through the filter backwards while you agitate the sponges with the handles (it's relly funny to watch someone do this) and all the shit goes down the drain with the waste water that you are changing (at least once a week).

Don't dump him in the nearest stank when he's big, if you havn't got the tank/time/money/bother then find someone that has now if it is small it'll be a lot harder when he is big.

Don't plan to pass him on either, aquariums only have so muchspace as do fishkeepers that regularly 'rescue' these big fish.

Don't take any of this offensively, I don't know if you have a tank the size of a swimming pool, and are the best fishkeeper in the world, I am just making a few points clear before you get too involved with it all. I have seen the terrible conditions some people keep these and other large catfish in first hand and it really makes me angry

Oh yeah, read the big sticky at the top of this forum.

Thinking about all this has made me think I am going to get another megladoras, I have been concentrateing so much on woodcats and 'sucky fish' that I forgot how fab big dorads are and I've got just the tank to put him in....

I endorse all the information provided above.
I have little to add but they do really like the night crawler size earthworms, very roomy well filtered tanks and handle them with care as they can easily slice your skin with their armament.

Thank you Grokefish and Apisto, some good info there, he she is in a 400 litre double filtered tank at the minute but I am looking at getting a 800 litre in April when I get back from the Gulf.
Unfortunately Chester is a bit far for me as I am near Inverness, I will get my son to dig for some worms he will love doing that.
I can appreciate what you say about Panaque's I have an 8 1/2 inch L330.
I took a look at Clare's Album she has some great set ups.
Heres a pic of mine for you to peruse.

Plenty more pics of my fish here.
http://www.plecofanatics.com/gallery/sh ... 2/cat/500

A loverly fish.
Another thing that I forgot to mention, when I bought my big tank, it's a thousand litres, I opted for acrylic.
I did this for a number of reasons:-
1. I had never had an acrylic tank before and wanted to try one out.
2. They are amazingly light and I knew I was going to move house, this was important.Me and AquaKat moved it on our own and she is only 5'1 and a size 6 so you can see how light it is, for final positioning I moved it easily myself.
3. When a big doradid gets in a strop they can knock things about the tank at a serious pace, rocks are like bullets and bogwood is like bombs my dorads moved the big piece of bogwood you can see in the picture of my big tank in my album whilst argueing over a hidey hole. Acrylic is a very strong material and should withstand a good kicking. I reversed mine into a wall whilst moving it in the back of my truck and its fine.
4. Chris at Neptunes (acrylic tank manufacturer)gave me a good deal and delivered it in no time. (If you do opt for this option tell him Matt from swansea put you onto him, he delivered it himself and we had to take the carpet up to get it through the living room door and there was only mm to spare thats how accurate their job is)
5.After having it for a while I have to say it is much clearer and with less distortion than glass.

Against acrylic
1. It scratches, but this isn't so bad, you can polish it out, you also get with the tank a kit
2. It is more expenisive

But I personally think the advantages way outstrip the disadvantages.

Also, breed aple snails, it's easy and they love em.
I think that that whole mother of snails thing is a sack o crap because I have seen both megladoras and niger refered to as this, once in the same article.
They like anything but you will never have a tank full of snails with a megladoras around!
My big dorads liked peas and seed which they ate from the surface.
Sounds like you have got your head screwed on about the whole idea, you really should go to the blue planet it's about the same distance for me only north but it's worth it, it'll make you want to keep them more! The nigers they have in that tank are awsome. I have a video somewhere I'll dig it out and post it somewhere.
Matt

Here is the bogwood.
[img]1003][img]http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/12/35217270710.jpg[/img][/URL][/img]

Just a question. I saw the pic you posted of the "ripsaw" cat. I really like the look and was wondering if it is a variety of pleco? Its mouth kind of looks like it from the pic.

newt

No, It's a member of the

newt0524 wrote:Just a question. I saw the pic you posted of the "ripsaw" cat. I really like the look and was wondering if it is a variety of pl*co? Its mouth kind of looks like it from the pic.

newt

Nope, Ripsaw is a Doradidae

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/fa ... mily_id=12

Plecos are Loricariidae

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/fa ... amily_id=4