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I know the common name for this chap but not the scientific name, pic below. Thanks in advance.

I can't see much in that photo, but from what little I see I guess it's a Pterygoplichthys, perhaps ?

Mike_Noren wrote:I can't see much in that photo, but from what little I see I guess it's a Pterygoplichthys, perhaps

Pterygoplichthys pardalis

?

Yes, or perhaps .

--
Mats

[mod edit: Jools: fixed clog tag]

hope this is better

I agree with Mats, it looks more like a gibby to me mainly going on the banding in the upper caudal ray as the rest of the fish is in an unusual mood/colour.


Jools

MatsP wrote:

Mike_Noren wrote:I can't see much in that photo, but from what little I see I guess it's a Pterygoplichthys, perhaps

Pterygoplichthys pardalis

?

Yes, or perhaps

Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps

.

--
Mats

[mod edit: Jools: fixed clog tag]

Looks like, as Mats suggested, .
Martin

Jools wrote:I agree with Mats, it looks more like a gibby to me mainly going on the banding in the upper caudal ray as the rest of the fish is in an unusual mood/colour.


Jools

Has always been this colour. Never noticed it change. Seems quite happy in the 450 litre bow fronted tank.

Hi,

does have a visible supraoccipital hook? If so, it should be a gibbiceps, if not, it´s pardalis (or, to be on save grounds, something from their close relatives).

Cheers, Sandor

Borbi wrote:
does have a visible supraoccipital hook?

Cheers, Sandor

I'm quite new to the fish world, can you explain to me what you mean please.

Hi,

it should be nicely explained in the Glossary (under "Help!").
In my crude words: it´s an "extension" of a bone in the head. It´s a recognizable "hook" at the end of the head, well before the dorsal fin. The head area between the eyes and the insertion of the dorsal is (almost) completely flat in Liposarcus (or members of the respective group within Pterygoplichthys), i. e., the pardalis possiblity, but should show a distinct struture in the gibbiceps possibility.

Cheers, Sandor

Had a look and read the info, there is a line that is slightly risen where you described. Not sure if thats what you mean?
I can try to get a pic of him/her but battery is on charge and need it to be a bit darker.

honestly i must say, this P. gibbiceps is very thin! he looks starved!

please feed him several kinds of vegetables and large amounts of it, let it chew away on a piece of zuchinni over night!

DutchFry wrote:honestly i must say, this P. gibbiceps is very thin! he looks starved!

please feed him several kinds of vegetables and large amounts of it, let it chew away on a piece of zuchinni over night!

My partner has had this P. Gibbiceps for 5 years, yes its small for its age and don't want it to grow rapidly and after reading about several different fish, what people don't realise, a fish stomach is the size of it's eye and over feeding it can be dangerous for any fish. He/she is doing rather well. Secondly its a bow fronted tank so looks are a little deceiving.

the stomage is NOT the size of the eye

for young tetras the size of the eye is the size of the mouth - thus larger particles will not be eaten

I do agree overfeeding is wrong, but fish do need food to life on

Cichlids need 2 % of their body weight of high quality dry food a day, Pterogoblichthys - being catfish will, I think need less food, but assuming they get veggie food, which is poor compared to said food, a 50 gram Ptero will need more than 1 gram of Zuchini a day

far more

I have a Pt gibbyceps of 20 years. It looks as bony as yours do - but this is due to old age. I certainly don't hope your 18 year old daughter looks like my mother

Hi all,

This would be my tank.

Bit of advice might be needed if you think we're doing it wrong. Let me tell you what goes in the tank food wise.

The stock:

1 x 1 yr old black tiger oscar - 8"ish - Grown up from an infant
6 x Jack Dempsey's - Two of these are a 5 year old adult breeding pair I grow up from babes and the other four (1 male, 3 female) are offspring - Varing legnths 3" - 7"
A giant giraffe cat - 16" - 18" (rescued from a tank that was for too small!)
A red tail x tiger shovel nose hybrid - 16" - 18" - Brought at a length of 12"
And the pleco in this tread - She's about 12" - 14"

The food - once every 2-3 days

2 x frozen cubes of crill
2 x frozen cubes of blood worm
3-4 lance fish
Big pinch on chiclid pelets
Big pinch of cat fish pelets
A chunk of cucumber

Do we need to change this feeding?

Cheers for any help

Dave

I'd try a bit of courgette or sweet potato instead of cucumber. It's a bit more "substance" for this type of fish.
I'd look at dropping a few algae wafers in as well.

--
Mats

Thanks Mats

We've got some algae waffers somewhere I'll pop some in now and we'll get some more veggies next time we hit the shops.

Bas Pels wrote:the stomage is NOT the size of the eye

for young tetras the size of the eye is the size of the mouth - thus larger particles will not be eaten

I do agree overfeeding is wrong, but fish do need food to life on

c*****ds need 2 % of their body weight of high quality dry food a day, Pterogoblichthys - being catfish will, I think need less food, but assuming they get veggie food, which is poor compared to said food, a 50 gram Ptero will need more than 1 gram of Zuchini a day

far more

I have a Pt gibbyceps of 20 years. It looks as bony as yours do - but this is due to old age. I certainly don't hope your 18 year old daughter looks like my mother

Bas,
That was a good response, expressing a fish's the daily food requirement as a percentage of it's body weight. 2% is about average. Very young fish need a little more and older fish can do with less depending on the species. That is how I assess how much to feed the fish I raise. I use a similar method to determine filtration requirements.
Of course, one has to have a good idea how much the fish weigh.

Bigcatsrus(the bf!) wrote:The stock:
1 x 1 yr old black tiger oscar - 8"ish - Grown up from an infant
6 x Jack Dempsey's - Two of these are a 5 year old adult breeding pair I grow up from babes and the other four (1 male, 3 female) are offspring - Varing legnths 3" - 7"
A giant giraffe cat - 16" - 18" (rescued from a tank that was for too small!)
A red tail x tiger shovel nose hybrid - 16" - 18" - Brought at a length of 12"
And the pl*co in this tread - She's about 12" - 14"

Hate to be the wet blanket...but doesn't this stocklist seem disaterously dense for a 450 liter/120 gallon tank? The giraffe cat and hybrid cat alone will outgrow the tank very soon (unless they're unfortunately stunted).

I was excited to get my fist "big" tank (125g), but quickly realized that even "big" tanks aren't big enough for the really cool big catfish like you have. Even your big gibby is pretty cramped in that tank, and it'd be tough to feed everyone enough without fouling the water.

Might be time to dig a pond...

Yes I know the cats are getting to the limit of the tank.

I do eventually want an indoor pond and once it's in I'm going to get a zebra shovel nose and an RTC but they will have to wait for now.

I've spoken to my LFS and they are suggesting an 8' x 3' x 3' interim tank to house them for the next 3-5 years until I can finance an in door pond.