PlanetCatfish.com

think this is what they are but looking for confirmation. They are huge. Haven't measured but 4 or more inches. Thank you.

Definately B. multiradiatus

As always, Kim is spot on!

I'm sure they would prefer to be on a sand substrate (pic 1+2) & without the piece of coral in the tank (pic 3)

Most of them are in a 5 foot tank with clay pellets that are allmost neutral buoyoncy or a 4 footer with sand. I'll get the coral out of there if I keep them in the sand tank. They seem to like the S.A. tank set-up with clay pellets and think the pellets are light enough that they aren't aggravating their mouths. They look like plow trucks barrelling through the snow when it is feeding time. Than you for the positive I.D. Hopefully I can get these neat guys to breed.

A south american setup (soft, acidic water) would be the right environment for these guys, but you should really have sand substrate - that's what they have in nature - clay pellets filled with air is really unusual in nature.

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Mats

The pellets are importd from Germany and are used mostly for hydroponics. The plants attach roots easily over them. They are inert and don't affect the p.h. I'm still moving fish around but the idea with this tank was to get some hard to breed egg scatterers to breed over the substrate and hopefully the eggs will fall between and some hatch. Like marbles in a bowl only using the whole tank. Wasn't set-up with these guys in mind but they don't seem to be bothered by it yet. I'll keep an eye on their mouths for redness and may move them all back into a sand substrate tank. Figured they have clay banks in the river so it can't be that unnatural for what I have in mind.

pingpong wrote:Figured they have clay banks in the river so it can't be that unnatural for what I have in mind.

But that is soft clay, not clay made into something resembling wipped cream and then fired (heated to very high temperature).

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Mats

I have not seen that type of substrate before. Looks to me like it would trap a lot of uneaten food and waste. These fishes need something, like fine sand, that they can "root" in. There is a reason that one of the names locals use for them is "cochinitos" (little pigs).
-Shane

I'll move them soon. They actually barrel through them like little snow plows at feeding time. They are very light, allmost buoyant. The substrate is for my reasons stated earlier (breeding project soon). It is probably less messy than sand or gravel for trapped food as it is easy to vacuum the debris up and then I just polish the water.