PlanetCatfish.com

Another huge catfish is now availible Bagarius yarelli just became availible to the uk shops at least, going by the common name Giant torrent catfish suggest you dont buy!!!!

Grows to 90cm in length and around 50 kgs according to this site....but they are wrong so don't listen to them ...read below..

Too bad it gets so big because it does look neat.

Yea right! looks like something that I really want to throw in with my prize catfish. Peaceful comunity fish im sure.

It's a super-evil fish! Would make a great show fish and it's the big(ish) cat I've thought about keeping myself the most. Maybe when I build my fishroom... Out of interest what prices and sizes?

Jools

They're surprisingly docile when young, though (guess most big cats are).

Ron wrote:Grows to 90cm in length

This guy:


was at least 150 cm, and there are reports of 2 meter long ones, so 90 cm is a bit off.

Rusty

Bagarius bagarius, which maxes out at about 20 cm, might be doable even at an adult size in a largish aquarium. From what I understand (primarily based on advice by Silurus), besides adult size, the differences between the two species would escape the untrained eye.

Dinyar

i'm pretty sure this one gets to about 2m total length.
A 10cm B. yarelli will cost about £18-£22.

I have to say, I feel I could not be happy keeping fish this size! They probably need a tank the size of my house to be happy!! Maybe we need, as fish fanatics, to self police the sale of these big fish. Could planet catfish perhaps present some guidelines for the bigger cat varieties, names of fish that grow beyond a certain size or have very specific requirements that would make it very difficult for the average joe to keep in a humane manner? Obviously, we don't want to go George Orwell on this but we are probably supporting irresponsible trading by not making any stand of any kind. Pangassius are a problem fish. FACT. Ask any aquarium manager/curator... So why are the shops full of them and people putting them in too small tanks? I'm sure many of you out there are well enough equipped to keep a 6ft fish and still give it space to swim, but I'm certain that most are not so fortunate. Moderator, tell me what you think...

Cheers for the rant

Scottydog

From my point of view as someone on the wrong end of the trade in "little big 'uns", I'm not too worried about large Bagarius starting to need new homes.
I've never heard of one being offered to another Public Aquarium. This may be because many of those imported actually die quite soon, which is another ethical issue altogether.
Thees don't just need a big tank, they also probably desire high oxygen levels, and heavy current with refuge areas may be required. A lot of the ones imported in the past haven't done well and have faded away due to various husbandry issues. If anyone knows of one that has been maintained long-term I'd be very interested to know.
It's certainly a fish I'd like to see in a correctly-desgned display aquarium, but even a 1 metre fish will require resources that would exceed the capacity of all but the larger Public Aquaria.
I have got a vision for a display of this type though, a rocky river pool with one side all acrylic panel, and a group of 6ft+ fish being pole fed by divers while the visitors forget all about dull old Elasmobranchs and realise just how cool Catfish can be! (this would of course be next to the Mahseer river, and just round the corner would be the main Asian display for the Pangasianodon....sigh....).

My rant is aimed at covering the relevant info on all MASSIVE cats. Something easy to access without needing registration etc. An addition to the log showing all the fish that would outgrow the average large home set up would help many people make informed decisions. If I go to a store and see a new catfish I want, it's hard for me to get ID and important info such as full size etc, I don't carry a digi camera round stores so I can then post a question here, so I need a quick glance to see if my beloved fish is gonna turn into a beast! I'm thinking of a simple WATCH OUT list that'd give people the guidance quickly and with little fuss. Then if all's ok, I can rush back and buy my lovely!!!