Possible Mystus Genus Looking For Species

[Tweedledoom]

You guys wanted creative titles, right? lol

Anyways, I have a catfish that I received about three and a half years ago (August of 2009) from a friend who couldn't keep it anymore. She had no idea what species it was, and I never thought to ask her where it came from (this was my first fish ever, so it didn't even cross my mind). Here is the photo that I took just a moment ago:



Mittens is roughly 3 - 4 inches long, and hasn't grown a whole lot since I received her (if I'm right about it being a Mystus, then there's no sign of male genitalia). I've been searching all over the internet for what she might be, since I've currently got her and a male gold-spot pleco (9 inches) in a 37 gallon tank by themselves after dealing with an Ich outbreak that didn't touch either of them, and eventually I want to re-populate my tank.

So far, I'm 98% positive that she's a Mystus, which just leaves the question of what species. I think - and I'm no professional - that she's a vittatus, tengara, or even a rhegma, but I have no idea for sure. This is the best photo I could take of her, because she likes her log more than she likes me.

Any help I can receive would be awesome, especially because then I can look for more information, like whether she can be in a community tank, whether she might be okay in brackish water (I read a scientific article somewhere that some Mystus are naturally found in brackish water), etc. Rocky (my pleco) and Mittens get along fine as long as I have a large enough hiding place for both of them, and I haven't had any trouble from either of them with bala sharks, tiger barbs, giant danios, or angelfish. I'd like to know if they'd be okay with gouramis or if Mittens would be okay with a violet goby someday. The more information I can get, the better - I like to plan well in advance so that I can optimize everyone's well-being.

I can try to get a photo of her from the side, too.

Callie

[Silurus]

It's a

Pimelodus

, possibly

Pimelodus blochii

.

[Tweedledoom]

Thank you! This is the only catfish I've owned aside from my pleco, so I'm super new to the different Genuses (Genusi?).

[wayne the pain]

How about Pimelodus tetramerus

[Tweedledoom]

I was just going to ask what the difference between a P. blochii and a P. tetramerus is, actually. XD

[Silurus]

There are some differences in the proportional measurements (described here if you can read Portuguese), but I would think that one is more likely to encounter P. blochii in the aquarium trade than P. tetramerus.

[Tweedledoom]

That makes more sense. I also found a site with more photos, and the top one looks pretty much just like mine.

http://www.tropicalfishgallery.com/spec ... ochii.html If this is correct, then you guys just made my night.

[wayne the pain]

Funny thing about the link is that the middle pic is actually a Mystus sp

[Tweedledoom]

Oh, geez. I'm hopeless. XD

[Tweedledoom]

Here's another weird question: would P. blochii be okay in a 55 gallon tank with a violet goby? Those aren't aggressive, but I don't know if P. blochii tend to be aggressive towards other bottom-dwelling fish.

[Viktor Jarikov]

From Cat-eLog pics, I always naively thought that tetramerus has well-defined 4 lines, hence the name, while blochii is more mottled/spotty. Silurus, would you expand on that, please? If you will, of course.

If the Cat-eLog max sizes are correct, tetramerus is a smaller fish with 7" SL max, vs 12" for blochii. After three years, I'd expect both fish to be bigger though than 3"-4" but the smaller size could be, again, consistent with tetramerus. All my blochii of 2-3 years of age are at least 6" and most are even larger.

I own about 5-6 of each, they are not aggressive IME to any other fish, speaking of territorial, non-predatory type aggression. If a small fish can easily fit in their mouth, they may eat it sooner or later.

[Suckermouth]

Thank you! This is the only catfish I've owned aside from my pleco, so I'm super new to the different Genuses (Genusi?).

The plural is "genera".

[Tweedledoom]

Thank you! This is the only catfish I've owned aside from my pleco, so I'm super new to the different Genuses (Genusi?).

The plural is "genera".

And this is why I need to learn Latin someday. Thank you

[Tweedledoom]

From Cat-eLog pics, I always naively thought that tetramerus has well-defined 4 lines, hence the name, while blochii is more mottled/spotty. Silurus, would you expand on that, please? If you will, of course.

If the Cat-eLog max sizes are correct, tetramerus is a smaller fish with 7" SL max, vs 12" for blochii. After three years, I'd expect both fish to be bigger though than 3"-4" but the smaller size could be, again, consistent with tetramerus. All my blochii of 2-3 years of age are at least 6" and most are even larger.

I own about 5-6 of each, they are not aggressive IME to any other fish, speaking of territorial, non-predatory type aggression. If a small fish can easily fit in their mouth, they may eat it sooner or later.

This is super helpful! Thank you for your insight regarding the aggression and whatnot. I think I might try to get another P. blochii or P. tetramerua to keep Mittens company, since I'm getting a 55 gallon tank from my sister and there will be more space in general (in a 37 gallon now). Do the two species get along together okay?

[brt_bt]

I could help you in molecular identification or barcoding. Could u send me the dorsal fin clip of this sample

[Viktor Jarikov]

Do the two species get along together okay?

Both appear to me to be a shoaling species. The more you have of them, the less they will hide and you'll see more action, natural behavior, and peculiarities.

2 may work but in general 2 is rarely recommended because even the schooling species often have a pecking order and with 2, one may over-dominate the other.

[Bas Pels]

Do the two species get along together okay?

Both appear to me to be a shoaling species. The more you have of them, the less they will hide and you'll see more action, natural behavior, and peculiarities.

2 may work but in general 2 is rarely recommended because even the schooling species often have a pecking order and with 2, one may over-dominate the other.

Years back, I think it was in 1999 or before, I got 3 P blochi from the shop. There, they were schooling nicely, but at home they appeared to be territorial. Their tank was 180 * 60 * 60, that is clmoost 6 * 2 * 2 feet. I thought large enough, but in half a year I lost 2

The last one I still have.

Therefor I would not recommend keeping 2 or 3 - in fact I would recommend keeping more than 5, hoping 6 is enough

Victor, if I remember correctly, you got 7?

As Pimelodus blochi has a very large distribution, and in fact it might be a few species are hidden under that 1 name, chanses are 1 variety might behave differently than another. Tank sizes might be of influence too. Therefore I mentioned the tank I put them in.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Mine are in an outdoor pond, hard to keep count. Yeah, 6-7 would be nice but not in a 55 gal. Even 1 blochii will outgrow it in some years. It seems we know little about tetramerus and its max size. 55 gal is more suited for a nice group of Pimelodus pictus.