A giant of the hobby has been lost. Ray Lucas passed five days ago. It has taken me a few days to process his passing. In the early 1990s I had just finished University and had a few articles under my name in TFH, FAMA, and AFM (US "shiny" magazines). I was invited to speak at the Northeas...

Looking at both the above photos and pictures on site I think Jools is correct. Nice fish, but they get very big.
-Shane

This does not look like . The adipose is much too large for a start. I a sure others will weigh in but this looks more like a hybrid to my eye.
-Shane

I just cut them down in my backyard. Not sure how common bamboo is in Ohio.
-Shane

Very nice! Welcome to the world of "pet" Panaque.
-Shane

do you think free-standing sponge filters are a effective as say, blocking a corner of the tank off like you are doing? Do you think two large free standing filters would do a heavily stocked 90? I use Eheim 2217s, 12 of them, and, as you say, the electric bill is starting to get outrageous. we pay...

As I get my fishroom back up I have gone almost exclusively to the sponge corner filters from Swiss Tropicals. They provide a massive surface for biological and mechanical filtration. For catfishes in particular I appreciate that the heater can go in the cavity the filter creates so I never have to ...

If you want to set up a leaf litter biotope go with a matten filter set up or sponge filters. Leaf litter normally accumulates during the dry season when there is very little current.
-Shane

More great photos! Unfortunately, without exact collection information it is almost impossible to identify any Pimelodella sp. Seemingly every place I have ever collected in South America has a brownish-gray Pimelodella sp with a dark lateral stripe. In fact looking at Pimelodella sp(1) in the Catel...

Chewy is in her new home! How to move a really big spiky fish... Jools suggested catching her in a big fish bag. Show fish people use this method to move fish without damaging them. Chewy stayed very calm as I tried to herd her into the bag. Unfortunately, the bag kept collapsing before I could get ...

Hoping to move Chewy this weekend. Started conditioning her last week by petting her as she eats. First time she swam off and second she moved away slowly. A week later and she doesn't care at all if I pet her while she eats. Trying to make the move as easy as possible because if she spines me with ...

The system is from Swiss Tropicals. These are the medium sized corner filters. Each is rated for 55 gallons, so with two I have 110 gallons of mechanical and biological filtration for a 75 gallon tank. After discussing with Stephan Tanner I went with a larger pore size to keep Chewy's "sawdust&...

Made a little progress on Chewy's new set up today. She will upgrade from 40 gallons (151 liters) to 75 gallons (283 liters) but more importantly her filtration will be three times as effective as it is now.
-Shane

Eric, I am honestly not sure that the frame on a 75 gallon provides any type of structural support. There are warnings on my new tank to never lift it by the frame (which tells me it is not attached well). You might find that you can solve your issue by removing the plastic frame and using silicone ...

Time to upgrade as Chewy has outgrown her current tank and a recent accident gave me a good scare. Over the weekend I was fiddling with the sponge filters in my 10 gallon tanks. I must have given the airline to Chewy's tank a slight tug. At some point between Sunday night and Monday afternoon the bl...

They look great!
-Shane

Can you get a photo of the belly scutes?
-Shane

Viktor, I would just be careful to heed any specific warnings from the manufacturer. I am sure they are on there based on lab testing while developing the medication. I have used medications (with good effect) on catfishes that had a warning on the label. However in these instances the fish were eit...

Viktor,
Many fish medications literally say in the warning section "Do not use on scale less fishes" or recommend a reduced concentration when treating scale less fishes.
-Shane

Great group of fish. I always hope that more pleco people will discover and work with Hypoptopomatine.
-Shane

Meet Chewy. My only pet catfish. She was a "rescue" a year and a half ago and named by Jools. For size comparison... that wafer is 2.5 cm (just over 1").
She will eat from my hand and swims to the front of the tank when she hears me in the fishroom.
-Shane

Be sure to hit the Aquarium of the Americas as well.
-Shane

From the photos, it appears that you are dealing with either a fungal or bacterial infection. Both types of infection are difficult to treat as catfishes are scale less and can not tolerate many of the medications used to treat these types of infections. I would recommend Pimafix as a treatment if i...

Lots of plecos can be spawned at those temperatures. I have spawned for example Panaqolus maccus in that range. Just stay away from species from the Xingu, Negro, and upper Orinoco. That still leaves 100s of species to work with.
-Shane

Rio Santo Domingo, Cojedes State 7 April 2001 In its lower course the Santo Domingo is called a Rio while the upper portion is reffered to as Cano Santo Domingo. The exact collecting location was on the dirt road that leads west from highway 8 at Cano Benito approximately 40km north of El Baul. Sinc...

Love it!
-Shane

I have many dream bagrids HH!
-Shane

Original 1925 description of Clarias phillipsi from Harvard University's library.

A few gems...
A draft of the original description of L 14 sent to Lee for comments.

@Jools and I sorting 65 pounds of catfish papers kindly provided by @lfinley58 (Lee Finley). Took three nights, usually working until midnight, (and a lot of beer and some good arguments) to get them sorted. The haul represents years and years of new information for Planetcatfish.
-Shane