I concede that I should have been mere tactful in my response. Researching any unfamiliar fish should be your first step before buying. I apologize if I was too harsh. The pitfalls of keeping any giant catfish or for that matter any fish that grows to 5 feet and 100# have been so extensively written...

What is your point? It's illegal and unethical to release it into the wild. It is a tropical catfish that has not evolved for coldwater anyway;you want to put it in your outdoor pond? The 55 degF is optimistic for Oregon. The fish will not feed nor be able to digest at those temps. You should'nt own...

There may be a viable option for this red tail cat's problem. Fortunately the problem is something it can live with for awhile. Here is my suggestion. Order some quinaldine fish anesthesia and put him under for what inevitably will be extremely stressful for the fish. Push the belly in and remove as...

Deb,
You got me, should read long lived and loved. Should add that they are less social than regular otos but does best in groups.
One of my favorite catfish, hard working and more effective algea eater than reg. otocinclus.
Larry

Grab a bunch. they are very hardy long loved and diurnal. You won't be sorry.
Larry

Hello L-fans, We don't have much information on this L199 species yet but I have a group and have noticed some things of interest. They are attractive, apparently uncommon, stay fairly small and are outgoing even in the light. I have been maintaining a group of 5 and they do a lot of chasing each ot...

They have been I.D. for you but I just want to complement on how nice your C. metae look. They are an old favorite of mine but I've never found really young one to grow out. They look so nice compared to freshly imported adults.
Larry

whiteymoza,
You go for it. You'll gain insights by experimenting on ideas of your own that no one or no book can provide and they'll be all your own.
Larry

Catfish_mad, My answer to what foods contain vitamin B complexes is not to sound flippant; this is how I handle it. I add a high quality commercially available multivitamin to the foods I make and to whatever prepared food the fish will eat 3 or 4 times a week. Every feeding for a fish that comes in...

whiteymoza I made an errant assumption that all your fish were in a 10 gal. Sorry about that. Re: leaf litter is natural but it can degrade rapidly so it can be a lot of work maintaining optimum H2O quality. Sometimes it's worth it though for simulating natural conditions. I tried it with wild caugh...

Hi reginator,
Cool aquisition the fish gods were smilin at you that day.
You could probaly never find B. imitator if you were searching specifically for one. One of those once in a lifetime things, I think.

Hi Taratron, I'm a banjo cat fan. I have 6 little ones scattered in my paired discus tanks with 6 or so more of my baby BN's. The two make a heck of a cleanup team. I have always wanted to try breeding Banjos. I'll bring them all together when they are big enough to spawn. The Singapore shrimp would...

Catfish_Mad Sounds like your catfish has long been fed an inadequate diet. This may be to late to help as these guys arn't normally difficult to feed. If you can isolate him from competition and if he is at least still eating, I would recomend vitamin supplements rich in B1 and for good measure food...

Whiteymoza, That's an awfully heavily popoulated 10 gal you have there. It's about right for a single pair of common BN plecs. Can you segregate the various species you really have your heart set on breeding? I would recommend at least a 20L per project. I am trying to breed L066 and I have 8 adults...