asian rtc question

[ARTC11122233]

hey everyone whats up first of yes i know that these fish grow to monsterses proportions.
so i bought a asian rtc at 2 inches or so and ive been feeding him flakes and granules and his stomach is swollen but ive first noticed it this morning after i fed him and he kept eating is this normal or is something wrong oh and i have him in a 55g and planing to upgrade. thanks in advance ill post a pic later

[Viktor Jarikov]

Welcome to the Planet!

If it has a good appetite, this is unlikely a swelling in a medical sense but simply a distention, an expansion. Fish's stomachs and intestines are extendable, especially the catfishes'.

It's a good practice though to feed a catfish until its tummy has a good bulge and then not feed until it flattens.

Please, post pics or vids.

I had been wanting to get an ARTC for 7-8 years and just got one several months ago. A colleague from California sent me his 14"-er. This specimen has so far proven to be extremely shy and picky. It eats but in such a long time I am yet (!) to witness it actually eat. I only know that when the food (bait fish) cannot be found in his tank. Only once I saw a definite bulge in his tummy.

Can see him here, not in the best condition, just rehomed, thin, and scratched up because he is never satisfied with the positioning of his logs and keeps moving them around. He appears between 20 sec and 35 sec:

[ARTC11122233]

hey thanks i have him now in a community tanks but his so small he doesn't have red on his tail yet so its a bit difficult to control how much he get and i feed the tank in the morning, but when he grows a bit i will get him like a separate pond or something Re: the video i will post one when my tank is a bit clearer i did take pics before i put him in the tank i will post it latter thanks for the help. Ps. when do they get red on their tails thanks

[ARTC11122233]

and your fish are amazing

[Viktor Jarikov]

Thank you. IIRC, they tend to start getting red around 4"-6". Their red is not as prominent as it is in South American RTC.

[ARTC11122233]

ok thanks a lot i will post a pic later but its looking more towards a crystal eye cat now because it has a white line on top of its tail ad the body is pitch black

[Viktor Jarikov]

At 2", Hemibagrus are said (and my experience agrees) to be hard to ID to the species level. Make sure you get very good, clear pics or rather wait until it gets on some size. Just my opinions.

[ARTC11122233]

ok how long should i wait

[Viktor Jarikov]

I'd say around 6" it could be tried but @Silurus (aka Doctor of ichthyo taxonomy Heok Hee Ng) would know the best.

Silurus is the ichthyologist who revised the genus of Hemibagrus just recently in 2013 and expanded the genus from 3 species to ~20. If I am not mistaken, it was his dissertation work from 17 years ago: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... us#p261726

He is the world's leading expert on Asian catfish.

If he does not respond here, you may send him a PM.

[ARTC11122233]

ok thanks a lot just one more thing how do you get a good pic of the catfish it wont keep still or hes in a craves between two rocks or something shoule i make a video of feeding rather

[ARTC11122233]

so here are a few pics of him/her

[Viktor Jarikov]

He's well fed. Good job!

Video is nice. To photograph,

-- it may be placed in a phototank, "photo cup, pitcher, jar, etc." but preferably with a flat wall, or
-- brought in to the front glass with a net (no need to take it out of water), just like you've done with your hand but either zero-in better or use more pixels and then crop a picture so the fish is seen larger and clearer, or
-- by persistently taking many, many photos with good lighting and a flash and then selecting the best shots.

[ARTC11122233]

ok thanks a lot i will post some other pics tomorrow then if i get the time

[ARTC11122233]

another pic