Ageneiosus / Auchenipterichthys

[Phyllonemus]

Hello woodcat fans,
I ‘m gong to make a switch from a Tanganyikan c i c h l i d & catfish tank to a
South American catfish tank.
At the LFS nearby my house are

Auchenipterichthys coracoideus

( Zamora) and

Ageneiosus atronasus

for sale and have get a tip from a well known woodcat keeper at this forum that they are suitable for my tank.

The plan is keeping only one of the above mentioned species in a group.
Because I never kept woodcats before I want to know more about them before buying them.

How difficult both species are to keep ?
How sensitive/critical both species are to waterparameters ?
Do they react nervously ? ( I’m asking this because there are kids in the house ).

The other inhabitans will be a group of salmons like Hyphessobrycon or an other high build specie and no c i c h i d s .

[sidguppy]

if you have never kept woodcats; the Zamora is a very good way to start and the Ageneiosus a very bad one.
cant say it any clearer than that.

[Phyllonemus]

Lex, I believe you right away but is it possible to explane why the Ageneiosus is a very bad one to start ?

[Acanthicus]

Hi,

I don´t know A. coracoides, but I also keep A. atronassus.
Have you read this thread: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =7&t=34794
I had some problems with this species, but now they seem to be really fine.

[Steve GT]

Im still learning about Ageneiosus but if my Marmoratus is anything to go by I'd say there saying its a bad one cause there pretty fussy things. My Marmoratus wouldn't eat anything but live food from the start and he was practically starving himself to death. I wanted him to eat dry food and it took ages of getting him on worms then to whitebait and finially to massivore pellets. Plus he won't move at all in the day only in the dark so I have to trick him with a red bulb to see him swimming about so he thinks its dark. But I think he's great and don't regret getting him

But as I said this is just the Marmoratus I'm talking about I'm still learning about other Ageneiosus so il let someone with a bit more knowledge fill you in on it

[Phyllonemus]

OK thanks Acanthicus and Steve.

[Steve GT]

As I said though I'm still learning about Ageneiosus so would be nice to hear what the lads and lasses with the real knowledge have to say

[Phyllonemus]

As I said though I'm still learning about Ageneiosus so would be nice to hear what the lads and lasses with the real knowledge have to say

Indeed !

[sidguppy]

Lex, I believe you right away but is it possible to explane why the Ageneiosus is a very bad one to start ?

if you never kept Auchenipteridae, these are simply not the fish to start with

they have a far smaller margin of error, when compared to the Zamora Cat.

for example:
-they are sensitive to waterchanges and can develop diseases when you do a big one

-they can drop dead, just like that. not often, but it's known to happen

-they stop eating when theyre not happy. since most Ageneiosus dont arrive all fat and well-fed; this is not something you want, unless you got a lot of experience with Auchenipterids

-they can and do lie upside down on the sand, float like a corpse on the surface, tumble down from the bag and just lie there......
most of the times it's just typical woodcat trickery; they're quite hard on the nerves! must be the charm of keeping them.
however, sometimes it's the real thing.
and disturbing them by hand to see if they're not dead yet adds to stress.
stress is bad news with these.

-many Ageneiosus need to be 'kickstarted' with live prey to settle. once they're settled this species accepts mosquitolarvae and even flake; but if you want Ageneiosus to thrive -not just survive, but do great- you must use feeders (live fish) from time to time.

on the other hand:
the Zamora is an easy to keep catfish, it's hardy, it can be kept with Doradids like Amblydoras, it even does great with mellow cichlids and larger characins (larger than a Neon).
it's not sensitive to waterchanges, it eats frozen and flakey foods with no issues, it only needs a bogwood pile to hide in and it'll show up in the evening.


compare it to this:
if someone never has kept any pleco whatsoever; what would you advise to start with: the Common Ancistrus or Planiloricaria cryptodon?

Ageneiosus was, is and never will be a beginners catfish.

[Steve GT]

Great reply from sidguppy there

Especially when he said: -"they can and do lie upside down on the sand, float like a corpse on the surface, tumble down from the bag and just lie there......"

This caught me out a few times. My Marmaratus tangles himself upside down in plants which really worried me till I got told on here it's what they do. Nowadays with the light on in daytime he won't move He'l just happily stop dead and lie on the air rock. The only evidence of him being alive is when I wake up in the morning the food I left for him is gone

Amazing things but not a beginners fish I do agree with. I got caught out with this one lol

[Phyllonemus]

Lex, very clear explanation.
Thanks a lot.