Tankmates (if any) for Electric Cat

[fifthofnovember]

I just picked up this cooler-than-cool addition today:

http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/malap ... tricus.htm

Currently it's the size of about 1/3 of a hotdog - maybe 3" long and 3/4" in diameter at its thickest part. I know it's a predatory cat, obviously, and gets large, but for the most part, I'm not concerned with that. There are some tetras in the tank, but honestly they're pretty old anyway and starting to die of natural causes, so if they get picked off by the cat, I won't be too bummed. I just hope I get to see it.

My main concern is my 2 adult angelfish also in the tank. I know the cat is too small now to eat them, but will it still try? I have read the catfish generally only reaches sizes of max 12" in home aquaria. I can move the angels if it's in their best interest, but my preference would be to have SOMETHING in with this catfish.

Tank is a 40 breeder, FYI.

[MatsP]

Our page is here:

Malapterurus electricus

--
Mats

[fifthofnovember]

Uh... OK. Thanks?

[Birger]

but my preference would be to have SOMETHING in with this catfish.

When it is smaller you may be okay with other fishes but as it gets bigger, six inch or more, the only thing should be kept with these is a nice rock or stick

Do a search for "Electric catfish" you will find helpful information, you will have to sort through it a bit. There are a few different species but a decent picture and a little time one could probably figure out the correct one. Some of the species at 7 or 8 inches in the Cat-eLog have a possibility to grow larger, these were probably just measurements obtained during their studies. There are more species than what the Cat-eLog shows(16).

Birger

[fifthofnovember]

I'm 99% sure I'm dealing with Malapterurus electricus. I counted fin rays as best I could without vexing the poor fish, and the other physical characteristics seem to match as well. In that case, despite their being reports of zoos and public facilities getting them to 36", none have really exceeded 10-12" in the home aquarium. As I said in my original post, a friend is upgrading her tank, and I'll be inheriting a 75 from her as soon as she moves in about 3 months.

From what I have read, as well as what the person at my trusted LFS told me, some have kept E cats with others successfully. The LFS employee said he'd had his in a 55 with a pair of severums for years and never had any problems, and also said a friend of his had the tank with his solitary E cat fall victim to a nephew with a Frisbee and threw the E cat in his koi pond for about a month with no casualties.

So far, things looks peaceable, but then again, the lights are still on. Like I said, I don't care too awful much about the tetras... they're old anyway, most of them 4+ years.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I doubt Birger would make such a strong statement without good grounds. Maybe, he'll elaborate. BTW, he is an expert, unlike me.

IME, they can zap and did zap me and other fish but not to stun them and then eat them. Rather self-defence and competition at the feeding time. Mine would pick 1-2 poor fish out of 50 cats in the tank of smaller and bigger sizes than the e-cat and would zap only those and none others. When those are removed, my e-cat was, superficially, an ideal tankmate.

ID is hard - 16 look-alike species is tough. I tend to think mine is M. electricus. Bought at 3". So far, about 6"-7" TL in 1.5 years.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... electricus
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =+electric
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... electricus

I've seen 1-footers housed with other fish - at an LFS and in a private tank. No problems noted.

[Birger]

I doubt Birger would make such a strong statement without good grounds. Maybe, he'll elaborate

I was picturing it in a 40 gal.with others as stated in the first post...even a 75 will be tight for others and this fish....now to go into a Koi pond or large indoor ponds such as what Victor has that is different again.

The charge is not just for eating, they would probably seldomly use it for that purpose, they also discharge when irritated which could happen often as they get older and if you get a nasty one it could discharge just because it can

Don't get me wrong I think these are a super cool interesting catfish with a great adaptation, just have some special needs.

What happens though is the novelty of having an ugly(to most people) sausage shaped fish, all it does is eat (unless you trick a friend into grabbing it) does wear off for most.

Birger

, he is an expert, unlike me.

Victor, you are too kind, you keep saying that one day I might believe it...I am a hobbyist just like many others here including you.

[Viktor Jarikov]

no, mine has resided in a 55 gal and 120 gal tanks; i thought i had read somewhere that they do not use the charge to stunt/kill food; only for defence and territoria disputes; wrong?

when a seasoned hobbyist attemtps to read sci papers and has a library of books to attack subtalties of the ID-ing process etc., they crossed the border to the experts domain, in my interpretation

[apistomaster]

I have only kept one juvenile Electric Catfish and I think it was one of the smaller species that have subsequently described. It was about 5 inches TL. Back then I don't think science had described any other species and I could only assume it was a Malapterus electricus.
I kept it in a 100 gallon tank with several types of large SA American Cichlids and some Leporinus fasciatus.
During the time I had it it never seemed to bother the larger fish. I was feeding them mostly live earth worms(the big night crawlers).
I did experience it's electrical shocking ability when I caught it for sale to one of my fish shop customers. This was almost 45 years ago. Even though it was a small specimen it's shock was far stronger than I expected.

My next foray into keeping an electric fish was a 30 inch Electric Eel. I never worked on it's tank without wearing rubber gloves. An Electric Eel of this size can produce a shock of 200 to 250 volts. Way more than a small Electric Catfish. Needless to say, the only fish it ever had as tank mates were the feeder goldfish I gave it.

[Elijah77]

I too have a pair of electric cats with me. I do have some Siamese fighting fishes to give them some company as well. I too was considering adding a few more tank mates but I am sure that as soon as these cats get big enough, they need to be shifted...