My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post pictures of your beloved catfish aquaria here. Also good for pictures of your (cat)fish rooms or equipment discussions. If you are posting pictures of identified catfish, please do so in the appropriate husbandry and reproduction forum above.
Post Reply
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

The 7 cuban gar are about 1ft now, so that's roughly 1"/month growth rate. Continue having an enviable appetite.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Trying to train the fish to feed with moderate tank lights on, so I could see everything better and also film. Until now the feeding had been done with ambient light during the day and weak night light during the night.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Road trip to Predatory Fins, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Swapping large fish - tropical gar, niger catfish, and oscars - for smaller fish - Lithodoras dorsalis, gulper catfish, black ear shark catfish, Aral barbel, Indo-Pacific tarpon, and Chinese hi fin loaches:
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

The title speaks for itself.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
aquaholic
Posts: 163
Joined: 08 Apr 2003, 08:27
My images: 1
Spotted: 1
Location 1: Australia
Interests: Catfish, tankbusters and cichlids

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by aquaholic »

Great to see you haven't given up.
Let us know if anyone/overseas members can help in some small way.
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thank you. Anyone can help by an advice and a prayer. That's most important. We don't ask for material help, albeit it is welcome too of course, per the detail field under the video.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

This is one of those rare occasions when I witness RTC fighting, even rarer to see two different genders involved. It looks like a hierarchical dispute of two fish in the middle of the hierarchy of 4 specimen. The biggest, the alpha female (7 yo, 4 feet), and the youngest, the beta male (3 yo, 3 feet), are not participating.

It appears the alpha male (7 yo, 3 feet) was challenging the beta female (7 yo, 3.5 ft) and got bitten up significantly over the course of a day or so, a slow-moving fight with many bouts. The female suffered damage too but being bigger and stronger gave more than received. For a while the female wasn't even biting the male and his fins, only pushing, poking with pectoral spines, and body slamming but eventually, he got her riled up by biting her pectoral fins and latching onto them so the female started biting the male back, especially latching onto his tail.

Hurts me deeply to see this but I have no way to separate them, no spare, large enough tank. I never film fights because I proceed to separate the fighters right away but here there was nothing I could do. I am also against fight filming but here the only benefit appears to be educational /awareness raising, because many peers keep multiple RTCs together, and the benefit is to show how these magnificent animals, called the emperors of Amazon, interact with each other sometimes in captivity, likely in too small a tank, albeit I am not sure this would have not occurred in a 10x or 100x bigger tank. As most, I am learning a lot as I go.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Amur catfish aka Silurus asotus, 16", minds his business, works in earnest on a piece of herring, is interrupted by a 20", 3-bar Indo Datnoid perch.

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

The 7 new gulpers have taken quite well to their new home, except for one, which initially was doing seemingly adequate too, for a week or two, but I am not sure if it ever fed in our care. Then it started to excrete a lot more mucus, I suppose, making his appearance milky on the top and sides. Then the excessive mucus slowly subsided leaving just whitish, milky patches here and there on the top, and finally even those disappeared. So I thought the gulper was on the mend. Yet in another week it started behaving lethargic. It is still alive today but seemingly barely, laying on a side in the open, swimming a bit at night. I don't think it will make it. Throughout the ailment, the gulper swam almost always in the open, often in the current, obviously stressed.

The rest 6 have been doing well, as you'll see from the following video. The aboriginal gulper seems to enjoy the sudden familial company. It bears some differences in the skeletal features of the head and jaws to the new guys. I assume that they might come from different regions - one from upper Orinoco and the others from Rio Negro, or vice versa. Just a weak hunch. Or maybe I am seeing gender differences. Not sure yet.

Since the other 6 have been doing so well, I was hoping the sick gulper would come around on his own, so I have not separated it, nor tried to diagnose or treat by shooting in the dark. I've no clue what affected it.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Prochilodus lineatus returns from a year long exile in a 240 gal to the 1800 gal. It's been alright for 2 months so far.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Our first ever swing at a website went live in Aug 2021 and now in Dec 2021 we'd like to introduce it to everybody.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

The tale of our two Peru piraiba continues. The skittish one had spent 1 year in a 240 gal in timeout. We are trying it again back in the 4500 gal and arriving close to where we left off - a very different set of tank mates but the tank mates bother it (first it was the assertive piraiba, then it was the TSNxRTC hybrid, now IDK who yet, maybe same two maybe not); the fish is skittish and perhaps this even tempts some tank mates to bite it every now and then, especially at nights; it feeds some but not to our satisfaction because of the skittishness.

Both fish came from Mark Chen of Discus Origins in 2017 as "Peru piraiba" and are currently around 5 years old and have been stuck at 2.5ft for a year at least, in drastic difference from our 7 yo, 5ft Suriname piraiba that kept and keeps growing.

I became aware that many peers in the hobby think that the "Peru piraiba" is not a filamentosum but a capapretum aka false piraiba. Yet capapretum young look obviously different from the piraiba young, let them be from anywhere. If anyone can shed some more light on this, it'd be greatly appreciated. Mis-ID, or another species, or indeed such drastic geographic difference in filamentosum? Here is one thread on the topic of this confusion: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/foru ... se.744994/
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

The 5 barbels have done exceptionally well so far. As soon as they came, within minutes, they started feeding and didn't care what I offered to them - all was eagerly consumed, wolfed down really. Amazing greed and a matching digestive system. I feared they'd eat themselves to death. They took NLS pellets, Hikari sticks, koi pellets, cut up silversides and glass minnows.

The 3 tarpons have done well so far. When they first came, I tried to get them to take NLS pellets, Hikari sticks, koi pellets, etc. because Rodrigo told me they took pellets, shrimp and bloodworms at his shop. Two of 3 took some pellets rather inefficiently and reluctantly and one was stubborn and was wasting away refusing to feed for a week. It took pellets on a very rare occasion but apparently spit them out either right away or later. It was going to rather die. So I started offering cut silversides and little by little all started feeding better and the weak feeder turned around, and later they even started to take some pellets as well along with cut up silversides and glass minnows.

At first I had to feed the tank a lot because the 5x Aral barbels would leave little to nothing for the tarpons. Then I had to feed even more because both barbels and tarpons would feed like maniacs and leave little to nothing for other tank mates - Phalacronotus sp and Chinese Hi Fin sharks.

After a month of very heavy feeding, the barbels grew from 1.5"-2" to 6"-8" and the tarpons grew from 2" to 8" (2x) and 9" (1x). I didn't intend this, it just happened. I couldn't take it anymore, because Chinese Hi Fin sharks weren't feeding properly, so I had to transfer them into a neighboring 240 gal.

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Just some natural, undisturbed entropy tonight...
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

We have had this bacterial problem with both juruense and tig catfish. Not with piraiba or capapretum or vaillantii. In our experience, filamentosum, capapretum, and vaillantii are hardier to the pathogen spectrum we have in our water.

I've become firmly convinced of the need for UV sanitization of water. I am considering this in earnest, especially now, having lost so many precious, show kind and size fish. A turn key it'd be $10K-$20. As a DIY, we might get away with several thousand $. Up until now, we have not used UV sanitization on our water.

The bacterial killer lives in our tanks+15K filter system and I am pretty sure it came with other fish, most likely in 2018 with the walking catfish from the wild, who were undertreated in QT. The 26K system of the two 4500's, one 1800, and the 15K sump hosts the majority of larger rescue fish that come and go. No surprise, with my lazy man QT procedures, that we have been losing precious, rare fish (while most of the cheap and hardy fish remain ok). But most of all since 2018. Until then, it had been far better.

As for the what kind of bacteria, I am not saying it was the columnaris or only columnaris or the columnaris was the primary cause, not secondary or tertiary. Some fish we have lost in 2018 and since then showed symptoms consistent with columnaris and some didn't. Columnaris BTW is a complex animal and has several known strains, acting quite differently.

My gut feeling says the reason #1 is that the tigs (and their tank mates) were sickened and killed by a dangerous bacteria, and the stress was only a compounding factor, I suspect a mild one at best.

A less likely reason is dirty 15K sump and as a result a high bacterial count in water column, but after I cleaned the 15K sump thoroughly twice over one year, there was no improvement whatsoever. Thus, I am inclined to discard this as the primary cause. Again, a compounding factor it may be. I have planned to make a rearrangement in the sump, take out half the shade cloth media to make the hiding of detritus and bacteria harder and the vacuuming of the sump easier and faster and will continue cleaning the sump more frequently.

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

We have had this bacterial problem with way too many fish since 2018. I've become firmly convinced of the need for UV sanitization of water. I am considering this in earnest, especially now, having lost so many precious, show kind and size fish. A turn key UV system would be $10K-$20. As a DIY, we might get away with several thousand $. Up until now, we have not used UV sanitization on our water.

The bacterial killer lives in our tanks+15K filter system and I am pretty sure it came with other fish, most likely in 2018 with the walking catfish from the wild, who were undertreated in QT. The 26K system of the two 4500's, one 1800, and the 15K sump hosts the majority of larger rescue fish that come and go. No surprise, with my lazy man QT procedures, that we have been losing precious, rare fish (while most of the cheap and hardy fish remain ok). But most of all since 2018. Until then, it had been far better. As for the what kind of bacteria, I am not saying it was the columnaris or only columnaris or that the columnaris was the primary cause, not secondary or tertiary. Some fish we have lost in 2018 and since then showed symptoms consistent with columnaris and some didn't. Columnaris is a complex animal and has several known strains, acting quite differently.

My gut feeling says reason #1 is that the wyckii was sickened and killed by a dangerous bacteria. A less likely reason is dirty 15K sump and as a result a high bacterial count in water column, but after I cleaned the 15K sump thoroughly twice over one year, there was no improvement whatsoever. Thus, I am inclined to discard this as the primary cause. A compounding factor it may be. I have planned to make a rearrangement in the sump, take out half the shade cloth media to make the hiding of detritus and bacteria harder and the vacuuming of the sump easier and faster and will continue cleaning the sump more frequently.

Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

A fourth shark was separated behind a divider and fed frozen blood worms and baby brine shrimp. I saw it take the feed and spit out. It wasn't getting plum and continued wasting away, until it too died like it's prior 3 kin. Only one remains strong, looking plum, growing in size, feeding well on NLS pellets and minced silversides.
Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Viktor Jarikov
Posts: 5254
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:11
My images: 11
My cats species list: 25 (i:0, k:0)
Spotted: 4
Location 1: Naples, FL
Location 2: USA

Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

Post by Viktor Jarikov »

Specific video for the five Phalacronotus - arrival, refusal to feed for a week, success overall in 1 month:


Thebiggerthebetter
fish-story.com
Post Reply

Return to “Tank Talk”