What am I?

J.B. · Post by **J.B.** » 13 Jun 2010, 18:52

I found this little beauty in my LFS today and couldn't resist picking it up. I'm unable to find it in the cat-e-log though, so I'm unsure what it is. The LFS only had it marked "Whiptail Catfish" and the paperwork from the distributor said the same.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 13 Jun 2010, 19:30

J.B. · Post by **J.B.** » 13 Jun 2010, 19:45

That's it! Thank you, Dave. I've put it in my planted 75g, so it should have plenty of roaming room.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 13 Jun 2010, 19:59

Does your planted tank have open areas with sand? This is what the fish will really like...

--
Mats

nvcichlids · Post by **nvcichlids** » 13 Jun 2010, 22:05

very nice find! My lfs got one in at 2.5" for $140... if you don't mind me asking, how big is yours and what kind of price tag was on him? I had been looking for a group for a while within an affordable range, but $140 for a single fish is waay out of control IMO>

J.B. · Post by **J.B.** » 14 Jun 2010, 02:57

Wow, I guess I got a pretty sweet deal then...mine is about 3½ inches and I gave $10 USD. My substrate is a mix of pool filter sand, Tahitian Moon Sand, Eco-Complete and Fluorite. It has already found a spot where the sand is predominant and has subsequently buried itself, except for it's eyes. These are really neat fish, I'm glad I was able to find them little beauty.

Here's a shot of my tank. The other inhabitants are Hyphessobrycon serpae, Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis, Hemigrammus ocellifer, Panaque maccus and a Crossocheilus siamensis.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 14 Jun 2010, 06:19

$10 is a very good deal!

Not really sure you tank is that suitable for , though.

Too much gravel and too many plants. They go "a bit mental" when they haven't enough room. They go up and down the glass, and then lodge themselves in the plants looking like they're about to die.

For them to thrive, you need to think childrens play-pit, covered in water.

I'd be interested in how well he does in there long term.

nvcichlids · Post by **nvcichlids** » 14 Jun 2010, 22:20

If it doesn't work out, let me know.. I will pay you triple what you paid plus shipping

naturalart · Post by **naturalart** » 15 Jun 2010, 03:40

Hello J.B. Just a word of caution: I had a group of Planiloricaria cryptodon in with a Pterygoplicthys sp. and a Chaetostoma sp. on 2 seperate occasions. And in both situations the P. cryptodons were "rasped" on the dorsal caudal region of the body. I lost a couple as a result of this before I caught what was happening and remedied the situation. I've never kept your fish P. apithanos before but I know Panaqua maccus can be aggressive. And I don't know if this will happen between your fish but I'd keep a eye out for this behavior.

Maybe others have had experienced this?

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 15 Jun 2010, 04:49

naturalart wrote:Maybe others have had experienced this?

I kept mine with and never had a problem.

naturalart · Post by **naturalart** » 15 Jun 2010, 07:35

Thats encouraging racoll. And therefore raises the question: Does L204 have a similar temperment as P. maccus? Very nice fish by the way:-)

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Jun 2010, 09:51

naturalart wrote:Thats encouraging racoll. And therefore raises the question: Does L204 have a similar temperment as P. maccus? Very nice fish by the way:-)

I'd say if anything, P. sp(L204) is a little bit more aggressive. But they are less likely to defend a territory on the substrate than for example a common or Chaetostoma sp., since the Panaque species are wood-eaters, and tend to keep near/on pieces of wood in the tank.

--
Mats

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 15 Jun 2010, 12:52

IME L204 can be very aggressive towards hyps & peckoltia types but is fine with whiptails etc.

J.B. · Post by **J.B.** » 16 Jun 2010, 01:25

Thanks for all the first-hand experiences, folks...that's the best kind. I'll certainly keep an eye on the situation. So far, the fish has made it's way around the tank and found the areas where the sand is on top and buried itself. When I fed last night, it came out and was rasping on the algae wafer I offered, so I'm hopeful this will work out.

As an aside, my P. maccus generally stay on opposite sides of the tank from one another. The tank hardscape offers lacerock and driftwood in both corners, which provides each of them their own areas to inhabit, and they pretty much stay there.

Thanks again...

JB

J.B. · Post by **J.B.** » 08 Jul 2010, 03:34

Just a quick update...

All is well, the fish is doing really good. He takes food offerings (algae wafers and flake) with no problems and there has not been any "encounters" between it and the two P. maccus. There are three particular places in the tank where the sand is predominate and it tends to found buried in those areas. I've actually seen it do the shimmy thing, to bury itself, several times as it lands in the sandy areas...really neat behavior.

Thanks again for helping ID this dude.

/r

JB

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