Callophysus macropterus

[sequoiacat]

How will one do with a Leiarius pictus catfish, I like them both and It would be wonderful If I could house them together. Asking due to the shark like behavior of Callophysus macropterus but from an article on this site they are peaceful with similar sized fish right?

[Richard B]

IME these do well in groups but can be kept singly. Rather than falling in line with all the other big pims as out-&-out predators these have a scavanger-style nature, but the one thing to be wary of is that they can be a little nasty to tankmates - either harassing them or occasionally taking a chunk out of them every so often. My preference is a half dozen together in a species tank for this stunning looking fish

[Redtailrob]

These are cracking fish & i am the proud owner of one.

As already stated here & elsewhere though they need a helluva lot of room!
They are very active fish & mine is always on the go, hence the reason for the space required.

Mine isn't particulary aggresive but unless he/ she is well feed I have witnessed it biting the flanks of my other big cats forcing them to expel their meals so that it can eat them!!

Never seen behaviour like that before.

[Viktor Jarikov]

expel as in regurgitate or just spit out not-yet-swallowed food? Substantial difference.

the Cat-eLog description sounds scary for these guys but I am 100% with Richard, they are stunning beauties; any photos of yours, Rob??

you seem to have gotten it all, Rob, haven't you?

[Richard B]

Pier had about 10 little 3-4" ones recently & they looked incredible - so cute but definately a wolf in sheep's clothing!!!

[Redtailrob]

Yeap expel as in regurgitate!

I would go to my loacl supermarket & occasionally they would have "squid tubes" on special price or little pots with about 5-6 tubes in ready made up so i would just grab them as a treat for the bigger Cats.

Would feed the bigger cats only, L.Longbarbis, L.Mammoratus etc with the tubes.
The next day there would be a film on the water indicating "regurgitation" and the milky appearance to the water.
The Cats would have bite marks on their flanks & empty bellies, whilst the Callophysus would be as fat as a Hog even though he HADN'T been fed anything

No Pics Im afraid as it's in the Tropical pond & overhead shots do it no justice.
The beauty never sits still long enough anyway!

[Viktor Jarikov]

Thanks, Rob! Wow. Never heard of this either - they regurgitate to get callophysus off their backs... well, their bitten up sides... !!! Wow! Good to know.

Justice or not - throw us a bone! (kidding) I've shot some pics in my tropical pond - will sort thru and post them in my advertisement thread soon - some of the pics can be considered acceptable by not so picky individuals. When fish feed and swim around they turn in many ways, often exposing their side views and head-on views to the camera. My problem is lighting - too dark in my basement, even with all lights on, a flash and Kodak Perfect touch processing of images - most pics are too dark/the exposure too long. I need a used Elle photo-shoot set.

[Richard B]

Thanks, Rob! Wow. Never heard of this either - they regurgitate to get callophysus off their backs... well, their bitten up sides... !!! Wow! Good to know.

This is seen at other places in the animal kingdom - like skuas or frigate birds