ID my catfish buddies please

[torusle]

First post, nice site, hello everyone,

I adopted my brother's aquarium including two catfishes that I have to take care of. He himself wasn't the first owner of them, so he couldn't tell me more about them.

Here are some pictures:






Okay, the fellow here is between 8cm and 10cm (3" to 4") long. He is most active in the afternoon and early evening. He likes to chew on wood and likes to chase my larger Corydoras panda without touching them every now and then. He is not overly aggressive, just the usual territorial behaviour. I have two of these fellows and they avoid each other if possible.

My brother told me that these fish are likely already some years old if that matters.

Any idea what catfish these are? I really want to know to optimize food make the aquarium for them as good as I can.

[bekateen]

To me they resemble

Panaqolus maccus

. Does your measurement (8 and 10cm) include the tail?

If so, wood is their primary food. Supplement the wood with occasional veggies and algae pellets.

Cheers, Eric

[torusle]

Hi Eric,

thanks a lot.

Yes, the measurement includes the tail. Panaqolus maccus makes sense to me. I've read about their behaviour and how they look and it's all spot on.

They have plenty of wood to chew on. I also tried vegetables but they don't seem to care much except that one of my buddies likes to sit on them I'll continue to drop something for them though. Maybe they just have to learn that it's edible.

[jac]

I agree, one of the P. Maccus species.

[bekateen]

I also tried vegetables but they don't seem to care much except that one of my buddies likes to sit on them I'll continue to drop something for them though. Maybe they just have to learn that it's edible.

Hi torusle,

In my experience, plecos can take two weeks or more to realize that a new food is "food" - that they're supposed to eat it. My clowns eat raw sweet potato, raw bell peppers (red or orange), boiled (but firm) Brussels sprouts, and cucumber and zucchini. They also eat boiled (but firm) skinned black beans and black-eyed peas (also beans, really). I'm not a big fan of zucchini and cucumber though because (1) they spoil so quickly in warm aquarium water, and (2) the fish don't eat the seeds, and then those float around in the tank and foul the water. But I realize that the fish really seem to like them.

My advice is to put a little bit of the same veggie (or 2-3 at a time, all in small amounts) into the tank, fresh every day, and then remove the uneaten portion the next day (raw sweet potato can last 2-3 days). Keep replacing it until the fish learn it's food. Soon you'll have veggie poop all over the tank! But even if they never take to the veggies much, just keep plenty of wood in there, perhaps 2-3 varieties of wood, and they will be happy fish.

Cheers, Eric

[torusle]

Hi Eric,
Based on your suggestion that my buddies are Panaqolus maccus I checked the database and found the L-448. From the description and the images it could very well be this species. Size would fit as well.

Then on the other hand the Maccus seem to be hard to distinguish and I don't really care about the exact number. All I want is to have happy and healthy fish.

I'll offer my buddies cucumber for two weeks and we'll see. If they start munching I'll report back.

[bekateen]

Hi torusle,

Yes, L448 and P. maccus are very similar animals, but currently are not considered to be the same species. L448 grows longer than P. maccus, and the color pattern on the face can look different, but otherwise they are very similar.

It's my understanding that L448 is rarely imported, so it's much more likely that your fish are P. maccus. The body length is perfectly consistent with P. maccus (not too big) and the photo (above) of the nose of one of your fish reminds me of P. maccus more than it does L448.

No matter, the care for these two fish is pretty much the same. Good luck with the feeding

Cheers, Eric

[Younnoubt]

To me they resemble

Panaqolus maccus

. Does your measurement (8 and 10cm) include the tail?

If so, wood is their primary food. Supplement the wood with occasional veggies and algae pellets.

Cheers, Eric

Agree! I also have this one and I let them eat with algae pellets and veggies It's cool that somehow I have one of this!