Heptapterus mustelinus

[Silurus]

Any one have experience with heptapterids? I was given this fine 8" specimen.

From what it's seemingly done to the substrate, this may be a burrower.

[Jools]

Shane had some? I find my Imparfinnis spend most of their time in the sand, only come out for food when the do the regular pim thing.

Jools

[Shane]

I have collected and kept a few spp. My experience has been that they are leaf litter or sand spp. The sand spp. are burrowers. They basically share their environments with trichomycterids and banjos. Like most pims they are pretty open to any food. Never collected any that grew to more than 2-3 inches though. Too bad they are not exported much as they are great small cats.
-Shane

[lonewolf]

I know that fish! He looks very familiar!

I can tell you one thing. He loves to eat goldfish He seemed to enjoy krill, too. He never burrowed in my tank but that could be because of the type of gravel I had.

[sidguppy]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, BUT a brandnew LFS has them on the list of a Peru shipment; due next friday...

IF! they ARE in there, I'll be like the seagulls in Finding Nemo

mine!mine!mine!mine!

this particular LFS has a fetish for South America, and me and my cousin dropped by, had a looong talk and contaminated him with the catfishbug.
we'll see what happens

[Shane]

Was just in the fishroom observing my guy (gal?). The three inchish fish Jools made the video of in the catelog is now, a year later, easily 7 inches sl. My wife calls him our "pet catfish." This fish has a lot of personality and swims to the front pane of the glass to greet visitors. Not shy at all. Eats anything, but relishes live earthworms. Mine has a tank to himself, so can't comment on tankmates or aggression. Great fish all around for anyone looking for a smallish fish with personality.
-Shane

[Shane]

Still growing.
-Shane

[Jools]

I can't quite make out the measurement, what did you reckon he was?

Jools

[Shane]

Photo tank is 12" so s/he must be just over 11" TL or 10" SL. Most notable has beenthe increase in girth and just mass in general.
-Shane

[Bas Pels]

This is still the same fish as in 2004?

I´ve received fishes, said to be H mustilianus from Uruguay in 2010, I thinkkj, which were then soms 10 cm if memmory serves me right, but dies 2 summers later on a hot day, being over 25 cm

So to me, H mustilianus, being close to 29 cm, at the age of 12 years, somehow feels wrong: I thought this is a fast growing species

Most likely mine will turn out to be another species, but even then, it will most likely be closely related. Which makes the implied questions above slightly different, vbut the question itself still remains: It this a fast growing species, or genus, or not?

[Shane]

I wish it was HH's original fish. This fish was given to me by someone that collected it in Uruguay about 3-4 years ago. Back then it was maybe 10 cm.
-Shane

[Shane]

Well tonight we said goodbye to "Big Boy." Really one of the very few catfishes I have kept over the last 25 years to have become a true family pet.

I was gone at CatCon for three days, so by the time I noticed him looking ill it was already too late. He appeared to have developed some sort of infection in the mouth/throat that hampered his ability to breath. I am also not ruling out that the infection was caused by him swallowing something he should not have.

He was kept alone in a 39 gallon for the last few years, fed a varied diet, and enjoyed weekly 60% water changes.
RIP Big Boy.
-Shane

[catfishchaos]

Sorry for your loss, always hard to see them go and much more so when they obtain such a status. I have not lived all that long but in that time I have found the pain of losing a true pet has never dulled and I suspect it never will. The hardest part of working with live animals will always be the hurt we face upon loosing them. We keep doing it though because the joy they bring while they are here will always outweigh the hurt of when they are not. I'm sure you already know this but it doesn't hurt to hear it from someone else.
Sincere condolences.
James