nasty catfish

Erwin · Post by **Erwin** » 09 Jan 2005, 10:18

I have a catfish which is sticking its tongue out at me, just look:

Erwin

[don't take it serious]

julian · Post by **julian** » 09 Jan 2005, 10:30

HAHAHAHAh,! thats good , piece of bloodworm?

Graeme · Post by **Graeme** » 09 Jan 2005, 10:39

Superb picture!!

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 09 Jan 2005, 16:41

Tridensimilis?

that picture looks like a real asset to the catelog.

you might try sending it to Jools.
There are few pics of Trichomycterids and virtually none of fish in a fishtank.

Erwin · Post by **Erwin** » 09 Jan 2005, 18:40

Indeed sidguppy, its a female of Tridensimilis brevis. I recently purchased a bunch of 10 individuals of them and keep them in a 60 cm long tank. Making my first experiences with this group as aquarist and not only as fish photographer. Most of the writing about this particular species in literature is completely nonsense, based on the Aquarium Atlas, like FishBase. Tridensimilis is no parasitic catfish and especially no catfish that enters the ureta of mammals. So forget about calling it "traumatogenic".

Erwin

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 09 Jan 2005, 23:34

Well, it DOES like to rip pieces of fins from certain fish and it also can and does eat scales and other fishes' mucus too, when given the chance....

I've had these critters in the past; so did Marc van Arc.

Does lepidophage behaviour fit in parasitism or no? that's the question

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 10 Jan 2005, 20:04

I must state that my T. brevis was very fond of the Beaufortias it lived with. To their great relief I removed the diffusor and the little bugger entered the "uretus" of my Eheim, being chopped to pieces by the rotor.....
Silly, but true.

Erwin · Post by **Erwin** » 10 Jan 2005, 21:10

Hi Sidguppy, and Marc,

do you guys have personally observed the fin and scale eating of this species? Marc, you wrote they were fond with the Beaufortia, I hope my English is good enough to understand that it really means they did not harm them?

At the moment I keep my group in an aquarium for themselve. Hoffmann & Hoffmann (DATZ 7/1998: 429-431) are so far the only trustable source for an observation. They've kept them together with tetras and didn't report about any parasitic/piscivorous behaviour. They could even find some eggs of them but could not hatch the fry for more than 8 days.

That the catfish tried to enter the outlet of the Eheim does not mean that they tried to enter an ureta/gill-chamber of a big catfish, because even some of my cichlids try do do that from time to time, and they are surely not attracted by any ureta. Many fish just like to swim against the current. Anyhow is it known already that its not the current that attracts the real candirus, it is the smell of urin, which is in fish partly be cleaned from the blood through the gills.

Erwin

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 11 Jan 2005, 08:44

Marc, you wrote they were fond with the Beaufortia, I hope my English is good enough to understand that it really means they did not harm them?

no, as in fond of "moveable snacks"....

I had mine much longer ago, but small Corydoras, Characins and livebearers learned fairly quickly to get out of the way.....

I think it's transparant coloration is a weird way of camouflage; add that to theit agility and you see that they can "creep up to" other fish fairly quick.

I think Tridensimilis is not an obligate parasite, like Vandellia and the like, but it sure makes use of oppertunities when those arise.

I once had an Ochmacanthus and he was much worse, but then; that's a much more "evil-looking" bugger, and he didn't hesitate to attack almost anything.

but best keep them apart; they have a large "overbite", and it's full of sandpaperlike teeth....perfectly shaped for rasping slime and other parts off other fish.

you might want to try it out, but....

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 12 Jan 2005, 16:32

Hi Erwin,
I think the little crook just took the easiest victim, which was the Beaufortia. Why swim like hell to keep up with the Danios when you have a "sitting duck" to provide some extra food? BTW: I didn't like this behaviour, for I hadn't bought the loach as foodprovider.