Cetopsis coecutiens

3matthew3 · Post by **3matthew3** » 10 Sep 2006, 17:41

I searched the forums regarding this type of catfish... and most everything I found contradicted itself. Regarding max size / aggression / ect...

Most of the threads I read were quite old... has anyone kept these fish in a home tank, and have ANY experienced info on these fish?

I currently have one (about 4-5") in a 30 gallon solitary tank. He is SUPER active, and swims back and forth across the front of the glass and will swim upright, kinda hovering in the corners... seems to be eating frozen foods (and Blue Lobster casualties, from a lobster tank)

Can anyone give me some solid FIRST-HAND advise/info on this fish?

here's a pic or two of mine.

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 10 Sep 2006, 18:10

Welcome,

Have you read the data for in the Cat-eLog

daniel60 · Post by **daniel60** » 10 Sep 2006, 21:14

I've got three C. coecutiens (4") in a species tank. Don't really trust them around other fish. And I think their constant swimming would be stressful for other fish.
Another guy in Sweden keeps Cetopsis with Loricariids and Cichlids, so it can be done (at least with young Cetopsis).

It's quite fun to watch them eat.

3matthew3 · Post by **3matthew3** » 10 Sep 2006, 22:09

What were you feeding them in that video...? I've never quite seen mine that spastic and aggressive... mine has been pretty timid so far... There are a few other fish in the tank with him ... 2 tetras and 2 platys... he surprisingly has not touched any of them. I was kinda hoping he would be aggressive like the ones in your video. I did have a few Blue Lobsters in a tank and one got cannabilized, so I through what was remaining in with the Blue Shark and he did REALLY enjoy that... thinking about going to the supermarket and getting crab meat or shimp or something... he doesn't really take to the frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms or plankton.

My LFS said that he has never seen one in a home tank bigger than about 7"... is that about right? Mine is fairly decent sized (4.5") already. He had about 12 of them for $40 a piece (Which I think may be overpriced) but I really thought they were interesting so decided to give him his own tank and give it a try...

Do you know of any food that they REALLY exjoy? I really have never seen mine eat all that much.

Thanks for the replies...
3Matthew3

daniel60 wrote:I've got three C. coecutiens (4") in a species tank. Don't really trust them around other fish. And I think their constant swimming would be stressful for other fish.
Another guy in Sweden keeps Cetopsis with Loricariids and c*****ds, so it can be done (at least with young Cetopsis).

It's quite fun to watch them eat.

daniel60 · Post by **daniel60** » 10 Sep 2006, 22:31

They eat just anything: shrimps, fish, mussels, even pellets.
On the video they feed on a piece of Pangasius filet (it was gone after a minute). Maybe they trigger each other to a feeding frenzy.
This is my first Cetopsis, so I have no first hand information how large they grow in an aquarium, or how aggressive they become.

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 11 Sep 2006, 13:11

The only thing I could tell you is this: long ago I had one in an Auchenipteridae tank and all species were not amused by the Cetopsis. Neither was I.... So after a short period I brought it back to the LFS (well, local: it was in Germany).
Thus I would advice to keep it in a species tank; a possibility I didn't have at that time.