Herb the catfish!

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 28 Jul 2003, 23:08

This is my catfish herb. A little over a year ago I was in Virginia visiting my brother. We were fishing when I saw a snake attack a dark cloud in the water. I thought the cloud was a group of Tadpoles. I soon realized the were baby catfish. I put this one in a water bottle because he got injured by the snake. This fish made a trip back to Massachusetts in a bucket and has been the highlight of my fishtank ever since. After one year he is about 7 inches and getting fat. He seems to love the rest of my fish 9 African Cichlids). I was wondering if anyone knows what kind of catfish this is? I have been told it may be a bullhead catfish but when I look up bullheads on line there are some differences. Bullheads seem to thin out near the head. This guy has a fat head! Also I would like to add another to my tank have never seen this type in captivity. Thanks, Mike

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Jul 2003, 23:30

Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like Herb is a black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). If you have a better shot, I can give a more definite answer.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 28 Jul 2003, 23:32

It's a species of Bullhead, allright (Ameiurus spp); check the Cat-e-log in the Ictaluridae family.
I think you might have been confused with Channelcats, Ictalurus. These have indeed a much more pointed head. To add to the confusion; Bullheads have been called "Ictalurus" for a long time too.....

Amazing to read, he's fine in a Rift Setup (I assume with "African cichlids" you probably mean "Malawi cichlids".)

becvause what you probably know btw; he's a coldwater fish, more suitable for a gardenpond than a warm tropical tank.....

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 28 Jul 2003, 23:48

I was very suprised that he got along with the cichlids. I try to keep the water temp a little lower than the recommended 80-82 degrees for African Cichlids. My tank is about 77 degrees. I think because the cat has been there since the beginning of his life he has gotten used to it. Here are a couple more pics one of herb the other of some of my cichlids.

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Jul 2003, 23:58

Hmm, still can't identify Herb for sure.
Here are some pics for comparison.
Black bullhead (A. melas):

Yellow bullhead (A. natalis):

Brown bullhead (A. nebulosus):

These are among the three most common bullheads you would encounter. Which one does Herb resemble?
Also, how big is your tank? Bullheads get fairly large (around 20") and consequently need plenty of room.
They are fairly tough fish, and should be able to withstand a wide range of water conditions, BTW.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 00:31

The last picture looks similar except Herb is more on the grey side. My tank is only a 46g. I am planning on making the jump to a 125g to 150g within a year.

Frisckey1 · Post by **Frisckey1** » 29 Jul 2003, 16:35

Is it me, or does that not look like a white catfish?

http://www.thecontentwell.com/Fish_Game ... tfish.html

Ictalurus catus?

Or maybe a blue cat?
Ictalurus furcatus

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 16:42

You know this really looks like herb. THe fish in the picture is almost identical.

Frisckey1 · Post by **Frisckey1** » 29 Jul 2003, 16:58

To tell if its a white catfish or a blue, the white catfish has four white (or yellow) barbels on the chin, the one with the grey barbels is usually a blue. I think your gonna need more than 150G!

Oh...or you can count the fin rays. That'll tell ya for sure. The Channel cat is very similar, only it usually has spots.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 17:51

Holy Crap I think I have a blue catfish on my hands. The cat has 4 grey barbs. Also as much as it looks similar to the bullheads it does not look exact. The picture of the white catfish looks identical but with grey barbs. Also bullheads seem to be more middle heavy meaning there bellies are more towrds the middle of its body. The white catfish is more towrds the front. I am going to try to get a good picture of him.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:08

Here are some better photos of Herb!

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:16

It looks like this cat has 19 to 20 rays on its tail. Also notice the split tail. None of the pictures of a bullhead have the split. THe barbs start of white but then turn dark gray towrds the end.

Post by **Silurus** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:19

I am almost certain Herb is a brown bullhead. Bullheads (Ameiurus) have chunky, rounded heads like your fish while those of channel cats (Ictalurus) are longer and flatter.
White and blue cats also tend not to have the mottled color pattern seen in your fish.
PS. The split in the tail is due to injury, and is not really a forked tail.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:21

I wish I had a better picture of a brown bullhead. It does look similat but the tail seems much different. Also the color seems much darker.

Post by **Silurus** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:25

Well, as I explained, the "forked" tail is due to an old injury that does not appear to be healing properly. There also appear to be scrapes on its body. Make sure it's not fighting with the cichlids when the lights are out.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:31

He accasionally gets scraps from just swimming into things. He likes to push things over too. Lately he has not been as bad. I think he is settling into the tank. Although I know I will need a much bigger tank soon.

Post by **Silurus** » 29 Jul 2003, 18:37

One point I forgot to mention regarding the injury on the caudal fin is that I know it is not natural because:
(a) Ictalurus species have sharply-lobed caudal fins, not rounded ones like yours, and
(b) The caudal fins are not as deeply forked as in your fish. As you can see, the forks in the caudal fin go all the way until they nearly reach the base, which is never the case in Ictalurus.

Frisckey1 · Post by **Frisckey1** » 30 Jul 2003, 15:59

Here's a couple of sites with pics of brown bullheads

http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/nebulosus.html

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/GLWL ... atfish.htm

http://cars.er.usgs.gov/pics/nativefish ... sh_26.html

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/brnbull.html

I think Silurus is right, the fork in the tail looks unnatural to me and looks to be an injury or possible fin rot so I wouldn't go by the tail alone.

In those new pics I also see some mottled spotting, which is not found on the white or blue, but on the channel and bullheads. The last link has a bunch of different pics at the very bottom of the page to compare to.

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 30 Jul 2003, 18:34

It really weird because one of the bullhead picture you sent looks exactly like my catfish except the color. Its difficult to tell in my pictures but my cat is a grey in most areas light grey. Although I think your right about the tail. I looked close and I believe it was an ijury from when I first caught him in a cup. A snake had attacked the group of baby catfish and this one was injured on the tail area. I just thought he always had the split tail. Anyway he is a great fish. He eats right out of my hand and as soon as I get near the tank he goes to his feeding spot. Also maybe because of his size he gets along great with my African Cichlids which is weird. They almost seem playful with each other, however, as Herb grows the playfulness may turn into one of my cichlids getting swallowed.

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Jul 2003, 19:06

The "good" news is that brown bullheads only reach up to 22".

pakko13 · Post by **pakko13** » 30 Jul 2003, 20:11

So I only need a 250G tank.

Herb the catfish!

Herb the catfish!

Catfish