unknown Clarias species

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sidguppy
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unknown Clarias species

Post by sidguppy »

recently I picked up a tiny Clarias by catch from the same store where Marc goes his Auchenipterus group.

it was (!) tiny and a light brown slightly reddish color and according to the shopkeepers it grew very slowly if at all.
since there are no 2" Clarias species that I know of, it's likely a juvenile

now, here's the catch:
-it started to grow....not slowly at all but at a rate wich makes me suspect I didn't buy some small African species, but a potential baby whale.

-the coloration has changed completely! it now is a deep reddish brown on top; almost the same color that Phyllonemus has, but even more terracotta. definitely not greyish, but a deep brick-red brown color
the belly has turned white. a true white

in all it's as contrasting as a Phractocephalus :shock: actually a beautiful Clarias. passing 3" already and I'll replace it from the small tank to the 315G showtank tonight.

it has very long barbels, tiny eyes, a very small caudal fin, a well-developed dorsal but not as high as that Clarias sp pachynema I had.

what I fear is this; except for the red color it looks like a tiny gariepinus :(
but all the pix in the catelog show a typical grey catfish, sometimes olive green, but never reddish brown
also: mine has tiny white spots on the sides near the tail.

pics are coming soon, but at the moment my camera's not cooperating at all.

also: ALL the pictures in the catelog show large C gariepinus, except for the first one wich doesn't look like my miniature catfish at all.
pictures of juvenile gariepinus are missing completely. anyone know what a 2" or a 3" gariepinus is supposed to look like?
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Re: unknown Clarias species

Post by Shane »

I am still raising up the tiny Clarias I brought home a few months ago. Growth is fairly fast but not so rapid it frightens me. We'll have to grow them up together and see what we have. Of course some damn cichlids I collected gnawed the caudal fin off mine clear down to the peduncle, so I now I have what looks to be an African plotosid!
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Re: unknown Clarias species

Post by Silurus »

Bags of C. gariepinus fry are sold in the LFSs here as feeder fish. As far as I can see, they look like regular juvenile Clarias (i.e. they are not reddish brown).
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Re: unknown Clarias species

Post by Birger »

I am assuming because you did not mention it, there is no transverse banding at all in the caudal or a band along the dorsal ?

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sidguppy
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Re: unknown Clarias species

Post by sidguppy »

you lost me right at 'transverse banding'.
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Re: unknown Clarias species

Post by Silurus »

Transverse banding = a band running from top to bottom on the caudal fin.
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