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Just collected these from a creek in Eastern PA for a coolwater grow out tank. Are they Stonecats? In that case I suspect my platies aren't long for this world

Hi Braxtonite,

Yes, those look like madtom catfish, genus . Which species, I'm not sure. Where in Eastern PA? Can you please get more pics of the fish when they settle in your tank?

Cheers, Eric

I can only see identifying features in one fish per picture (the fish laying along the bottom of the bag in the first, and the one swimming near the surface in the second), but at least that fish is . Most likely they are both the same, but clearer pictures would be necessary to confirm.

Thanks for the info guys. I sure hope they're N. insignis. I'll try to grab some pics later but these guys are extremely nocturnal. I haven't seen any daytime activity the past 4 days but I suppose that's how most catfish in the hobby started out.

Braxtonite wrote: ↑10 Nov 2021, 12:52 I sure hope they're N. insignis.

At least the one is definitely N. insignis! I can confirm that with certainty.

(These particular madtoms, in PA, are very familiar to me – I did my undergrad in fisheries in PA, have collected and kept N. insignis, and did research on N. flavus.)

It’s just that I can only see defining features in one fish per picture, so I can only confirm you have one N. insignis. (As I said before though, most likely they are the same.)

Braxtonite wrote: ↑10 Nov 2021, 12:52 I haven't seen any daytime activity the past 4 days but I suppose that's how most catfish in the hobby started out.

Having kept these before, they are definitely very reclusive. You pretty much just see them when they come out to feed, but they will feed in the day time if they get used to that schedule. Mine took readily to Fluval Bug Bites pellets as the main staple for their diet, but also appreciated live blackworms, frozen bloodworms, and Repashy gel food.

Good to know. I caught some video of the big one coming out when I fed some earthworm. How big do they get? I caught a big one at the creek but it was covered in white nodules so I released it, fearing disease. They seem like a fish with a slow metabolism and low bioload; did you find that to be the case when studying them? (I wouldn't mind reading that study if you wanna link it) Samsung cloud link: https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/qlaIhKFlqauL