friends for an electric cat

unknown_saint

unknown_saint

Members
has anybody kept electric catfish? if so, have you kept any tank mates with it?
mine is about 4-5" or so, i gave him a feeder goldfish a couple weeks ago that is maybe about 3-4" and it's still alive and well, while smaller-sized feeders disappear overnight. got me to wondering if maybe a couple comparably-sized cichlids might do okay, if a goldfish can survive.
given that the catfish itself is rarely seen, it's kind of a boring tank.
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
Your electric catfish is just a baby. I sold one about two years ago that some of you may have seen at the Catfish Convention this past year. He's about 30" long now, and still growing. Depending on just what species you have, they can break 12" in a year, and will keep growing ... considerably.

Unfortunately, there are not many fishes you can keep with them. While there are a lot of fish that will survive, and anything big enough not to be eaten might be okay, the electric catfish does sometimes let out a zap of electricity, either because he's startled, wants to stun prey, or just to exercise those muscles. How would you like a roommate who occasionally electrifies the whole house? :p They do this at night, while other fish are generally sleeping, and I can assure you, it is not a pleasant way to get woken up. Even if the other fish doesn't get zapped, killed, and eaten, chances are it'll be under rather a lot of stress.

They're very, very cool fish -- one of my favourites -- but they are a one fish kinda fish.
 
unknown_saint

unknown_saint

Members
JLW said:
They're very, very cool fish -- one of my favourites -- but they are a one fish kinda fish.
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yeah, that's what i'd kind of figured. the only other one-fish tank i have is a fahaka puffer, and he's as entertaining as can be. i'll just have to start staying up late with the lights out to enjoy "horace pinker" until he gets a bit bigger. :)
 
Becca

Becca

Members
JLW said:
Your electric catfish is just a baby. I sold one about two years ago that some of you may have seen at the Catfish Convention this past year. He's about 30" long now, and still growing. Depending on just what species you have, they can break 12" in a year, and will keep growing ... considerably.

Unfortunately, there are not many fishes you can keep with them. While there are a lot of fish that will survive, and anything big enough not to be eaten might be okay, the electric catfish does sometimes let out a zap of electricity, either because he's startled, wants to stun prey, or just to exercise those muscles. How would you like a roommate who occasionally electrifies the whole house? :p They do this at night, while other fish are generally sleeping, and I can assure you, it is not a pleasant way to get woken up. Even if the other fish doesn't get zapped, killed, and eaten, chances are it'll be under rather a lot of stress.

They're very, very cool fish -- one of my favourites -- but they are a one fish kinda fish.
Click to expand...

Josh, don't you sell a freshwater lion fish that can withstand pretty much anything? :p
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Vinh2o said:
Just curious. How do you remove him, transport him or have to reach your hand in the tank to do work for the tank?


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
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Karen (the person that owns the big electric cat that was at CatCon) would touch hers with her hand and said she hadn't been shocked badly at all. She netted the fish out of her display tank with a net with a rubber cover on the handle.

She's a member here. Hopefully she will chime in.
 
unknown_saint

unknown_saint

Members
if i'm not mistaken, i think that the "freshwater lionfish" is actually a brackish species. otherwise, it's the sort of thing that would be right up my alley!
i'm considering trying an anableps with the electric cat, just to see how it goes.
as far as going tank maintenance, i 'borrow' a pair of rubber gloves from work and still try to keep my hands out of the water as much as possible. at 5" i don't expect he'd have much more "oomph" that a 9v battery, but as he hits 12", 30"....
 
Becca

Becca

Members
unknown_saint said:
if i'm not mistaken, i think that the "freshwater lionfish" is actually a brackish species. otherwise, it's the sort of thing that would be right up my alley!
i'm considering trying an anableps with the electric cat, just to see how it goes.
as far as going tank maintenance, i 'borrow' a pair of rubber gloves from work and still try to keep my hands out of the water as much as possible. at 5" i don't expect he'd have much more "oomph" that a 9v battery, but as he hits 12", 30"....
Click to expand...

We'll have to wait for Josh to respond to this one... hopefully he has a few pictures ;).
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
Oh, no, I sell a different species of freshwater lionfish than what most people are used to. It's actually Pterois cf. volitans, but they're very specially treated. You can take one of these lionfish from the Atlantic, and using a special process, you basically drive the saltwater completely from their tissues. The fish can then be maintained indefinitely in a state of suspended animation. Because water evaporates and salt doesn't, the salt remains in their tissue, but is now a permanent component of their cellular structure. Regardless of the salinity of the water you place them in, their cells respond to promote a constant state of osmotic regulation, meaning that these lionfish can be maintained indefinitely in freshwater! They're very cool, and a Batfish exclusive (don't be fooled by imitators).

Many people have seen these at various events, from Raleigh's Spring Fling to the big AquaMania.
 
T

toddnbecka

Members
I found a wee baby electric catfish at a department store (many years ago) being sold as a pleco. I paid $2.99 for it, and thought I'd see if it would learn to live with African cichlids in a 55 if it grew up around them. Next morning there were 2 dead, 1 dying, and another that was never quite right again for the several more weeks it hung on to life. The catfish was less than 2", and the shock I felt when I handled it was less than a 9 volt battery on the tip of the tongue. The cichlids were 4-5" average.
The wee zapper was moved into a 20 of its own. About a month later I passed it along to a friend with a 125 that housed 3 adult Oscars and a black pacu the size of a dinner plate. The big boys were accustomed to occasional feeder goldfish, and when the little catfish was dropped into the tank the dominant Oscar closed in for a snack. He got close, then abruptly turned back. Tried again shortly, (slow learner?) same result, then the 2nd Oscar did the same thing, but only once. The 3rd Oscar didn't bother, and the huge pacu appeared to be terrified of the little zapper from the start.
A week later I saw the tank again, and wherever the little catfish went the big fish stayed together, as far away from it as they could get. It was really pretty funny to see those huge fish so respectful, even afraid, of something they could have swallowed so easily.
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
I can try my best to get you a male and a female, but getting them to spawn is on you. ;)
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

CCA Members
I have to be honest. I read the title of this post about five times and was still confused. I had to explore more here and now I'm looking up videos of electric catfish.

I was expecting a little robotic kitty with terminator-style glowing red eyes. An electric catfish is much better.

Was going to say, you could just get an electric dog to go with it, but be sure the dog is compatible with cats.
 
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