Baby Whale?

[pica_nuttalli]

my 60 gallon tank has a pH of 6.2-6.8, temp of ~77 deg F, low buffer, soft water. it's planted with a few terra-cotta pot caves. eventually it will contain:

-- 1 Colomesus Asellus
-- 1 Albino Common Pleco (8 inches and growing!)
-- 1 Otocinclus
-- 2 Kribensis
-- 1 Bristlenose Pleco
-- Guppies (population subject to change)
-- Pond, Malaysian, and Ramshorn snails
-- Possibly two/four German Rams, two/three Dwarf Puffers, OR another Asellus

I saw in the LFS a fish lurking behind a filter that *looks* like a Baby Whale of sorts. It's right now about 3 inches long, but that may or may not mean anything. I think its a Petrocephalus catostoma, which is small-ish and doesn't have a bump on its face, but I won't know for sure until I go back and ask/take a picture.

Anyways, I don't want something that'll get to be a foot, but presuming this is the small species I think it is, could I get away with owning it? What would I feed it? What would make a nice hidey-hole that everybody else would leave alone?

PS: NOWHERE around here has any sort of live foods, so if that's the case its brine shrimp and earthworms!

 

[Nyc]

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/cetop...opsis/339_f.php

Is this it??

 

[CFC]

The only fish on your list that would worry me is the puffer which could see a newly introduced fish as a invader of its territory and attack the baby whale which being a fairly slow fish could be badly damaged.

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Yes, the puffer worries me too, even with it's current tankmates.

 

[jflowers]

The puffer will decimate your guppies and snails. It may then turn on your other fish, thats what they do. I have a pair that were kept in a community, anything with long fins, didn't have a few days later.

Jon

 

[noelberg]

http/www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1

Sounds like the water might be ok - the article says they require excellent conditions though. A baby whale would love earthworms. They're nocturnal, passive-electrogenic fish - so no elephant noses for tankmates.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i'm pretty sure its some sort of mormymid; the body shape is right.

and the guppies and snails are *in* there to be decimated by the pufferfish (who's too lazy to eat anything larger than a dime anyways and loves his flakes.)

i've had the puffer with just one guppy before in a 2.5 gallon and there were no problems with fin nipping or anything, just so long as guppy didn't try to whore in on the flakes. i only had to remove the baby because he wasn't getting enough to eat!

so no problems beyond the puffer (who can just move back into his old tank)?

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Yes, it would be a good idea to move the puffer immediatly. And yes, they are Mormryids, one of the most common species.

 

[jflowers]

and the guppies and snails are *in* there to be decimated by the pufferfish

 

[pica_nuttalli]

feeders. puffer leaves the adults alone and snacks on the fry whenever he can catch one.

i realize that its contrary to most people's experience with puffers, but mine really is just no trouble about adult fish. he doesn't even bother snails anymore once they reach about half a centimeter. he's actually less troublesome about fin-nipping than the guppies! mine's adapted extremely well to the aquarium and loves his flake food -- those Tetra-min Tetra Crisps. but i still like to provide a potential live source or two, just to help keep him alert.

anyways, i went back and looked more carefully at the animal in question. the owner actually pointed out three or four more that he had spread across the tanks and called them "Dolphin Fish". he said they had only been there three days, though, and suggested i wait another week before getting one.

the Dolphin Fish (Whales) are approximately 3 inches and have a typical mormyiad body shape, only less elongated than is usual. they are a steely blue-grey with a slightly forked tail. the mouth is set low in the face in a smooth curve. there is no noticable protrusion or "nose" as exhibited by other morymiads. on some of the specimens, there is mild fin damage -- probably incurred during shipment. this, combined with the reported difficulty of housing a breeding pair, leads me to believe the specimens are wild-caught. hopefully, this means they are already half- to full-grown and will not obtain much more in size.

with any luck, this time next week i'll have my quarantine tank emptied out again and i can get me a whale!

now, anyone have suggestions about what would make a good cave?

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Even if your puffer hasn't done anything yet, don't count on it to remain that way. Puffers are simply not community fish. Also, if the owner calls them "dolphin fish", then are you sure that they're baby whales? Mormryus longirostris is often sold as the "freshwater dolphin", and they are also mormryids. There are also several species that are sold as "baby whales", including Pollimyrus castelnaui, Pollimyrus simus, and Brienomyrus brachyistius, and one of my favorite mormryids, Petracephalus myrus is also very stout and I would imagine has been sold as a baby whale in the past (though I've never seen one for sale under that name). Also, he dosn't go after things that are smaller than half a centimeter? That's not a whole lot larger than larger guppy fry. Also, you aren't planning on still keeping the puffer with the baby whale are you? Baby whales are very peaceful fish and should not be subjected to potential harassment by a puffer.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Even if your puffer hasn't done anything yet, don't count on it to remain that way... you aren't planning on still keeping the puffer with the baby whale are you?

i've had mine for two years in some pretty tight quarters and he hasn't hurt anything bigger than a centimeter. no fin-nipping, no chasing, no investigating even. he's not been a problem to anyone. like i've said, he's better behaved that the guppies. i am not keeping them together long term. they'll have to co-exist for a week or two, but that's only so i can tear down and rebuild my iso-tank. and i'd rather have them together in my huge, relatively clean tank than the poor baby in the tiny, crowded, overdosed LFS tank.

i've been worrying more about the pair of Kribensis, anyways. they're new and i've not really gotten to observe their behavior much.

ANYWAYS: i think you're right on target with the Petrocephalus simus; it looks exactly like the pictures i found through Fishbase. i couldn't find a listing in FB for Petracephalus myrus , however. Is there a better place to look up this info?

its good to hear it'll eat guppy fry. i always worry about feeding unsual fish, especially wild-caughts. that's pretty much what the guppies are there for anyways.

so, what do you guys do for caves/hidey-holes? i really need to go on ahead and incorporate that into the decor before i finish consolidating the fish.

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

I wouldn't worry a whole lot about finding a pic of P. myrus, it isn't likely that it's what they have at your lfs, these are fairly uncommon (and so stout that they're almost round... they have the basic shape of a red bellied piranha). As for hiding places, artificial caves that can be found at virtually any pet shop should work very well, though the ones that I've kept often just hide behind these structures rather than inside of them.
One more thing, still keep an eye on the puffer... I've once kept a south american puffer with tankmates literally years without problems, then I introduced a 2 inch gold nugget plec and the puffer ate it, then started going after all of it's other tankmates...

 

[pica_nuttalli]

and the puffer ate it

crazy. i'll keep that in mind; wonder what set it off?

ok, well this is the tank as of tonite... how's it look for hiding spots so far? (keep in mind that its only been running for a month point five, so there's still a LOT of plant growth to occur.) it's kinda difficult to decorate because its only 12" wide.