Frogmouth catfish

[CFC]

I just managed to get myself a frogmouth catfish for the real bargain price of £8, as soon as the guy told me the price i had to have it as the only other one ive ever seen was £20 and already sold . They are a really "ugly but interesting" catfish, great fun to feed as they actually "fish" for prey buy wriggling lures on the corners of their mouths to attract the small fish that they eat, dont worry this one wont be getting any live fish and will have to make do with frozen lance fish and ghost shrimp so i will have to hold the food right in front of it until it takes it B) .Ill get some pics posted as soon as its settled in.

 

[KingGreenTerror]

I just managed to get myself a frogmouth catfish for the real bargain price of £8, as soon as the guy told me the price i had to have it as the only other one ive ever seen was £20 and already sold . They are a really "ugly but interesting" catfish, great fun to feed as they actually "fish" for prey buy wriggling lures on the corners of their mouths to attract the small fish that they eat, dont worry this one wont be getting any live fish and will have to make do with frozen lance fish and ghost shrimp so i will have to hold the food right in front of it until it takes it B) .Ill get some pics posted as soon as its settled in.

where did you find him at ive been looking for one here in NC for over a month and cant find one,

is it true that frogmouths mess with ur PH, i currently have a 180 gallon aguarium, with 1 Male Green Terror 10",,, 1 jack Demp 6",,, 1 green Severum 6",,, 2 comman plecos 5'' 1 shovel nose cat about 7'' and believe it or not my Green terror picks on nobody he wont even eat a gold fish, the only fish he has ever killed is a jaguar cichlid.

 

[andywg]

Now this is the sort of digging up of ancient threads I love! B)

 

[Cheffi]

Now this is the sort of digging up of ancient threads I love! B)

I didn't notice the date of first post and was going to ask if CFC had reconsidered giving up....

 

[KingGreenTerror]

LOL man i didnt even look at the date of the thread, i just did a search cuz im trying to find a frogmouth cat, does anyone know of an online store where i can order one?

 

[ghent_3rd]

I am guessing you have tried Trimar??

If you have and got no joy give Natural World at Syston a try.

Natural World


I live fairly close to it and seem to remember that they had about a 4" specimen of this fish earlier on in the year. Digging up this old thread may have paid dividends for you!!!

 

[AndrewZ]

King Green Terror,

If you find one and need some information, feel free to email me. I've had mine for a few months and have had a hard time finding any good info on it, and just last night was finally able to wean it onto frozen food.

It's best to keep them in a separate tank - they prefer cooler brackish water, can eat other fish almost their own size, and can get to about 8".

There's some controversy about the "lures" - I don't believe they use them (at least not all the time), as they just instantly inhale their prey as soon as it swims near them. The prey doesn't even have a chance to notice the lures or get close. Maybe they attract prey that crawls on the bottom instead of swimming overhead.

As far as them lowering the ph, mine is in a small tank and I haven't noticed this. I have to artificially adjust the ph to slightly acid for the brackish conditions [SEE CORRECTION BELOW], but it doesn't seem to drop further.

They are actually incredibly beautiful fish if you look at their color patterns and structures closely. Once in a while in the middle of the night you may witness them swimming around, they slowly glide gracefully and majestically.

 

[andywg]

AndrewZ,

Where did you learn about the fish being a brackish water inhabitant?

Planet Catfish makes no reference of any salt in the water, and Fishbase states it is potamodromous, meaning that while it migrates into smaller river tributries (heads upstream) for reproduction, it never leaves freshwater.

I have never heard anyone before (on here or other sites) recommend brackish water for Chaca chaca and must disagree with your recommendation, unless you have some other evidence to suggest they inhabit waters with an SG higher than 1.

 

[AndrewZ]

AndrewZ,

Where did you learn about the fish being a brackish water inhabitant?

Planet Catfish makes no reference of any salt in the water, and Fishbase states it is potamodromous, meaning that while it migrates into smaller river tributries (heads upstream) for reproduction, it never leaves freshwater.

I have never heard anyone before (on here or other sites) recommend brackish water for Chaca chaca and must disagree with your recommendation, unless you have some other evidence to suggest they inhabit waters with an SG higher than 1.

Andywg,

Thanks for pointing this out. I can't find the article I read before, so it's probably incorrect. I've been keeping the salt on the lowside anyway, but I'll reduce it in the future. It appears they do prefer soft water (ph about 6 to 8) so I keep it below 8.

 

[KingGreenTerror]

well everything i have in my tank is over 6'' except for my clown loaches and tiger botias, which are going in another tank soon anyways, my tank is 180 gallon, and i have lots and lots of filtration, can i ask what the chaca cost you, so far pet stores have been unable to give me a price.

do you really have to keep chaca by themselves?

 

[AndrewZ]

well everything i have in my tank is over 6'' except for my clown loaches and tiger botias, which are going in another tank soon anyways, my tank is 180 gallon, and i have lots and lots of filtration, can i ask what the chaca cost you, so far pet stores have been unable to give me a price.

do you really have to keep chaca by themselves?

I don't mean to discourage you, but it's best to keep them separate, as they are very shy and reclusive and prefer softer water, a slightly cooler temp (75F), and dim light. I've been told that other fish around may disturb its eating habits. But they're hardy and can take a range of conditions, and if your tank isn't too crowded then maybe he won't be disturbed. Though I've seen a post somewhere where another tankmate ate a chaca's eyes out and it died.

Also, trying to train him to eat frozen food may be difficult with other fish nibbling at the food.

They only need a simple small tank, like 10 gal, it's pretty cheap & easy to set one up, so I'd sure recommend it.

Mine was only $15-$18 I believe. I just found this website listing them for sale, but currently out of stock. http/www.aquascapeonline.com/store/scrip...p?idProduct=166

-Andrew

 

[andywg]

I certainly wouldn't keep them with tank mates. SirMinion used to keep one with a puffer, until one day he found the puffer dead. A quick check of the water parameters showed the KH was rock bottom and the pH had taken a nose dive.

Theses are a species tank fish.

 

[jayjay]

I thought they needed tank bigger than 10g, minimum being 20g ?

 

[AndrewZ]

I thought they needed tank bigger than 10g, minimum being 20g ?

Bigger is better, but I'm not sure it's necessary, being that they hardly ever move. I'll probably move mine to a 20 gal before he's full grown, to make sure he can swim easily when he does.

 

[jayjay]

I'd love to try one, but it would mean setting up breeding tank for other fish, which I have done now, I will have a pair of N. Brichardi which should spawn regualry. I think i'll look into it if i get over run with fry maybe.