Hemibagrus Variegatus

[CAC]

Does anyone have any additional info on these cats. At the moment, all I can find is that they get to about 4.5", are aggressive and should be kept by themselves (thats from planet catifsh). So I was thinking of using the 18 gallon tank I have for one and see how it goes, but if theyre highly active then it would probably be too small. Also, does anyone know about how much they go for in the UK?

Thanks, Mike

 

[CFC]

Hemibagrus are fast moving and nocturnally active fish that need pleanty of room, i wouldnt recomend keeping even a small species in less than a 55 gallon.

I've never seen H.variegatus available but to give you some idea of what kind of price they could be i paid £300 for a pair of Hemibagrus punctatus last year, previously very few if any of that species had been exported as they are from a region that has little infrastructure and no existing businesses in the ornamental aquarium trade.

 

[CAC]

Right, well BAS have two of the Hemibagrus variegatus in stock. Not toomuch either, a smaller one costs £40 and they have a larger, which the guy said was either £70 or £80...
If they need a 55g though then that kinda stumps that one...Im supprised, I would have thought even an active 4.5" catfish wouldnt need anything bigger than a 2 foot long tank (which mine is)...Oh well.

 

[CFC]

The two punctatus i have are about 10" and use every inch of the 200 gallon tank as they zoom around at breakneck speed when the lights go out, if they werent so aggressive i would consider a larger tank for them in the fish house but since anything less than twice their size gets lumps bitten out of them all they will be getting is 5x2x2 eventually.

 

[CAC]

Well thats kinda bad for me, looks like ill have to cross them off my list. I was hoping to make the tank into a species catfish tank, with a single specimin, but I want something a little unusual, but somethings bigger than SA bumblebee cats or similar...Was thinking chaca chaca but their fish only eating habits cant be provided by me...Is yours still on live fish only?

Mike

 

[CFC]

Yeah my Chaca is still on live only, though admitedly i havent made any effort to try and ween him onto dead foods. I learnt from the first two i had that Chaca's dont eat dead and if you dont feed them they die, so mine gets a steady diet of snakeheads and the odd African cichlid.

 

[CAC]

Ahh fair enough...If my halfbeaks bred then I could have one, but lack of a live supply from them or any other fish stops me keeping them...Last time I was at BAS they had one, very nice, and if they have one when I go this time then I might ask them what its feeding on and if dead, and they can prove it then ill have a go...Really great looking fish...The other thing I could do is to keep aa few guppies in the tank with it, to keep a supply going, however do you think it would eat all of them in one?

Cheers, Mike