Made A Double Rescue Today

[Fella]

So today I "rescued" 2 catfish that I had seen in the cramped local pet store tank for almost a year now, So after a bit of research on them, I looked into maybe getting them for my Puffer tank. On the basis that these fish were black and yellow, (Like a bumblebee goby) I imagined they wouldn't be touched by the puffer. I was right (so far!) because they've been ignored. However, after examining a bit closer, I'm not sure they are what they're labelled as, and I think they could in fact be 2 seperate species...

They were labelled as "South American Bumblebee Catfish", which is great, because my plan was to have a tank that was purely south american, but sadly, it looks like they're not SABC's.

One of them looks like one for sure -

Microglenis Iherengi

However, the other one looks a bit bigger, and looks like a mix between the above, and one of these -

Pseudomystus siamensis

So, where does that leave me? From what I've seen, it's unlikely that it would be a "Pseudomystus siamensis" as they're said to be harder to find in the trade, but, it does have a likeness to both fish, and they're not terribly easy to ID as they're either hiding, or swimming very very fast.

I'm a bit disappointed that they're 2 different species, but where does this leave me? I wouldn't be keen to return them to the store I rescued them from, but in the long run, what requirements might the larger catfish need? I'm investing in a 40" tank before xmas, so maybe he'd be suited better in that in the long run, rather than the 20 gallon that they're currently in?

I may of course trade him in at another willing store that might have a better chance of finding a decent home for him. He's pretty cool though.


So, does anyone have any experience with these guys? What sort of tank would I be looking for for the bigger cat? Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Fella]

This has a pretty good chance of being the worst picture for IDing a fish ever -

Good luck! They're pretty hard for photoing, they're either hiding, or zooming around.

Many thanks


EDIT - Took a better photo -

EDIT -

Ok, it's almost definitely the asian one. I think I'll be rehoming him.

 

[Fishy412]

try and get another pic please. i dont think its the asian one but it looks like it may be some sort of pim except for the second dorsal fin. its hard to tell

 

[Fella]

I've had it positively ID'd on planetcatfish as Pseudomystus Siamensis.

Any info on how to look after these, and people's experiences of them would be great. Chances are though, I'll be rehoming him.

 

[Dwarfs]

I recently picked one of these up, the Asian bumblebee catfish

Max size: 6"
Very predatory, and they grow very fast. Mine eats well on frozen foods and shrimp pellets. They are very interesting and as long as you don't have small fish you should be ok with it

 

[Fella]

I recently picked one of these up, the Asian bumblebee catfish

Max size: 6"
Very predatory, and they grow very fast. Mine eats well on frozen foods and shrimp pellets. They are very interesting and as long as you don't have small fish you should be ok with it

Yes!

Is yours out much during the day? Mine is definitely as nocturnal as catfish can get, he has plenty of hiding places though. What size tank do you have him in? I've scattered frozen bloodworm and some chopped prawn across the bottom of the tank and turned the lights out, nothing scoffed as of yet...

Oh, and mine was croaking last night, does yours do that? Scared the c**p out of me!

He's currently in a 20 gallon, so, he won't be there for long. If he was the one I thought he was, he would have stayed at 2.2"

 

[Dwarfs]

Mine is curently in a 10g QT at about 1.5" in length. Mine hasn't croaked because it is still very young. It's youth is probably the reason it eats and jets around the tank lot. Turn up the temperature a few degrees in the cat's tank, to speed uphis metabolism and give him an urge to eat