Walking Cat Fish?

[evilchild]

My dad used to keep tropical fish a used to have a 'pengassa' (sorry for the bad spelling, i'm sure that's what it was called?) any way it got to big and had to give it away to our LFS, (which is still going by the way, after about 20 years.) My dad had a friend that also had catfish, he had a cat fish that used to get out of the tank a go for a walk? this guy lost his fish and found it on top of the curtain rail 3 weeks later after it got stuck??? any body got any ideas what kind of catfish this is?

i know these grow big and have been known to take a small dogs from the river banks, if any one knows what this called it would be very cool.

thanks

 

[nmonks]

The "pengassa" is likely the catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus.

The "walking catfish" is Clarias batrachus. The idea they take dogs from river banks is a myth. At most, they get to about 50 cm long, and in aquaria maybe a bit over half that. They are certainly aggressive and predatory though, and don't make good aquarium fish.

Stories about giant catfish eating dogs (or children!) seem to occur on every continent. Even in Europe, the wels catfish (Siluris glanis) has been given that reputation. I've yet to see any evidence that the stories are true though. Dogs are generally very capable swimmers, and few catfish get big enough to eat even an average-sized pooch. So I'd consider it pretty unlikely.

Cheers, Neale

 

[paul_219]

I use to keep these type of fish. That aren't that interesting and very aggressive fish, they grow very big in u community tank. Yeah they jump from the tank is the water condition isn't good or it is stressed. BAD fish that what i can say.

 

[CFC]

The paroon shark Pangasius sanitwongsei is known to eat the carcasses of dogs which are often used for bait to catch them, i doubt that the catfish cares whether the dog is alive or dead so it is quite likely that it would eat a swimming dog should it come across one. Members of the Wallago genus are also quite likely to be dog eaters and have been accused of even being man eaters!!
I see no reason why a European wels wouldnt eat dogs either, theyve been known to feed on carp that weigh in excess of 25lbs and thats a fairly large animal so a small to medium sized dog wouldnt pose much of a problem.

 

[nmonks]

The paroon shark Pangasius sanitwongsei is known to eat the carcasses of dogs which are often used for bait to catch them, i doubt that the catfish cares whether the dog is alive or dead so it is quite likely that it would eat a swimming dog should it come across one.

Oh come now CFC, there's a BIG difference. Lots of animals eat carrion, but don't eat live versions of the same things. Corydoras will eat a dead neon, but I've yet to see them catch a live one. Put it another way, the number of sharks known to eat human corpses is much greater than the number of sharks known to actually attack living humans. Identifying live and dead versions of something as the same is something we can do. But for an animal, they're entirely different things, and whether or not they're accepted as food depends on other factors. In the case of Pangasius sanitwongsei, aquatic mammals like rats aren't normal food, let alone poor little doggies.

I see no reason why a European wels wouldnt eat dogs either, theyve been known to feed on carp that weigh in excess of 25lbs and thats a fairly large animal so a small to medium sized dog wouldnt pose much of a problem.

The wels is about the most overrated fish on the planet*. Most specimens are less than 1.5 metres; the 2- and 3-metre specimens are exceptional and extremely rare nowadays. Anglers love to hype up their stories about how "deadly" such-and-such a fish is (take the pike, for example). But I've yet to read any verified reports of a wels taking a swimming dog.

Cheers, Neale
*second only to the Great White!

 

[CFC]

1 meter and half long wels catfish is still a BIG animal and has an enormous mouth, i have been next to people when they have caught meter long wels and their mouths are so big i could easily have fit my head in its mouth if i was stupid enough to want to even if the stories of them grabbing 25lb carp are exagerated a fish of half that size is still a large meal and their are many species of dog that are smaller, i'll agree your not likely to see a German shepard get sucked in but something the size of your average terrier is easily meal sized.

Catfish do tend to break the rules a bit with their eating capabilities, i own two species which can eat food that is actually larger than themselves and have witnessed one of them doing so to the loss of the pike cichlid that was half in its stomach and half still hanging out of its mouth being digested inch by inch, also predatory catfish will attempt to eat absolutely anything if they are hungry, ive had them swallow suction cups, rocks and thermometers just because they were there so something organic and meaty swimming past is going to be a big temptation. For a large predator like the P.sanitwongsei anything that fits in its mouth is on the menu, large catfish are not known to be fussy of what they eat

 

[simonas]

if you want one of these you can have mine and I'd even pay someone to have him lol

18" marble walking catfish