Got my 1st Goonch!

vanman said:

Very cool fish. Bagarius Bagarius It is the smallest of the group only 7'9" will eat most everything in a tank as it gets bigger including your fingers. It is one great hunter!

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I'm really doubting that these are dwarves. Its been perpetuated for a long time and they're certainly not champion growers like the Indian specimens, but I've had one for a while now and it's already well over the supposed max size and still growing. Mine, which is the same type as this one, is now just under 10". Her fins are also getting very orange.

I'm beginning to think now that the dwarfs and rutilus are fairly similar indeed.

EDIT- Also, OP, I can't help but notice that the dorsal fin of your new goonch has a bright orangish spot right in the middle. I'm glad to see more of this variety in the hobby.

EDIT 2- You might also like to know that these fish LOVE the large, flat smooth river rocks. Give your fish a pile of them and it'll lay on them rather than hiding in driftwood or somewhere else. It'll blend in frighteningly well too.

to add a little something to this. I've had Thailand shipments, with 3 different species of bagarius in them, some with round head ( bagarius bagarius) or what I called them, then some with obviously orange fins and yellow ( bagarius rutilus) , and some with neither, which I believed to be giants (bagarius yarelli) And here are some pictures of ones pulled out of Thailand water. Also did you know there is also some found in Yunan, China as well?

I need one of these. I just worry about putting them in with another bottom dweller


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Wes- I'm fairly on board with your assessment of what's going on in SE Asia. The problem I see is that none of us know exactly what to call these guys because even the biologists can't agree on what they're called.

Based on more literature than just the most recent revision, there does seem to be more than just the five currently described species. When Roberts reevaluated the genus, he rolled up three, possibly four distinct species into yarrelli based on dubious morphological similarities.

Until fairly recently, the SE Asia 'yarrelli' was known as B. lica. Based on the fact that Roberts missed the relatively obvious B. rutilus, I'm inclined to think that lica is still valid.

I'm also thinking that the dwarfs are probably most similar in general coloration to rutilus. My fish didn't start getting the bright colored fins till she was almost 10" after all.

I love this aspect of the hobby. I enjoy the process of learning about these things. We in the hobby are actually in a position to possibly make a real difference.

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I am an existentialist, so nothing really is outside the realms of possibilities with me. I believe species on continuously evolving or adapting. As old ones become extinct, new ones are found.