Jau catfish Zungaro zungaro at Fish Story Aquarium and Rescue
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Such a cool catfish species. 
Our local shop has one, about 2 feet in length, been there forever. For the longest time, they listed it on their website, with the description "unfriendly". They finally removed that warning, maybe because it was scaring off potential owners? Didn't help; the thing is still there, months later.
I visit it every time I am in there. I stand and look at it; it sits still and looks back. I was in there with a buddy a few weeks ago, and as he wandered around the warehouse-style shop, he passed me once, twice, three times...still standing stock still, staring at the motionless fish. On the fourth pass, he stopped, looked back and forth between the fish and me...and walked away shaking his head, muttering "Catfish people...!"
Who needs cichlids?
Our local shop has one, about 2 feet in length, been there forever. For the longest time, they listed it on their website, with the description "unfriendly". They finally removed that warning, maybe because it was scaring off potential owners? Didn't help; the thing is still there, months later.
I visit it every time I am in there. I stand and look at it; it sits still and looks back. I was in there with a buddy a few weeks ago, and as he wandered around the warehouse-style shop, he passed me once, twice, three times...still standing stock still, staring at the motionless fish. On the fourth pass, he stopped, looked back and forth between the fish and me...and walked away shaking his head, muttering "Catfish people...!"
Who needs cichlids?
Great story! I'd agree that yes, they are hard to house because they grow huge to 4, 5 and 6 feet, and are moody, cause regular problems by attacking tank mates. Feel bad for that guy. How big is its tank at the shop? Looks like there are no catfish-loving peers with large tanks in your Canuckland neck of the woods?
It's alone, currently in a roughly 6 x 2 x 2 tank, completely bare. I'm sure they
would love to free up that space, but no takers so far. Big tropical fish are not as easy to maintain up here as they are down your way; that tank, if it were in a private residence, would probably cost as much to heat as an entire small dwelling in the sunny south.
The fact that this store is heavily biased towards the African cichlid crowd doesn't help things. When I go in there when a bunch of his more typical clientele are around, I feel like I have just stepped off the plane in a foreign land sometimes; barely understand the language/terminology, don't know any of the major players' names, and have a completely different mind-set.
The cat, incidentally, is immaculate, pristine, magnificent. It isn't being slowly neglected to death as such fish (that don't quite fit the mold of what customers want) sometimes are in some other shops. It's a showpiece.
Those are the kinds of shops, and fish, I actively seek. Keep thinking of setting up as a rescue centre and then reality bites……………. Electric bills…………………………… 2000 plecs, 1000 red tails, 500 pacu and 100 giant gourami, for every interesting fish.
The moody Boss of the jumbo tank: Jau catfish Zungaro zungaro named Zazula 4ft/120cm 10 years old
