The Care Guide to a Ripsaw Catfish

[white specter crayfish]

The Ripsaw Catfish (Oxydoras Niger)

Endemic to: The Ripsaw Catfish is a catfish that is native to the river basins throughout South America
Size: usually no more than 3 feet in captivity
Tank size: Ideally 10'x6'x3' (roughly) or about 1400 gallons for a single specimen, although they do better in groups, so more space would be needed.
Behavior: Peaceful, though they may eat anything small enough to fit in it's mouth, they also like to be in schools and appreciate a dimly lit tank with hides such as rocks, caves, plants, and driftwood. Almost like the corydoras catfish, just 10 times the size
Diet: Omnivorous scavenger, feeds on crustaceans and insect larvae in the substrate, will eat frozen meaty items (such as blood worms, brine shrimp, river shrimp, etc.) and vegetable matter (like repashy super food, algae wafers, sheets of algae, cucumber, etc.)
Tankmates: anything that is too big to fit in it's mouth and will not pick on the catfish, such as arowanas, oscars, bala sharks, silver dollars, gars, etc.
pH: 6-7
Temperature: 70 – 77°F (21-25°C)

 

[Hendre]

At London zoo they trained these catfish quite well. To prevent their puppy-like behaviour from resulting in accidental tearing of divers wetsuits they trained the fish to go to a blue tile whenever it gets dropped in the tank, there they recieve food. It's quite a cool system

 

[white specter crayfish]

At London zoo they trained these catfish quite well. To prevent their puppy-like behaviour from resulting in accidental tearing of divers wetsuits they trained the fish to go to a blue tile whenever it gets dropped in the tank, there they recieve food. It's quite a cool system

Quite clever of them, I don't know how you'd train them though

 

[twentyleagues]

Quite clever of them, I don't know how you'd train them though

Food. Like Pavlov with dogs you get a trigger and food starting with food you add the trigger. Eventually you start adding the trigger first then the food and the animal associates the trigger with food and gies to the trigger. The trigger could be anything a light a whistle a bell a time whatever. Ive been training my schoudenti much the same way. Tongs mean food and hopefully he will eventually take whatever is offered from the tongs as food like pellets....its a stretch but he knows tongs equal food. Also ive given him an additional trigger for snail delivery. If I wave enthusiastically at him he gets a snail, this he recognised the second time I did it. He get super excited and flashes and excitedly swims all up and down the front glass. Most animals can be trained in this manner.

 

[white specter crayfish]

Food. Like Pavlov with dogs you get a trigger and food starting with food you add the trigger. Eventually you start adding the trigger first then the food and the animal associates the trigger with food and gies to the trigger. The trigger could be anything a light a whistle a bell a time whatever. Ive been training my schoudenti much the same way. Tongs mean food and hopefully he will eventually take whatever is offered from the tongs as food like pellets....its a stretch but he knows tongs equal food. Also ive given him an additional trigger for snail delivery. If I wave enthusiastically at him he gets a snail, this he recognised the second time I did it. He get super excited and flashes and excitedly swims all up and down the front glass. Most animals can be trained in this manner.

No I mean how do you train them to do a trick, how do you train them to go to a certain side of the tank, it sounds difficult

 

[Hendre]

You reward wanted behaviour. They even train their tarantulas with colour blocks...

 

[white specter crayfish]

You reward wanted behaviour. They even train their tarantulas with colour blocks...

how do you get them to do the wanted behavior so you can reward them?

 

[Hendre]

how do you get them to do the wanted behavior so you can reward them?

You wait. And play on natural curiosity.

With the ripsaws, the aquarium staff dropped the blue tiles with food. Before long the tiles were associated with food. A closer example is how fish often associate the lifting of lids with recieving food

 

[twentyleagues]

how do you get them to do the wanted behavior so you can reward them?

Yes like I said food first. Add your trigger block light coin ball whistle whatever. Keep using the same trigger every time. Eventually the trigger is the thing they are looking for. When they see it they go to it or if it's a sound do whatever you have trained them too. It takes time and repetition.

 

[white specter crayfish]

Yes like I said food first. Add your trigger block light coin ball whistle whatever. Keep using the same trigger every time. Eventually the trigger is the thing they are looking for. When they see it they go to it or if it's a sound do whatever you have trained them too. It takes time and repetition.

ok, I meant to get them to do tricks or something