I have never owned a catfish for the reason that all the cool ones get to damn big....well... i bought an achara under the impression that they maxed out around 18-20 inches. thinking a 125 would be plenty.. well my buddy that works at my lfs showed me all the info, on them and told me it was a perno which from all my research is highly unlikley. although for a 3 inch speciemen i spent 50 bucks. any ways what im getting at is should i just get rid of him now or will i have 2-3 years before he is to big for a 125 gallon. really like this guy but a indoor pond or plywood tank is gunna be my only option. I dont think that my apartment complex would be happy with a indoor pond lol. currently its in a 29 gallon to get it bigger, so my jag wont eat it lol. thanks in advance
achara catfish..help
- Thread starter trashcore
- Start date
My local petshop has a 16 year old perruno in a display tank. It is around 23" long. They usually max out at 24". Achara's max out around 30"+. Just be careful with what you house it with because perrunos can get quite aggressive with other fish. I'm also sure they will out grow a 125 because their barbels are longer then their bodies.
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had an idea.... coffee table pond. best way to hind from apartments! gotta run this by the fiance but im like 3 foot by 5 foot, framing with like oak and having a real nice finish. making it look like a piece furniture.
They are great fish and most definitely one of my favorites but I'd vote for returning the lil' fella. Besides, $50 is a bit much. I've seen plenty of 3"-ers for $25-$30. It sounds like you don't wanna get an "illegal" pond in your apartment - sooner or later you will get caught. And if you are not on the ground floor, your pond may end up on the ground floor anyway (or in the basement) - don't want that to happen either! 
I have always been under an impression that only two Leiarius are imported into the US: marmoratus/longibarbis and pictus. Perrunichthys perruno are only known from one place - Lake Maracaibo basin and I have read and been told there is no exporting from that area... has not been for many decades. As you can see, PCF has no pics of a live one: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=685. Now, that does happen at PCF for many recently added species but this one has been on the books for many years.
Other than that (and also unfortunately), many LFSs still label their normal and by far and very large prevalent Leiarius marmoratus and Learius longibarbis... Perrunichthys perruno because it comes from SA under the name of "perruno catfish".
Chances are trillion-to-one against you but count the rays, if you'd like: from the PCF data sheet I linked above: Identification -- Often confused with Leiarius marmoratus which is much more commonly encountered by aquarists. The fishes are identical in terms of colouration although P. perruno has 8 (1 hard and 7 soft) dorsal fin rays, Leiarius has 10 or 11.
I have always been under an impression that only two Leiarius are imported into the US: marmoratus/longibarbis and pictus. Perrunichthys perruno are only known from one place - Lake Maracaibo basin and I have read and been told there is no exporting from that area... has not been for many decades. As you can see, PCF has no pics of a live one: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=685. Now, that does happen at PCF for many recently added species but this one has been on the books for many years.
Other than that (and also unfortunately), many LFSs still label their normal and by far and very large prevalent Leiarius marmoratus and Learius longibarbis... Perrunichthys perruno because it comes from SA under the name of "perruno catfish".
Chances are trillion-to-one against you but count the rays, if you'd like: from the PCF data sheet I linked above: Identification -- Often confused with Leiarius marmoratus which is much more commonly encountered by aquarists. The fishes are identical in terms of colouration although P. perruno has 8 (1 hard and 7 soft) dorsal fin rays, Leiarius has 10 or 11.