Can't keep Black lancer catfish

[thebiggerthebetter]

Tried twice. First with one specimen. Second with 3. All from WetSpot, Oregon. Starts out fine. They grew from 1.5" to 4"-5" over some months. Fed very well. Die out of a blue. Feed one day just fine, if not too much, dead the next day.

Is there anyone else with a similar problem?

The only thing I could come up with is overfeeding. I've always had them with plenty other fish and they appear to feed too much on farm catfish pellets. Yet, IDK if this is simply their nature.

 

[moe214]

I'm not sure I can be of any assistance, maybe they need a difference in water type as the mature.

 

[celebrist]

I have always wanted one but if you are having trouble keeping them with your experience I don't think I would have success

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I'm not sure I can be of any assistance, maybe they need a difference in water type as the mature.

Whatever I've read about them didn't mention this.

I have always wanted one but if you are having trouble keeping them with your experience I don't think I would have success

They are supposed to be easy. IDK why I'm having failures. The other catfish I can't keep alive is firewood catfish. About the same story except they quite eating and start spinning and eventually die. IDK why either.

Other fish I can't keep are Chinese mandarin perch, Siberian sturgeon, and Chinese high-fin shark/loach but with these the problem is the temp gets too high, so here at least I feel I have a good guess.

With Black lancers and the Firewoods, I'm clueless. They shared tanks and water with a hundred other fish, which are ok and still alive and well today.

Bottom line, my failure doesn't mean much to you. Many people keep both kinds of catfish without any problems.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

About their water and keeping conditions:

KH ~5 degree, stable
GH ~5 degree, stable
pH 7.4, stable
temp varies seasonally from 70-72 F to 85-89 F, no heating, no cooling, in a pavilion type of a structure.

Water's clean. No NH3, no NO2, NO3 is 5 ppm. Continuous water change.

They were in a 240 gal tank that shares the same 1000 gal sump with other 240 tanks, all together containing a hundred of diverse fishes. All alive and well today.

When I lost the first one about 10 months ago, the water was much softer (1-2 degree) and not stable. Neither was pH stable. So I thought maybe the lancers are sensitive to that (whilst the vast majority of other fishes tolerated this ok). After I fixed that, I got 3 more black lancers but was met with the same result.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

Try getting your fish through a different vendor. I had similar issues with a distributor. Sometimes even really good stores strike out on a few species. I went through a different source and found that malepterus electricus is actually pretty easy to keep- might be the same for you and your Black Lancer

 

[moe214]

Try getting your fish through a different vendor. I had similar issues with a distributor. Sometimes even really good stores strike out on a few species. I went through a different source and found that malepterus electricus is actually pretty easy to keep- might be the same for you and your Black Lancer

I'd get this if the fish died within a week after he acquired it but he says he's had them for months.

I only suggested maybe their water conditions need to be changed because there's a lot we don't know about a lot of fish lol.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I think you are on the right path, I've had some issues with catfish/trout pellets and bloating/digestive issues. I use it as a treat a few times a month, to cut feed costs but anymore than that, you maybe asking for trouble

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Thanks Wailua. This must be specific to lancers then because... I offer a variety but the lancers appear to favor these farm catfish pellets the most: http://www.zeiglerfeed.com/finfish/freshwater/silver/ I've been feeding this kind of pellet to my fish for 8 years as one of the staples accounting for roughly 50% of their averaged diet. I currently keep about a thousand of fish so I go through five 44 lb bags every 1.5-2 months.

Here is a PCF sister thread. It looks like Dr. Heok Hee Ng is providing some support to Moe's hunch - I didn't know their habitat was that specific and different from most: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=44404&p=301982#p301982

 

[Wailua Boy]

You seem to be offering a pretty good farm pellet but those tight bellies look suspicious to me. Interesting point in regard to pH though.