Catfish "streamers"

[Hayabusa]

Might be a stupid question that everyone knows the answer to, but I dont so please be gentle

Why do some catfish like Juruense, tigrinus etc have streamers off their tails?

What purpose do they serve?

Is it a kind of lure to attract small fish to them thinking they are worms or something?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, just wondering is all, thanks

 

[mkman]

not a stupid question, I wonder that as well. Baby filamentosums have very long streamers.....I wonder if its for swimming or maybe they act as detectors.

Someone know?

 

[Wet Whiskers]

That is actually a very intelligent question! Most people just don't ask. That's actually something that I have thought about, as having a lure on your butt doesn't initially seem like the best idea. I was thinking that maybe it acts to attract prey, and if it gets bit or broken causes minimally damage to the fish. Also, another possibility would be to attract a mate. I have a pleco with lyre tails, and he's not all what I would call a hunter. It may be that this lure is not to attract small fish but lure in a possible mate. Since a lot of the species that have these are not active swimmers, they may have difficulty finding each other and this may be a flag to mark their location. Also, it could be used in the same way a male peacock uses his feathers: a big healthy tail shows that the animal is in good health and thus a good mate. There are numerous explanations, but until their behavior is studied in depth in the wild, it is difficult to tell. Good question though!

 

[Hayabusa]

Thanks alot for the reply, definately food for thought.

 

[Hayabusa]

Just a thought, maybe its a defensive mechanism?

Like a Oscar has its oscelatos (or however it is spelt) that loosks like an eye to confuse predators, maybe they are designed to be attacked before the fish itself?

Just brainstorming, been Googling as well and cant seem to find any info at all, I wasnt aware this was something that was still speculated over rather than having a diffinitive answer to.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Just a thought, maybe its a defensive mechanism?

Like a Oscar has its oscelatos (or however it is spelt) that loosks like an eye to confuse predators, maybe they are designed to be attacked before the fish itself?

Just brainstorming, been Googling as well and cant seem to find any info at all, I wasnt aware this was something that was still speculated over rather than having a diffinitive answer to.

You its crazy how many species we know nothing about. Sad part is Brazil wants to dam the amazon and they're gonna kill off a ton of species before we even get a chance to study them.

 

[mkman]

perhaps it is used to confuse predators because they lose streamers very easily like a lizard and its tail.

 

[Hayabusa]

You its crazy how many species we know nothing about. Sad part is Brazil wants to dam the amazon and they're gonna kill off a ton of species before we even get a chance to study them.

Yeah I know, truely shocking this, building loads of dams and killing off loads of rivers.

 

[necrocanis]

Filamentosum have them when small, but as they get larger and larger the streamers get smaller and smaller. Would make sense that it's to throw off predators as they break really easy. Also would make sense in reverse. When I first got the fila he was still on live for a long time as he was hard as hell to ween. I noticed then that when a guppie would bite his tail that he would whip around and grabb it right up. Lightning quick! Something else to watch these guys hunt. In Juruense it may have evolved into an ornamental thing. Their tails seem to grow longer and longer every time you look at them unless there's a pesky pleco picking at it constantly. Longest I've seen mine was around 3x it's body length at which point he swam back through it and ended up tying both of them in knots to each other. I snipped them as it was affecting his swimming. Now it's really long again. Not sure this helps just insight. Have yet to study lyres in catfish.

 

[HPIZZLE]

You its crazy how many species we know nothing about. Sad part is Brazil wants to dam the amazon and they're gonna kill off a ton of species before we even get a chance to study them.

actually if further studies can be found that the damns will DIRECTLY disturbed and ultimately destroy the migratory path of endangered species and those close to extinction(which also includes the "megafish") (which is any fish over 6 feet and/or 200pounds) by the year 2010, the damns will not happen.

on the list thats being researched to see if theyre spawning ground is
filamentosum
arapaima
etc...