Been wanting one for awhile but have never gotten one due to their size. Well I ended up getting one that's 14 inches but it's 3 years old. Don't think it's a dwarf but at that age I would think it would've been 2 feet plus. Could this be a runt or what?
Could be one of the smaller species of auchenoglanis such as Senegali.
I find giraffe strange when it comes to growth. They do not seem in my experience to pig out on food like some other cats do. You may find it stays around this size. However, just as likely is that you find steady growth once settled and it gets to 24" over the next 2 years.
Could be one of the smaller species of auchenoglanis such as Senegali.
I find giraffe strange when it comes to growth. They do not seem in my experience to pig out on food like some other cats do. You may find it stays around this size. However, just as likely is that you find steady growth once settled and it gets to 24" over the next 2 years.
Hope not. It was in a tank with 2 others when I got it. They all had been in a 180g since 5 inches. The other ones were 8 and 10 inches. Hoping it will stay this size though, it will be going into my 220 once it gets through the quarantine process.
Mine is also 3 years old and only slightly larger than yours. Giraffe cats, in general, don't seem to grow quite as fast as say a red tail or shovelnose but if it was the larger species, id expect it to be a little bigger after three years. With the research that I've done, I'm leaning towards mine being a auchenoglanis sp. 'bouche', not a auchenoglanis occidentalis. I suspect that yours could also be a "Bouche". Somebody with more experience correct me if I am wrong but from my research, these guys still get pretty large but grow a bit slower, they are not a dwarf species.
The genus has been changed/revised and I can't find a clear answer on exactly how many species there are, it seems like it is all still up in the air. A lot of the information from keepers also contradicts each other. Very fascinating.
Here are a couple of pictures of mine for reference.
I had bought one about 3 years ago at 6 inches thinking it was a dwarf. After 9 months it was 17 inches. So I sold it cause I knew it would outgrow my tank in another few months. That's why I'm hoping this stays this size.
The fish in question is an auchenoglanis senegali (AKA) auchenoglanis biscutatus. According to the latest revision, a. senegali and a. biscutatus are synonyms of one another. Originally a. biscutatus was thought to be endemic to East Africa but it was later discovered to exist in Congo, Senegal and nearby locations. The good news is that they are the smallest auchenoglanis species and it's said they will remain under a foot long, unlike the larger auchenoglanis species such as a. occidentalis, a. wittei and "bouche" variants that get from 2-3 feet long. I bought 3 of them last year, ranging from 2 to 4", they have only grown by and inch or so ever since.
Wow, that's interesting, I guess I either misinterpreted the information that I read or it was outdated/wrong. Not to hijack the thread but in your opinion what species do you think mine is from the photos?
Yellowcat
is Volta the same as the senegali / biscutatus in your opinion? My two Voltas are 12" and 18" and are around 5 yo. Here is my thread on ours: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/bouche-giraffe-catfish-two-16.680403/
