Goonch at Fish Story
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Certainly a larger growing Goonch, but to me those really upturned pectorals are saying b.bagarius (by the old school naming). doesn’t necessarily mean tank is too hot in my view, just means keep oxygen levels high and the fish can go down to really quite low temperatures (very low)
The goonch began feeding on the 3rd day.
The water in its tank has been fan-cooled to about 80F from 83F.
The water in its tank has been fan-cooled to about 80F from 83F.
...awesome critter...Thats the Lica, in this picture he should be the same size as yours. also the front part of the body is darker than the rear. colors will show when he is used to the tank.
thats a recent picture with good view on the oval eye.
thats the Bagarius, round eyes, front and rear part of body is the same color, few spots, head shorter and snout shorter than Lica.
thats a recent picture with good view on the oval eye.
thats the Bagarius, round eyes, front and rear part of body is the same color, few spots, head shorter and snout shorter than Lica.
Lovely goonch but painfully skinny. So glad he is eating, as long as the food is landing on their head or by their mouth they generally cant resists eating it
Yours looks like my goonch that I have had 3 years and seems to have peaked at 13"
Yours looks like my goonch that I have had 3 years and seems to have peaked at 13"
Reposting from our YT exchange:
Combine_32: Im very excited for your Goonch. I have 5 species of Goonch. Yours looks like a Bagarius Lica, im keeping mine at 27°C (80°F) in summer. Goonch can get quite active in the dark and swim a lot. At daytime he rests in a area with low to very low current, but at night he sits right in front of the powerhead. The most important thing is oxygen and water quality. You should add a powerhead to the bottom of the tank and a cinder block like you did in some of your other aquariums so he can hide a little, that will reduce stress. I can probably answer some questions if you have any.
gr4s5h0pp3r6: you sure it’s not a bagaruis bagaruis? don’t licas have that dark bark look to them either way some specimens look fairly similar i’ve just seen licas that have a dark bark look also what goonch species you got do you have a rutilus?
Combine_32: @gr4s5h0pp3r6 the video quality while showing the fish closeup isnt great but from what we can see is that he has many irregular spots that can also form splotches. the dark color in the stripes comes mostly from the spots within the stripes. also the front part of the fish (from snout to first stripe) is darker then the rest of the fish. the most important thing to identify a Bagarius Lica and some other species are the oval appearing eyes when you look at them exactly from the side. the eyes from Bagarius Bagarius appear round. the fish is in its stress colors at this time and he is also very skinny, we will see the colors better when he is used to the aquarium. i got a Lica, Bagarius, Suchus, Rutilus and probably a Vegrandis.
gr4s5h0pp3r6: @Combine_32 ah idk much about goonch but just from what i’ve seen that’s the difference in lica ect idk but i’ve seen wes wong and waterfront selling lica and they always had a dark bark pattern with light stripes in it compared to the yellow olive stripes of a bagaruis like i’ve seen
Fish-Story: 1. Awesome. We're lucky to meet a goonch collector and aficionado in you! Thank you greatly for the tips. I could use all tips I can get. How long have you been collecting and keeping them? How old and big are your current ones?
2. Yes, our goonch swam a lot in the dark/very dim distant light yesterday evening. As soon as I turned on the tank lights, it dropped to the bottom like a rock and sat in one place.
3. Good to know yours handle 80F without problem. What do you think of the comments of others saying that goonch can handle 75-85F but they are still stressed by the temp and it'd be best not to exceed 70F? I don't think all species are equal and probably cannot be lumped together in the temp discussion like that, no? The 800g system of the two 240g tanks and a 350g sump, where our first goonch was placed, is currently at 83F and dropping slowly with the weather cooling. I've just installed a strong fan over the sump that can drop the temp by 5-10F. Will be monitoring the drop.
4. Thank you so much for the ID pointers, very truly appreciated as this is an eternal and formidable challenge with these fish. Is lica a warm water goonch?
5. The tank has a pretty strong current (2500 GPH) and some quieter areas too. So far the goonch is located only on the right-hand side where the current is strong. The aeration is also at the max or close to it. So I doubt a powerhead is needed. The cinder block may be a good idea.
6. It appears to get them to feed is to drop the feed in front of them or on their head or so peers report. I’ve tried it twice already, once a day, dropping herring pieces round the goonch. Got some reaction yesterday, he moved a bit, but no takes yet. Will try today a 3 time. Any thoughts on that? It is close to emaciation, the cranial shield bones protrude far out.
Combine_32: 1. im collecting them for almost 2 years, Lica is 45cm, Suchus is 25cm, Vegrandis is 30cm, Bagarius is 20cm and Rutilus is 25cm. got the Lica and Vegrandis for almost 2 years now, the Suchus for a year, Bagarius for 2 month and Rutilus for a month.
3. all goonch species are definite not equal. keeping Lica at 80F shouldnt be a problem (also see 4.) , you will see that he will breathe calm and eat normal. he will stop eat if stressed or greatly disturbed.
4. yes he is a warm water fish but i would advise a seasonal drop in temperature but thats happening anyways in your aquariums.
5. current should be ok, aeration is good aswell. put a cinder block in and see what happens.
6. my Bagarius was the hardest to get to eat and he was also the skinniest. i dropped in a mussel a few inch in front of him (the aquairium has a stone bottom with varied sizes so its easy to put the food anywhere). the first days he didnt eat. after a few days i noticed the mussel is gone but he didn't get fat so i placed my phone in front of the aquarium and recorded it. it took him 30min to eat only 1 mussel each day. so i ordered 30 tiny live fish for him to eat. after the first night half of them were gone, the next day 5 were left. and ever since he is eating a lot and bulked up fast. he only get fed dead stuff now, like mussel, shrimp and cut fish. my Suchus was kinda the same but he wasnt as skinny, i got him some live shrimp to eat and ever since hes eating mussel, shrimp and cut fish aswell. my Rutilus and Vegrandis were different they almost eat right away. the Lica got cut pice of fish in front of him and sometimes he ate it, after time he ate regulary. So i guess sometimes they need a kickstart with food thats very similar to there natural food like live fish or live shrimp. try to feed him with lights off so he is more confident and see how it goes, feed the food you normally feed otherwise you might have to get him used to other food again. i would just feed him at night in the beginning and when he starts eating i would feed him at daytime only. i made the mistake with my Lica to only feed him at night, because thats when i got home back then. he now only eats at night. i would place something into the tank that pins his food down some inches in front of him, like a small flat rock. when he starts eating pin his food further away so he has to search for it.
Fish-Story: 1. Great. Is 45 cm a typical size for a 2yo lica? IDK anything about vegrandis (except I see it has “grand” in the name so must grow large? haha…). I am wondering what growth rate to expect. Our peer monsterfishmnl810 cites 70-75cm in the first year in the comments (for a yarelli, I assume, according to the prior taxonomy). But yours is 45cm after 2 years.
3. “Keeping Lica at 80F shouldnt be a problem”, if it is lica, see 4. Is bagarius a warm water goonch? Yes, the new goonch breathes calmly and yesterday it began feeding by grabbing three good pieces of fish. Today it had shown interest and placed its chin on some pellets near it but then backed away without taking any. Will offer fish tonight again.
4. Are the lica eyes obviously oval? Are the bagarius eyes obviously round? I am looking at the eyes of our specimen, and they look close to round, maybe a tiny bit off round, making them slightly oval.
5. “Put a cinder block in and see what happens.” Yeah, it hugs the corners and the joints of the walls with the bottom.
6. So kind of you to describe in detail. Beautiful. Good to know. Thank you! I am always so wary of giving any fish live feeders that I pretty much never ever do it and would rather lose fish than give them live feeder fish.
Combine_32: 1. in winter i drop the temperatures, in that time he has less hunger and probably grow slower. if kept at constant warm water he will grow faster, but i think 70cm in the first year is very much. i do search youtube weekly for bagarius videos (i just type in "bagarius" or "goonch" and set the filter to this week) and most caught fish that look like Bagarius Lica are more or less around 40cm big. if they would grow 70cm in the first year we would see much more big fishes. maximum length for Lica should be 1,5m. yours will grow faster than mine. Vegrandis is the smallest species, reaching 30cm.
3.Bagarius Bagarius is originally considered as the cold water goonch. he does grow well in warm water aswell but i think this species does need a big seasonal cycle considering temperature. good to hear he already eats.
4. see mfk (edit: Combine's first post above)
6. for me feeding it live fish was a last resort. i was looking a loooong time for this fish and loosing it was no option.
Combine_32: Im very excited for your Goonch. I have 5 species of Goonch. Yours looks like a Bagarius Lica, im keeping mine at 27°C (80°F) in summer. Goonch can get quite active in the dark and swim a lot. At daytime he rests in a area with low to very low current, but at night he sits right in front of the powerhead. The most important thing is oxygen and water quality. You should add a powerhead to the bottom of the tank and a cinder block like you did in some of your other aquariums so he can hide a little, that will reduce stress. I can probably answer some questions if you have any.
gr4s5h0pp3r6: you sure it’s not a bagaruis bagaruis? don’t licas have that dark bark look to them either way some specimens look fairly similar i’ve just seen licas that have a dark bark look also what goonch species you got do you have a rutilus?
Combine_32: @gr4s5h0pp3r6 the video quality while showing the fish closeup isnt great but from what we can see is that he has many irregular spots that can also form splotches. the dark color in the stripes comes mostly from the spots within the stripes. also the front part of the fish (from snout to first stripe) is darker then the rest of the fish. the most important thing to identify a Bagarius Lica and some other species are the oval appearing eyes when you look at them exactly from the side. the eyes from Bagarius Bagarius appear round. the fish is in its stress colors at this time and he is also very skinny, we will see the colors better when he is used to the aquarium. i got a Lica, Bagarius, Suchus, Rutilus and probably a Vegrandis.
gr4s5h0pp3r6: @Combine_32 ah idk much about goonch but just from what i’ve seen that’s the difference in lica ect idk but i’ve seen wes wong and waterfront selling lica and they always had a dark bark pattern with light stripes in it compared to the yellow olive stripes of a bagaruis like i’ve seen
Fish-Story: 1. Awesome. We're lucky to meet a goonch collector and aficionado in you! Thank you greatly for the tips. I could use all tips I can get. How long have you been collecting and keeping them? How old and big are your current ones?
2. Yes, our goonch swam a lot in the dark/very dim distant light yesterday evening. As soon as I turned on the tank lights, it dropped to the bottom like a rock and sat in one place.
3. Good to know yours handle 80F without problem. What do you think of the comments of others saying that goonch can handle 75-85F but they are still stressed by the temp and it'd be best not to exceed 70F? I don't think all species are equal and probably cannot be lumped together in the temp discussion like that, no? The 800g system of the two 240g tanks and a 350g sump, where our first goonch was placed, is currently at 83F and dropping slowly with the weather cooling. I've just installed a strong fan over the sump that can drop the temp by 5-10F. Will be monitoring the drop.
4. Thank you so much for the ID pointers, very truly appreciated as this is an eternal and formidable challenge with these fish. Is lica a warm water goonch?
5. The tank has a pretty strong current (2500 GPH) and some quieter areas too. So far the goonch is located only on the right-hand side where the current is strong. The aeration is also at the max or close to it. So I doubt a powerhead is needed. The cinder block may be a good idea.
6. It appears to get them to feed is to drop the feed in front of them or on their head or so peers report. I’ve tried it twice already, once a day, dropping herring pieces round the goonch. Got some reaction yesterday, he moved a bit, but no takes yet. Will try today a 3 time. Any thoughts on that? It is close to emaciation, the cranial shield bones protrude far out.
Combine_32: 1. im collecting them for almost 2 years, Lica is 45cm, Suchus is 25cm, Vegrandis is 30cm, Bagarius is 20cm and Rutilus is 25cm. got the Lica and Vegrandis for almost 2 years now, the Suchus for a year, Bagarius for 2 month and Rutilus for a month.
3. all goonch species are definite not equal. keeping Lica at 80F shouldnt be a problem (also see 4.) , you will see that he will breathe calm and eat normal. he will stop eat if stressed or greatly disturbed.
4. yes he is a warm water fish but i would advise a seasonal drop in temperature but thats happening anyways in your aquariums.
5. current should be ok, aeration is good aswell. put a cinder block in and see what happens.
6. my Bagarius was the hardest to get to eat and he was also the skinniest. i dropped in a mussel a few inch in front of him (the aquairium has a stone bottom with varied sizes so its easy to put the food anywhere). the first days he didnt eat. after a few days i noticed the mussel is gone but he didn't get fat so i placed my phone in front of the aquarium and recorded it. it took him 30min to eat only 1 mussel each day. so i ordered 30 tiny live fish for him to eat. after the first night half of them were gone, the next day 5 were left. and ever since he is eating a lot and bulked up fast. he only get fed dead stuff now, like mussel, shrimp and cut fish. my Suchus was kinda the same but he wasnt as skinny, i got him some live shrimp to eat and ever since hes eating mussel, shrimp and cut fish aswell. my Rutilus and Vegrandis were different they almost eat right away. the Lica got cut pice of fish in front of him and sometimes he ate it, after time he ate regulary. So i guess sometimes they need a kickstart with food thats very similar to there natural food like live fish or live shrimp. try to feed him with lights off so he is more confident and see how it goes, feed the food you normally feed otherwise you might have to get him used to other food again. i would just feed him at night in the beginning and when he starts eating i would feed him at daytime only. i made the mistake with my Lica to only feed him at night, because thats when i got home back then. he now only eats at night. i would place something into the tank that pins his food down some inches in front of him, like a small flat rock. when he starts eating pin his food further away so he has to search for it.
Fish-Story: 1. Great. Is 45 cm a typical size for a 2yo lica? IDK anything about vegrandis (except I see it has “grand” in the name so must grow large? haha…). I am wondering what growth rate to expect. Our peer monsterfishmnl810 cites 70-75cm in the first year in the comments (for a yarelli, I assume, according to the prior taxonomy). But yours is 45cm after 2 years.
3. “Keeping Lica at 80F shouldnt be a problem”, if it is lica, see 4. Is bagarius a warm water goonch? Yes, the new goonch breathes calmly and yesterday it began feeding by grabbing three good pieces of fish. Today it had shown interest and placed its chin on some pellets near it but then backed away without taking any. Will offer fish tonight again.
4. Are the lica eyes obviously oval? Are the bagarius eyes obviously round? I am looking at the eyes of our specimen, and they look close to round, maybe a tiny bit off round, making them slightly oval.
5. “Put a cinder block in and see what happens.” Yeah, it hugs the corners and the joints of the walls with the bottom.
6. So kind of you to describe in detail. Beautiful. Good to know. Thank you! I am always so wary of giving any fish live feeders that I pretty much never ever do it and would rather lose fish than give them live feeder fish.
Combine_32: 1. in winter i drop the temperatures, in that time he has less hunger and probably grow slower. if kept at constant warm water he will grow faster, but i think 70cm in the first year is very much. i do search youtube weekly for bagarius videos (i just type in "bagarius" or "goonch" and set the filter to this week) and most caught fish that look like Bagarius Lica are more or less around 40cm big. if they would grow 70cm in the first year we would see much more big fishes. maximum length for Lica should be 1,5m. yours will grow faster than mine. Vegrandis is the smallest species, reaching 30cm.
3.Bagarius Bagarius is originally considered as the cold water goonch. he does grow well in warm water aswell but i think this species does need a big seasonal cycle considering temperature. good to hear he already eats.
4. see mfk (edit: Combine's first post above)
6. for me feeding it live fish was a last resort. i was looking a loooong time for this fish and loosing it was no option.
Thank goodness it began feeding. Usually takes one piece of fish every night. It can move around to find feed too but in a very limited fashion vs foraging fish. Clearly, it relies on current to bring feed to it.
I am hoping for at least a zero after the 13
HA HA I hope so too for you . I will look forward to the updates on itThank goodness it began feeding. Usually takes one piece of fish every night. It can move around to find feed too but in a very limited fashion vs foraging fish. Clearly, it relies on current to bring feed to it.
I am hoping for at least a zero after the 13