GOONCH

[thebiggerthebetter]

Does anyone know the lifespan of the goonch? I understand they grow far slower than an RTC and they reach large sizes so I figure they could be quite long lived but I'm not sure.

It is known that RTCs can live at least to 30 years in captivity (when all goes well). Some profess even up to 50 years (in the wild, if my memory serves). These numbers are hard to come by but my impression is that generally, large catfish live 20-50 years (and die of natural causes, not prematurely so to speak). I'd assume, goonch is no exception. Sorry about the round-and-about answer.

 

[liontammer]

lol if you treat your fish like a kitty it will act like a kitty i put my cats all the time. the fish i dont pet shredded my finger lol i got a 18 " jar that desided my pinky was four 4 good size cuts lol
pluse the more you get them yoused to your hand you will be able to hand feed with out worry and that is a great little trick when you have people over

 

[Pazzoman]

My buddy has one that is right at 28 inches now. Bout 8-9 pounds.

A pic of that would be awesome, as river monsters makes me want to see when they are juvs.

 

[hokese]

Ahh ok fair enuff,so still threatened but not as bad as i thawt...
You guys are SO lucky to be able to keep goonches!
I come from the land down under and we cant have ****...
Alot of people here that are serious fish keepers with $$$$,often end up turning to the black market for these exotic fish...


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[MyGiants]

I think there is so much mis information about the aggression of these fish. My experience with mine its a very peaceful fish. Yes Its a predator will eat live fish any fish it can fit in its mouth. But aggressive no very docile in my opinion. Almost lazy sits all day doesn't chase its food just sits and waits for it to come to him. Then it strikes pretty violently and fast. I've put my hands on him to move him from one tank to another. You can literally pick him up out of the water bare handed. You can push him with your net or your hand and he won't move just lets you push him. I have kept lots of different fish with him. Never bothers them only eats what he can fit in his mouth. He doesn't like fish to hang above him to much he will whip tail a fish if it hangs around him to close. But that's about all the aggression I ever seen him do. But a ferocious killer dangerous to all fish not even. If you remember Jeremy Wade fishing for them took him many days to hook one. Knowing how lazy these fish are he must of by luck dropped his bait just in the right place were one was sitting. They are lazy fish just sit in a shaded spot all day.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Hey guys,how r peeps on here and on youtube are able to keep goonch?
I thawt that as they are on the endangered list with numbers declining fast,i didnt think anyone was allowed to keep them!! However they is lots kept in captivity!

Looks like you are right. "Shovelnose" is our resident expert from South India and his word can be trusted http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37044#p253253

 

[hokese]

I didnt want to argue,but i new i red that somewhere,id seen that article b4...
Its a sad thing to here that from a trusted person who is on the front lines so to speak..
I love the goonch,ive never had one,but from what i can see,and have red,the smaller goonhes in tanks are rarely nasty or aggresive,people think because a 6 footer took down half a dead body on tv,that they are all like that.
A small goonch raised in a tank,would not even be on the same par as a big fella..
Id think that there mindset would be alot different to,from living in a wild river,to being the only fish in the tank..
Not having to hunt would tame them down id think.
Anyway just some of my thawts..
Dam id love 1 of these guys..



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[Mayo]

aren't aussies restricted to keep alot of awesome fish species?

Yep the fish market here is almost on the same level as the drug market...... its ridiculous what we cannot have and the troubles we have to go through to even get things we are aloud to own

Ahh ok fair enuff,so still threatened but not as bad as i thawt...
You guys are SO lucky to be able to keep goonches!
I come from the land down under and we cant have ****...
Alot of people here that are serious fish keepers with $$$$,often end up turning to the black market for these exotic fish...


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Yep pretty much anything exotic or monster is like rare or black market only you need to know the right people and have the dollars to be able to get anything good here, and even once u have something u cant go showing it off...

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I love the goonch,ive never had one,but from what i can see,and have red,the smaller goonhes in tanks are rarely nasty or aggresive,people think because a 6 footer took down half a dead body on tv,that they are all like that.
A small goonch raised in a tank,would not even be on the same par as a big fella..
Id think that there mindset would be alot different to,from living in a wild river,to being the only fish in the tank..
Not having to hunt would tame them down id think.

Is this about petting a goonch? If yes, I imagine what you described is possible. One'd be prudent to keep in mind though that things are almost never 100% one way or the other. They are a mixture of both in varying proportions. Taming lessens certain instincts but can never irradicate them. For instance, many (most?) tiger, leopard, and lion trainers find out in due time that the cats they raised from suckling, blind cubs still have a wild predator and killer side. One instinct tells the big cats that their trainer is their family, especially with social lions, another tells them they can be food. And then on one in a thousand days, the latter instinct prevails... and you see it on TV.

 

[djaalix]

i couldnt agree more, environment plays a big factor, but instinct is still there, and with tigers, if it comes out 1% of the time, that has some serious consequences for whomever is near that thing

on goonches, my 2 stay relatively still, however during feeding time you can see they mean business.... fast swimming, explosive strikes .... all my other fish move to the top of the tank out of the way when these guys go on the prowl.... they are such sleek and smooth swimmers, and not a single pellet escapes their patrol... one comes to the surface when he hears the top open and i can drop pellets into his mouth, but i'm always nervous cause my hand is 1 inch from his mouth, and being 20 inches with some serious teeth he could def cut my finger good, and it has been close when he's really hungry! they are unique and awesome fish

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