Irwini catfish (megaladorus uranoscopus) update

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Rafini

Rafini

Piranha
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2012
1,930
178
81
Calgary, Canada
I've had this little guy for just over 2 weeks and I've been told they are one of the most slowest growing catfish. Howcome he has doubled in size in only 2 weeks if he is such a slow grower?

here he is the day I got him

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And here he is today

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I would not name them among the slowest growing cats but then all of these qualifiers like fast, medium, and slow are subjective, unlike numbers. So in numbers, it takes these fish on average 1.0-1.5 years to reach 1' and then another 2-3 years to get to ~2'.

You are reporting an excellent growth. One thing to remember is many fish grow in spurts. Your guy was skinny but now feeds real good - nice big tummy he's got. This may explain the super spurt. Good job, anyway.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=143
 
thanks for your kind words. I have read various profiles on the fish, one of them had comments and a bunch of people were saying that theirs grew really fast to 1' and then slowed down. So maybe mine will keep going at 1-2" per month and when he hits 12" will slow right down?

Would like to add that there have been a good supply of healthy feeders going into the tank for my young datnoid, and I think its maybe been eating some of them in the night. I know this guys mouth isnt particularly huge but these feeders aren't that big. If my bichirs can swallow one 3/4 their length and roughly the same thickness I don't find it impossible that the catfidsh could've had some feeders. i've noticed some mornings that say 6 or 7 feeders are gone, but I only have 4 fish in there. and they don't all have huge bellies so I just assumed that the catfish had been feeding in the night.


Considering I hadn't seen him feed since I got him
 
I see. Good to see people like yourself who research what they buy. Well, sure the growth rates can differ for different keepers. I have no reason to doubt the fact you are referring to, especially if several people wrote the same thing.

Some people do make it a point to chase after a champion fast growth.

Also, these fish are not the easiest to feed in the community tanks because of their nocturnal feeding habits. Usually their tank-mates are much more pro-active feeders so these guys get little or second-sort foods.

They are not predatory cats but will take a small fish if readily available and no need to chase it around. They are almost purely bottom scavengers. What you are saying about them possibly taking feeders further explains the remarkable (IMHO; based on what you know, it may be normal) growth spurt: almost pure protein diet enables the fastest growth possible for any given fish.
 
Thats very true, Well you see I put food in my tank over night for the bichirs to scavenge for, The catfish has most likely been taking these also. Which is fine because I'm getting good growth from the bichirs too. This is my first time using a grow out tank you see, so I make sure I do regular waterchanges and feed often.
 
I only had a bichir once a while ago. Found him to be THE slowest feeder, period. Could not keep him in my community tank and had to return it. I think if you put in the food at night and leave and turn off the lights, the irwini gets first to it, well... well before the bichirs do.

Sounds interesting. Come back with updates please if you will.
 
Yeah I will update on the fish every few weeks I guess. I find my bichirs are quite fast feeders, well at least the senegal Bichir is.
I positioned his cave up against the glass and I can drop food in there for the catfish to eat, so I'll make sure he gets food
 
Their growth rate isn't the fastest in the cat world rather aqua hobby world yet they are not the slowest either. Like most cats and fishes it depends on the food supply and on the individual cat itself. A healthy eater grows faster than a picky eater. Second in the aqua hobby you got people with other cats like ID's, Channels, TSN, and of course the RTC's therefore most cats if not all especially when compared to the RTC is considered ok growth to slow growth. But like all fish they will hit a point where their growth rate slows down by a great deal. I'm glad your irwini is growing quite good. That means your doing a good job so keep up the good work.
 
Thanks Jubmez, He seems to be a very happy fish. He spends all his time in a cave made out of a wood piece. I suppose when he no longer can fit in that cave I'll move him into the 225
 
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