Lima shovel nose catfish?

[amazonfishman]

Trent surprised me but the fact that it is an ethnic food, it seems, makes sense. No widespread availability / popularity.

Do correct me if I am wrong, but I've read that swai is the iridescent shark catfish meat, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, not gigas aka MGC or Mekong Giant Catfish. It says so on some packages of swai too. People appear to struggle to ward off complete extinction of the MGC both in the wild and in farming operations. Hardly would MGC be available as a food fish. It may be. I am just thinking aloud. Or its hybrid is.

Viktor I'll have to see if I still have the pic from Central market, they were skin on fillets from approx 18" TSN's only place I've ever seen them was for the Brazil festival event at the store in Dallas Fort Worth. It was cool to see and I regret not picking some up to compare against our local Channel Cat fillets.

You're right on the ID sharks/Striped Pangasius being Swai, I was going to mention that but you beat me to it. They are farm raised all throughout Thailand and Vietnam for food consumption and for fishing parks. Mekong Giant Catfish (Pangasius Gigas) are generally only farm raised for fishing parks to my knowledge overseas not food consumption so limited volume. The government also farm raises them for re-introduction purposes into the Mekong and Chao Phraya Rivers since they are critically endangered in their native range.

 

[suckerfish]

Any tips on keeping these guys?

Don’t. You’ll get bored! IMO, they don’t really act catfish like and are very skittish. I’m sure Viktor would say differently. I bought one, when I was 10, but don’t see the appeal with so many real TSN’s. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!

 

[tiger15]

I have tasted TSN, Swai and channel cat, and have to rate them in descending order of best tasting. But I may be biased due to relative freshness of the meat where I consumed, and the skill of cooking. US restaurants in general are bad in fish cooking, tend to over cook and deep fry a lot. I was in Iceland recently and eat fish every meal, and there is no one bad fish meal thanks for good chefs and freshness. With many bad experience, I avoid fish in US restaurants except Chinese, Japanese and Peruvian.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Don’t. You’ll get bored! IMO, they don’t really act catfish like and are very skittish. I’m sure Viktor would say differently. I bought one, when I was 10, but don’t see the appeal with so many real TSN’s. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!

I respect all opinions stated politely

Just a bit of a counterweight - my experience and that of some others can be found in this thread: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...rsus-elongatus-id-thread.524497/#post-7852408

I am currently keeping 20 LSN from 15" to 6". I think they are fun. But one thing I agree with - they tend to dart and injure their snout.

 

[Gabriel_Martucci]

Don’t. You’ll get bored! IMO, they don’t really act catfish like and are very skittish. I’m sure Viktor would say differently. I bought one, when I was 10, but don’t see the appeal with so many real TSN’s. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!

Its ok this is the stuff i'm look for , people who have keep them .

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I have never kept it but have eaten it a few times in Lima restaurant. It's one of the best tasting fish and popular in restaurant menu known as Doncella in Spanish. They are farm raised there and can reached 5 ft, but aquarium varity may be smaller.

They get nowhere near five feet,max is about 22 inches,you may be thinking of another shovelnose(likely tiger).