Megalodoras Uranoscopus Irwini Catfish

[sturgeonlover]

He is a very nice fish where did you get him, im interested in owning it too. looks similar to like a raphael cat

I got it from a friend a long time ago, $50 for 3inches. He was boring and I never took him seriously... until I moved him into the bigger tank, I been looking for more... really hard to find.

 

[knifegill]

One of my dream cats. Congrats on having one.

Does it purr at night? I've been told they sound like a Harley Davidson idling. But perhaps they need to be in a group to talk.

Agree on salt being a bad idea. It doesn't make any osmotic sense. It really can't help a healthy environment any. Pet shops use it because they buy cheap stock from stanky ponds in Asia that already are being killed by bacteria and other diseases. The salt acts as a bandaid against those infections and also helps to combat hardness crashes from organic buildup in their overstocked and undermaintained tanks. But if you're doing proper maintenance to keep TDS low and nitrates below 20-40ppm, and feeding a healthy diet that keeps their immune systems strong, your amazon fish will not benefit from salt.

 

[fishfanatic80]

you will probably see him thrive more with out it im telling you its a huge difference give it a go and let us know if he is more active

 

[twilight zone]

I have 5 of them that is about 10" each. I got them trained on floating pellets. I put the pellets on the return side. The water will naturally push the pellets down and they will eventually find them. You can not have an overflow otherwise the pellet will get skimmed out. Once they learn to take the floating pellets, they will come up to the top of the tank looking for food once they smell it. It took a while to train them. But if floating pellets are the only food, they will find it. In term of salt, I never salt my fishes on a regular basis. I did have to salt them recently due to having to medicate my aro for velvet. I used Nox-Ich in conjunction with salt. I worked really well.

 

[sturgeonlover]

you will probably see him thrive more with out it im telling you its a huge difference give it a go and let us know if he is more active

All right. I'm going to go for it. lol. Whatever is good for my fish is good for me. THANKS!

 

[sturgeonlover]

I have 5 of them that is about 10" each. I got them trained on floating pellets. I put the pellets on the return side. The water will naturally push the pellets down and they will eventually find them. You can not have an overflow otherwise the pellet will get skimmed out. Once they learn to take the floating pellets, they will come up to the top of the tank looking for food once they smell it. It took a while to train them. But if floating pellets are the only food, they will find it. In term of salt, I never salt my fishes on a regular basis. I did have to salt them recently due to having to medicate my aro for velvet. I used Nox-Ich in conjunction with salt. I worked really well.

Post some pictures buddy. O and thats a neat trick. I'm gonna give that a go. Should I start with shrimp or go straight with pellets?

 

[sturgeonlover]

I have 5 of them that is about 10" each. I got them trained on floating pellets. I put the pellets on the return side. The water will naturally push the pellets down and they will eventually find them. You can not have an overflow otherwise the pellet will get skimmed out. Once they learn to take the floating pellets, they will come up to the top of the tank looking for food once they smell it. It took a while to train them. But if floating pellets are the only food, they will find it. In term of salt, I never salt my fishes on a regular basis. I did have to salt them recently due to having to medicate my aro for velvet. I used Nox-Ich in conjunction with salt. I worked really well.

One other thing, do these guys shed there slime coat? He was always hiding, but now he settled in my big tank on the floating log and on his tail fins I saw some slime coming shedding or something like that. Still active though.

 

[sturgeonlover]

One of my dream cats. Congrats on having one.

Does it purr at night? I've been told they sound like a Harley Davidson idling. But perhaps they need to be in a group to talk.

Agree on salt being a bad idea. It doesn't make any osmotic sense. It really can't help a healthy environment any. Pet shops use it because they buy cheap stock from stanky ponds in Asia that already are being killed by bacteria and other diseases. The salt acts as a bandaid against those infections and also helps to combat hardness crashes from organic buildup in their overstocked and undermaintained tanks. But if you're doing proper maintenance to keep TDS low and nitrates below 20-40ppm, and feeding a healthy diet that keeps their immune systems strong, your amazon fish will not benefit from salt.

I never heard him purr. He is usually comfortable. Only became like this when I moved. But your right. I'm gonna take the salt out than. I dont want to put any stress on my fish.

 

[pookie]

I used salt just recently to treat my tank for ich, I used table salt because I had no extra money to buy fish salt, it killed the ich and didnt harm any fish including my cat, I only used a 0.02% salt not the full 0.03%

But I think long term salt could harm it somehow..

 

[NotoriousSway]

Salt is salt plus a few additives no matter what kind its is (except for epsom salt which is Magnesium sulfate).

Good to see your removing it, the salt might be causing the slime coat issue but not sure.

Here is a good thread explaining everything you need to know about using salt in aquariums
Sticky: Salt and Its Uses