MONSTER APURENSIS CATFISH SoCal Pick Up Only

[Yellowcat]

Pseudopimelodus Cephalosilirus Apurensis 20" long, needs a good home! Located in L.A. area, S.F. Valley 91306 Pick Up Only. Asking $225. Hate to sell her, my favorite fish but it's gotten too large for the 60G bowfront but with 6 tanks and no room for more I want to find this fish the better environment she deserves. This fish would need something like a 200G or larger to be comfortably housed for life. Bought for $125 @5" 2 1/2 years ago, her growth has slowed way down but has the potential to grow to around 24" from what I've seen. Good info on the species can be found on PlanetCatfish and ScotCat websites. This is a magnificent specimen and rather rare in the hobby. This one has been raised alone due to it's reputation as a THUG but others have successfully kept them with fish of their own size or larger. I've done the same with my C. Fowleri with a similar reputation. This fish has been raised primarily on feeder goldfish but will readily take nightcrawlers and chunks of frozen bonito when the goldfish supply runs low. Others have weaned them off live food but they are a predator species that enjoy the hunt. It exudes confidence like a giant grouper on a tropical reef, mellow and graceful but fearless... Anyway-Pics:

 

[Yellowcat]

These fish have some interesting behavior's, they like a tank with deep gravel, maybe a few smooth rocks and a big pile of driftwood to make nests in to give them some shade. They enjoy moving them all around and rearranging them every once in a while and will guard that territory if other fish are present. They can become rather tame like red tail cats and enjoy being petted and hand fed as they do although they're not as active overall. At times you will find them resting on their sides or completely upside down as with most pseudopimelodus species, scaring new owners into thinking they're sick or dead but with them it's completely normal. Some say that c. apurensis lack the brighter orange colors of the c. fowleri but this one shows otherwise. In the trade they're often referred to as 'orange' cats, oremon cats, jelly or jello cats and 'bagre sapo'-toad catfish... Here's a couple of shots of same or similar species in 'nap mode' and a side shot of a c. fowleri...

 

[HKN]

nice cat

 

[fugupuff]

nice fish, I would love to have him if I had some extra tanks. My tanks are all filled with things he could eat probably

Can you tell me what is the difference between apurensis and fowleri? They've always looked similar to me, and bufonis?

 

[Yellowcat]

Hey Wes, it's been years, still have 2 p. bufonis and a mystis gullio I got from you way back when. BTW your store is amazing! About p. bufonis-see my 'Bee Cat' thread in the catfish forum. There are subtle clues to tell the difference between the two species. The main difference is that apurensis grow much larger but as juveniles it's much harder to tell between them. My fowleri is 13" long and I've had it for 5 years, the apurensis is 20" and it's only 2 1/2 years old. Of course the rarer fowleri exist only in the Sao Francisco river system in Brazil where the apurensis come mainly from the Apure and Orinoco rivers in Venezuela. The fowleri species have a flatter head, a slightly shorter and more rounded adipose fin and a more square shaped caudal (tail) fin and a lighter less marked underside. The apurensis has a larger more tapered head shape, a longer and straighter shaped adipose fin, a more of a round shaped tail with tiny perforations around the perimeter and a pinkish hue along the edges. They have a much 'thicker' more robust body shape overall and have darker more heavily spotted undersides... Here's some pic's that might help.. The top shot is fowleri, the one below is apurensis tail, the next is fowleri, below that is apurensis and the underside of apurensis in the bottom shot. Hope this helps...

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Amazing Kitty!!!! - MEOW!!!!

 

[Yellowcat]

Kickin' it back to page 1, for at least half a day!

 

[jowens]

Man, I wish I lived closer. I'd love to have that thing. Do you know anyone who sells these or fowleri?

 

[Yellowcat]

Thanks for the bumps guys... As for others selling, RiverWonders lists apurensis and Shark Aquarium lists apurensis and fowleri's. Can't vouch for either as I haven't bought from them. Fowleri's are really rare like many things out of Brazil lately, I've seen apurensis that were sold as fowleri's so beware and ask for pic's. I tried an experiment yesterday, bought frozen silversides from my lfs and dumped about 6 in the tank and my fish gobbled them up before they even defrosted so no issues with weaning off live food!

 

[jowens]

Thanks for the info.