Monster: Gobiesox nudus

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Andyroo

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2011
1,215
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MoBay, Jamaica
www.seascapecarib.com
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They look unassuming, but the head/jaw hinges well towards the back of the head and the teeth are far bigger than you'd expect, or be comfortable with.
Horrible beasts. :)

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Collected these (2) from the river up the road as tiny little juveniles in the fullest part of the current.
These are now maybe 1.25 or 1.5cm, so not big at all yet.

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Full size maybe 15cm, though the biggest I've seen is about half that.
The first time I kept these, I thought they'd be easy as there's a little breathing hole in the tip of the snout and that's all I thought the mouth was going to be. That 3cm stinker bit a little 2 or 3cm tilapia in half. I netted him out and he yawned... and he went into the big-fish tank.
A

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Very cool, thank you for sharing !:)
Wonder what else lives in jamaicas rivers and lakes..
 
Can you catch one on camera feeding? I'd love to see that pretty mouth!Lol! Do they have teeth that catch and hold like a gar/Wolffish or do they fit together like a piranha/ATF? I like what I see so far. How many you got? Do they get along in a group? Water conditions,tank size,&anything else you'd add?
 
Zeke,
Moves too quickly and without any sorts of "tells", but I'll give a video a go and post what I catch. You certainly don't see the mouth snap open/shut- lightning.

These little'uns are living on ostracods/gravel inverts and bits along the glass/sand interface in the full current, and also as partial predators: scales, fins (they love the new guppies), snail eye-stalks etc. Nasty.
Teeth are front-loaded and forward-pointing for a grab, shake & rip (aba/wolf/Chana/flat-head sleeper) rather than a cut (ATF).
I've got 2 now. Had maybe 1/2 dozen in the other tank when I first caught them (months ago) but they succumbed to my stupidity along with everything else in that tank (long story including a frigate bird and a puffer, posted somewhere here). As bunches they seem to get on, though they don't seem to school or socialize per se. They also don't seem to cannibalize even when there's a size disparity, though they shouldn't be trusted, either.

Water conditions would be clean, hard and fast, I'd think. I've only seen them in the full-flow portions of limestone streams. Egg & juv. stages are marine (I think) as most things are around here. A high-flow/river setup for loaches and/or gobies would be good for these guys- they look and move like a butterfly loach and they're about the same size. The only issue is their nasty nature...

I've not seen them eat/attack anything that's not alive, though they've taken interest in bits lionfish and or tinned salmon. They smell the pellets and turn, but don't pay attention beyond that. May try a worm later on.

A
 
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