Most Common Electric Catfish?

[Combatshock]

We THINK he has hit 11", it's hard to tell, but he can no longer fit into his PVC pipe easily, he must back in carefully and we must upgrade it. He's definitely rounder recently, we expect him to be 12" very soon and are trying to figure out if we can fit a 200g or just a 125g for an upgrade

Hhahaa, that's how I gauge mines size as well. Relative to whether or not he fits in the large plastic log(s) that are in his tank.

 

[Madding]

I had one for a while, but unfortunately it was best to part with it at the time.

 

[Nighteon]

Great E. Catfish

 

[DojosWithMojo]

My husband and I were at our LFS yesterday when I "lost" him in the store. Finally found him wide eyed and jaw dropped staring at a plump little ecat.
Now he wants it, but in order for the keeper (me) to give the go ahead, I need to know what this little dude needs.
Optimal tank size? Temp? Diet? Etc?
He's about 4"

 

[bigbadfish711]

My husband and I were at our LFS yesterday when I "lost" him in the store. Finally found him wide eyed and jaw dropped staring at a plump little ecat.
Now he wants it, but in order for the keeper (me) to give the go ahead, I need to know what this little dude needs.
Optimal tank size? Temp? Diet? Etc?
He's about 4"

OP sorry if this is hijacking your thread.

Ok for starters is this a Malapterurus electricus? Most likely it is. M. electricus they are the most widely available Ecat in the hobby. M. electricus will reach a size of about 40". Some people will try to tell you they will only reach 12" in the home aquarium, but this so wrong. I currently have a 15"er and had a 22"er. Being that they will grow to about 40" it will eventually need at least a 300 gallon tank depending on the foot print. Water temp should be between about 74-86 f. Diet needs to be varied. You need to feed a varied diet. I feed mine night crawlers, shrimp, tilapia, feeder fish on occasion, crayfish, and tadpoles. My Ecats favorite is night crawlers, but be careful they have the tendency to zone in on one food and not take others. Also they are glutens. So be careful not to over feed. M. electricus likes a ph between about 6.5 and 8.2. They are not that picky but the best thing you can do is keep its water pristine. They prefer low light conditions, slower moving water and love good hiding spots. A nice big cave will do wonders. This is NOT a community fish. Some people have had Ecats in communities with great success, but it is not recommended. As they get larger their electric shocks become more powerful and they become more territorial. I think these fish are the best and hope you get and enjoy this one for a long time.

 

[Saterus]

*again sorry to OP for the thread-jack

My Ecat (M. electricus) definitely loves variety in his diet but he has never shown an affinity for a particular food except that he likes big chunks.. The bigger he gets the less he likes smaller peices like blood worms and marine cuisine. He still eats them but starts to get a little angsty trying to find them as his movements throw the small pieces about. We breed our own feeders but they are a rare treat.. He loves any chunks of fish, shrimp, krill, snail, etc. we throw in there.
He seems to prefer his temp in the 78-82F range. Lower than 78 he obviously slows down and hes less mobile when there isn't food in the tank. Around 80 he's pretty active. Much above that (sometimes we can't help it in the summer) he seems very alert but not terribly active if he doesn't smell food. He seems to prefer a pH slightly above neutral, 7.6-7.8 is what I aim for but our water tends to dip below that without twice weekly 10% WCs (he has driftwood) and he doesn't seem to mind. Pristine water, definitely a must.
I don't see them EVER being a community fish, mine has eaten everything in sight since he was 4", lol. Assume it will be a loner..

Otherwise ours loves to dig and rearange so he has fine sand, driftwood, some random rocks, plants, etc. plus a PVC pipe that runs along the back of the tank that has been his favorite hide since day 1. Doesn't matter what I do to the tank, so long as that pipe is there he seems happy to rearange to his liking.

 

[BIOMASS]

just thought i'd throw in my 2 cents. contrary to other peoples experiences my M. electricus (Bro. as in "don't taze me Bro!") is really quite agreeable with his tankmates. he is about 10 inches and will be going into a 120 gallon soon. but he is currently in a 35 gallon planted tank with lots of driftwood which he shares with an 8 inch spotted gar and 4 silver dollars. he could care less about them and seems to know somehow that they are not intended as food! its really weird actually. they do glom onto fav foods though. he goes berserk for earthworms, snatching them from my fingers and thrashing around like a maniac sausage. he goes for rosy reds and large goldfish like they are going out of style too, but never anything else. even goldfish larger than the SDs are gobbled up. he pushes the crayfish around like a steamroller but never attempts to eat them...yet. they definitely "beg" for food. if he sees a shadow cast across the tank he swims out and props his mouth out of the water on the floating cork bark. they are governed by their stomach.