I had 2 nigricaudus from a supplier many years ago. I may have the photos someplace. They were gluttons.
My fat jellycat....if it fits...he eats?
- Thread starter scott s
- Start date
Interesting. Me and Kirk
Yellowcat
, for two, would be highly intrigued if yours were indeed the nigricaudus. Perhaps I am not recalling right but I was sure we never get to see this species in our trade.Do you not have a thread on them?
The first picture kind of looks like a Dalmation Molly, those little fish you can buy at lfs for 2 bucks. Stopped by to say I love the Pleco, and the jelly cat, but couldn't help noticing the appearance of the catfish lol
I got them more than 25 years ago. It was posted on another group in those days. I may have a photo someplace and it is a pretty bad one. It was collected in Suriname. Let me look for it. May take a while as it was on a instant polaroid.Interesting. Me and Kirk
Do you not have a thread on them?
Just blundered back into this thread, which re-awoke a long-simmering interest I had in getting another Jelly Cat to replace the one I had long ago...especially now that I knew what they were called! 
A few months back my local aquarium fish importer/dealer got a small number of them in, while I was out of town for a short bit. I watched them nervously on his website until I got back, as their numbers gradually dwindled with each update. There were two remaining when I got home, and I quickly scurried in and bought one of them.
The little guy was around 6 inches or so at that time, probably a bit over 8 now. He went solo into a fully-cycled 75-gallon tank, no substrate, several pieces of pipe for hiding spots, giant sponge filter and a temp of 76F. A handful of clean Rosy Reds from my burgeoning breeding population joined him and quickly dwindled away, to be followed by a couple of small frozen smelt; within a couple weeks he was switched over to Massivore pellets. Apparently smelt are also a thiaminase problem, but I will continue to provide them as occasional treats along with nightcrawlers when I can get a few.
I had forgotten how much I like this species; I guess a lazy guy like me is predisposed towards fish that don't move around much. I enjoy dropping food in and watching him loom into view, gobble it up, circle the tank a couple times in case he missed a crumb and then slip back into his cave. I have just started assembling the components of his next accommodation, which will be a plywood 6x2x2 footer for which I have managed to find a spot in my basement...my last tank, I swear! I would not consider keeping a fish of this potential size in such a cramped tank, but since he rarely does much I think it will work; I can always build bigger someday if I feel the need.
On a sad note: getting this fish prompted me to try contacting the fellow to whom I gave my original one during a move about 20 years ago. That fish was over a foot long when I got it; I owned him for a bit over 10 years and he was about 24 inches long when I re-homed him; I had planned to get him back when I settled into my new digs but the new owner fell in love so I let him stay. I kept in very sporadic contact with the new owner for the next decade or so, then lost touch about 10 years ago when I moved again. I recently was saddened to hear from mutual acquaintances that he passed away a couple years ago. A mutual friend helped his widow re-home all his fish and lost track of who got what, but she recalls that Jell-O (they christened the fish right after they got him...) was measured at 28+ inches (total length) when he left her care.
So the fish lived for roughly 28 years after achieving a length of about a foot (say...another year or two for that?) and was still a going concern when I lost track of it. That's my kind of fish!
A few months back my local aquarium fish importer/dealer got a small number of them in, while I was out of town for a short bit. I watched them nervously on his website until I got back, as their numbers gradually dwindled with each update. There were two remaining when I got home, and I quickly scurried in and bought one of them.The little guy was around 6 inches or so at that time, probably a bit over 8 now. He went solo into a fully-cycled 75-gallon tank, no substrate, several pieces of pipe for hiding spots, giant sponge filter and a temp of 76F. A handful of clean Rosy Reds from my burgeoning breeding population joined him and quickly dwindled away, to be followed by a couple of small frozen smelt; within a couple weeks he was switched over to Massivore pellets. Apparently smelt are also a thiaminase problem, but I will continue to provide them as occasional treats along with nightcrawlers when I can get a few.
I had forgotten how much I like this species; I guess a lazy guy like me is predisposed towards fish that don't move around much. I enjoy dropping food in and watching him loom into view, gobble it up, circle the tank a couple times in case he missed a crumb and then slip back into his cave.
I have just started assembling the components of his next accommodation, which will be a plywood 6x2x2 footer for which I have managed to find a spot in my basement...my last tank, I swear! I would not consider keeping a fish of this potential size in such a cramped tank, but since he rarely does much I think it will work; I can always build bigger someday if I feel the need. On a sad note: getting this fish prompted me to try contacting the fellow to whom I gave my original one during a move about 20 years ago. That fish was over a foot long when I got it; I owned him for a bit over 10 years and he was about 24 inches long when I re-homed him; I had planned to get him back when I settled into my new digs but the new owner fell in love so I let him stay. I kept in very sporadic contact with the new owner for the next decade or so, then lost touch about 10 years ago when I moved again. I recently was saddened to hear from mutual acquaintances that he passed away a couple years ago. A mutual friend helped his widow re-home all his fish and lost track of who got what, but she recalls that Jell-O (they christened the fish right after they got him...) was measured at 28+ inches (total length) when he left her care.
So the fish lived for roughly 28 years after achieving a length of about a foot (say...another year or two for that?) and was still a going concern when I lost track of it. That's my kind of fish!
Ours did fine in a 240 gal 8x2x2. Then went into a 4500 gal for half a year or longer. Then we tried it back in the 240 gal at roughly 24", maybe more, and the fish didn't like it one bit. Wouldn't eat for weeks and just sulk and "walk" around looking for an exit (?) Back into the 4500 gal it has gone.
Back into the 4500 gal it has gone.
That's a useful observation. Note to self: if I install a 4500-gallon tank in the basement of my tiny bungalow, I won't put the Jelly into it; might spoil him...Ours did fine in a 240 gal 8x2x2. Then went into a 4500 gal for half a year or longer. Then we tried it back in the 240 gal at roughly 24", maybe more, and the fish didn't like it one bit. Wouldn't eat for weeks and just sulk and "walk" around looking for an exit (?)
Just received some more sad news about my old Jelly Cat. Apparently the latest owner suffered some serious health issues shortly after getting it, and was forced to liquidate all his tanks and fish. He found a new home for the Jelly but the transfer went poorly and the fish died a day later.
I'm told that the fish was healthy and feeding well right up to the botched transfer attempt, so I don't think this was an age thing. As stated earlier, if was measured at a hair over 28 inches a couple years before its death. Extensive reminiscing and ciphering seems to point to my original purchase of the roughly foot-long fish as being in 1989 or 90. So this specimen was well over 30 years old at time of death.
I'm told that the fish was healthy and feeding well right up to the botched transfer attempt, so I don't think this was an age thing. As stated earlier, if was measured at a hair over 28 inches a couple years before its death. Extensive reminiscing and ciphering seems to point to my original purchase of the roughly foot-long fish as being in 1989 or 90. So this specimen was well over 30 years old at time of death.
