My new Chinese "Wels"

thebiggerthebetter · May 11, 2016

I've stared at them some more today and they are more like 10"-12".

So the growth amounts to ~6"-8" over the last 9 months.

vincentwugwg · May 12, 2016

thebiggerthebetter said:
If it is anything like my 5 Silurus asotus (thanks Wes!), it will be a while. I'd expect them to be similar - they are close by geographically too - Yanze (meridionalis) and Amur (asotus) rivers, both temperate, both grow to about the same max size of 3', look similar, very similar biology = biological niche, IIRC.

I got them last Aug 2015 at ~4"-5". Today they are ~8"-10".

Fast forward to 1:00 min if interested.

I have very very different results Viktor.... I got my Yangtze cats from Wes a little under 2 months ago.. they were about 6 inches or so at the time... now they are both over 12 inches.. the larger of the 2 probably pushing 14 inches

fugupuff · May 14, 2016

it seems like the meriodonalis are not as shy, and grow way faster. Mine are like 12" already as well. 5" in less than 2 months?

thebiggerthebetter · May 14, 2016

Looks like it then. My 5 asotus I'd say are on the shy and picky side. Four are ~12", one's ~10". They are not gluttons in my hands. They feed in moderation. If meridionalis are gluttonous, that would explain the growth difference.

rodger · May 27, 2016

The new one came today from Wes. It won't live with a cupuria!

rodger · May 31, 2016

Day 5 update. The first two days he was extremely active. The next two days he hid under a log. This morning he was sucking up pellets like a vacuum cleaner. First time it ate that I was aware of. I'll see how active he is after the lights come on. The first one wasn't bothered by light at all.

predatorkeeper87 · May 31, 2016

rodger said:
Day 5 update. The first two days he was extremely active. The next two days he hid under a log. This morning he was sucking up pellets like a vacuum cleaner. First time it ate that I was aware of. I'll see how active he is after the lights come on. The first one wasn't bothered by light at all.

not that they are completely comparable but when I first bought my channel cat it was the same way. always hiding, never saw it eat and it HATED light. now he eats everything in its path and even eats off the top of the tank competing with the crappie, bass and pickerel lol

rodger · Jun 1, 2016

This guy eats like a champ! Even my wife that hardly pays attention to my fish keeps commenting on how active it is, and what an aggressive eater. No aggression towards anyone, and nobody bothers him in this tank.