Auchenoglanis Biscutatus! A little backstory.. I should mention that I now have 9 tanks, 6 of them from 40 to 130G, and many long term survivors, for years to a decade or two. In some ways the hobby can get a bit stale when it just becomes a maintenance and feeding thing. Had to pass on many "wish list" fish because there's no room in established community tanks or would eat or get eaten by the residents therein. Anyway I've known about these fish for sale online for months but again no room at the inn. A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the MFK Buy & Sell Forum and found an incredible deal for a very nice complete 75G tank setup nearby. An aha moment, thinking about the a. biscutatus cats I wanted and jumped on the deal, here's the tank
I then contacted the seller and they had 4 specimens, one kinda beat up, the rest in decent shape. I really just wanted 1 but a M&F pair would be nice too. Sexing them is almost impossible at this size so I figured wtf and sprung for all 3. They arrived from Portland at 10 this morning all alive and well, sweet! Here they are in the acclimation bucket:
A little skinny but that's normal for most shipped fish and they're apparently healthy and frisky!
Here's shots of 2 of 'em an hour out of the bag
Missed a shot of the 3rd as it scooted back to the driftwood when I spooked it.
No one need tell me they get big and will outgrow the tank someday, I know that with a. occidentalis, a .wittei and "bouche" species I've kept and sold on to others on here. At least a. biscutatus are a smaller species in comparison as they (and a. senegalis, a junior synonym of the species) "only" reach 20" in the wild according to my extensive research, hopefully less so and slower growing in captivity. I may only be able to keep them for many months or a year or two and might have to sell off 1 or 2 as the tank becomes crowded, ultimately leaving a single favorite to keep as long as I I can...
As I write this, they are out and about exploring their new environs, nice! For me, it's an exciting thing to have new fish to enjoy and learn about, adding something fresh to my niche in the hobby that's been overdue for a couple of years...
I then contacted the seller and they had 4 specimens, one kinda beat up, the rest in decent shape. I really just wanted 1 but a M&F pair would be nice too. Sexing them is almost impossible at this size so I figured wtf and sprung for all 3. They arrived from Portland at 10 this morning all alive and well, sweet! Here they are in the acclimation bucket:
A little skinny but that's normal for most shipped fish and they're apparently healthy and frisky!
Here's shots of 2 of 'em an hour out of the bag
Missed a shot of the 3rd as it scooted back to the driftwood when I spooked it.
No one need tell me they get big and will outgrow the tank someday, I know that with a. occidentalis, a .wittei and "bouche" species I've kept and sold on to others on here. At least a. biscutatus are a smaller species in comparison as they (and a. senegalis, a junior synonym of the species) "only" reach 20" in the wild according to my extensive research, hopefully less so and slower growing in captivity. I may only be able to keep them for many months or a year or two and might have to sell off 1 or 2 as the tank becomes crowded, ultimately leaving a single favorite to keep as long as I I can...
As I write this, they are out and about exploring their new environs, nice! For me, it's an exciting thing to have new fish to enjoy and learn about, adding something fresh to my niche in the hobby that's been overdue for a couple of years...
