I was also very shocked. When I had it, it was no bigger than a rosy red minnow only. But yes, once it hit the 5 inch mark the spots slowly began to appear and now it's almost fully out. Maybe its just this Vulture because the other Vulture I had was smaller but the spots were more defined.
Need help with Catfish identification
- Thread starter Fishyboi4
- Start date
I too have never seen a vulture cat under 5” and again never seen one without its spotting. Thanks for keeping us informed and we learn constantly. Looks like you now have two beautiful fish which will both get 2ft. As they grow, you may need to be careful with any new additions. Vultures don’t like newcomers, unless they are very confident ones.
Your welcome, and thank you for the helpful tip. Once they get up to 10-12inch they will be going in my 200 gallon with a ocellaris peacock bass and black arowana that are bigger than them. Until those guys get even bigger. Otherwise this setup will remain like this for a while.
I only have the one, so experiences may differ and Victor may tell you different but going by mine I would say with vulture cats I think you can go by 1" = 1 month, topping out at around 24-28" at around 24 month.
The growth on my 6-pack varied and was slower overall I'd say, about 18"-20" in the first 2 years. Currently at 5.5 years old they are 22"-28".
I bought a bolt cat and a vulture cat both at 5" at the same time. The bolt grew steadily at 0.5" per month whereas the vulture grew much faster, an inch a month sometimes a bit more, sometimes (less often) a bit less. The bolt slowed when he hit 12" but the vulture never seemed to slow until around 22". That may have been because he moved into the pond at 14" though so was given a new lease of life.
About as Dave says, after ~1.5 years but it seems others report their vultures to slow down a lot after 12"or even be stuck at around 14"-16" but that seems in smaller, more regularly seen tanks -- https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/posts/8082694
Were they spotted and instantly recognizable?
Vulture Catfish (Calophysus macropterus)
The Vulture Catfish is a common species throughout much of the Amazon, typically in shallow waters where it often scavenges on discarded fish from fishing boats and villages. Despite its relatively small mouth, it has a powerful bite and is thought to actively attack weak or injured larger fish...
www.aqua-imports.com
