Planiceps aka firewood cat

[herman moorr]

Received this catfish yesterday via jeff Rapps. Let him settle in all day yesterday and feed him today a mixture of krill/bloodworms. He must of had a big appetite after ship because he ate all I put in. May try cut fish next. So far loving this fish.For those of you that have kept this one a few questions. Any aggression toward tankmates?Also what type of growth rates have you seen?

 

[moe214]

Hopefully you can raise it to its potential. A gorgeous cat that seems hard to keep

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I can't keep them alive longer than a few months. Don't know why.

Growth is quick. ~3' in ~2 years. bobVillanueva can tell more.

 

[herman moorr]

I can't keep them alive longer than a few months. Don't know why.

Growth is quick. ~3' in ~2 years. bobVillanueva can tell more.

What do you suspect the issue is for the deaths? Sensitive ? Not what I was expecting. Kind of worried hearing this. He's eaten and been acting normal so far.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

What do you suspect the issue is for the deaths? Sensitive ? Not what I was expecting. Kind of worried hearing this. He's eaten and been acting normal so far.

If forced to take a guess, I'd propose my system has a pathogen, a bacteria or a parasite, that the firewoods have no immunity against.

I touch on it here: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...eep-black-lancer-catfish.676843/#post-7606870

They are reasonably hardy, no grounds for worrying on your part.

 

[bobVillanueva]

They grow very fast (At pace with the likes of our usual south am monsters such as rtc and tsn) and will devour anything that fits in their mouths. Don't be fooled by their slender bodies as they have very large mouths. They would not hesitate to consume tankmates. Mine had quite the taste for Cichla Piquiti (Azuls) and have eating at least 3 14"ers.

If you don't put them in a large tank, they have the tendency to bump the glass and destroy their snouts. they look horrific if that happens.

Feeding could be tricky as well. Sometimes they would not feed for weeks to months. I don't know why but they tend to do this at times. they are very interesting fishes and are fun to keep.

 

[jaws7777]

They grow very fast (At pace with the likes of our usual south am monsters such as rtc and tsn) and will devour anything that fits in their mouths. Don't be fooled by their slender bodies as they have very large mouths. They would not hesitate to consume tankmates. Mine had quite the taste for Cichla Piquiti (Azuls) and have eating at least 3 14"ers.

If you don't put them in a large tank, they have the tendency to bump the glass and destroy their snouts. they look horrific if that happens.

Feeding could be tricky as well. Sometimes they would not feed for weeks to months. I don't know why but they tend to do this at times. they are very interesting fishes and are fun to keep.

What a beautiful fish

 

[amazonfishman]

I've kept several of them over the years my mosts recent information is in the link here:

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/my-planiceps-journal.387913/

I'd expect 3" a month growth with heavy feeding, not as aggressive as the TSN/Piraiba I've kept but more aggressive then a Juruense or Lima for sure. I've kept them from 1.5"-30" in the past and noticed the higher mortality rates when they came in at very small sizes like 1.5-2" versus 4"+. It seems like if you can get them past the first few inches it becomes a lot easier. My planiceps always preferred live food whether it was feeders or earthworms compared to sinking pellets at smaller sizes under 12" but after that seemed more inclined to eat Hikari sinking carnivore or Massivore pellets. Search my other older threads for more info I've got several of them lol

 

[herman moorr]

Little update

He's been doing well since I have moved him from 90 gal to the 140 gal. He has put on maybe 2-3 in. Eats krill, tilapia and silversides . Had a scare in the 90 where I was scared for his survival. But since I moved him he has been a1.

 

[herman moorr]

Well here is too a final update and end of this firewood cat journey. I just updated this and all was well. Well 3 days ago this fish took a turn for the worst...swimming uncontrollably and twitching behavior. Moved him to a 120 by himself. By second day I thought I was on the right track again because the fish ate and was acting less weird. Today fish stayed near the top swimming and the twitch was back. Did water change this afternoon hoping to reverse this behavior. Just went to the fish room about 15 minutes ago to check on him and he's dead. Very disappointed but I knew the risk when I purchased. Sucks but it comes with the hobby.