please ID catfish

[Death03]

what catfish is this? It's in our lfs, it says marble catfish. but is it a marble catfish? I really feel sorry for this guy he's in a 20 gallon with a pacu and another marble catfish(?)
I want to save this guy if I can. can anyone help me with min. tank size, max fish size, diet, etc.?



EDIT: sorry for the pic of the rtc. I uploaded it by mistake and I don't know how to remove attached thumbnails lol. I feel sorry for the rtc too it's also in a 20 gal

 

[Death03]

sorry for the crappy pic

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Yes, marbled SA catfish = Leiarius marmoratus

Min tank size should be 1' wider than its maxillary barbel span, that is for a 2' cat, the min width should be 5'; min length 10'. (IMO)

Max size is about 2'-2.5' in captivity. 3' in the wild.

Omnivore, opportunistic, eats everything, pellets, frozen etc. If well fed, will never pay attention to tank mates which he could easily swallow - marked scavenger, not predator. Yet, given no choice, he will hunt down live.

It will be ~2' in ~1 year, maybe a bit more.

 

[Death03]

I feel sorry for it I can't buy it. I really don't have enough space for a tank that large.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

You don't need a tank in Philippines

Besides, buying the fish would result in the opposite effect: merchandise that moves only encourages the seller to stock it and keep selling. It's an axiom of sales. You will not contribute to "saving the fishes" but the opposite.

 

[brich999]

Dont feel bad lfs do this all the time. If you did buy it, you would only be encouraging them to buy more.

 

[Death03]

I really don't have the space here in our home for an outdoor/indoor pond too haha. yeah that's true. Thanks guys