Rainbow Wolf disappeared.. (Culprit: small gulper cat)

[greenerinks]

I just got back from a month long vacation and noticed my rainbow wolf fish is missing. It was roughly around 6" and was feeding very aggressively before I had left for my trip. The tank had root type driftwood and plants for a good amount of hiding spots for both of them. I threw in a handful of feeder rosies and guppies when I left for safe measure. I also had a friend come by the house and do a WC and check parameters 3 times while I was gone. Everything seemed to be fine by the last check and when I came home, there was no sign of the rainbow wolf. There was actually still a rosy swimming around and the gulper cat being lazy and hidden as usual.

I really did not wrap my head around the fact that a 2.5-3" gulper catfish can inhale a rainbow wolf that was probably more than double its size. Poor guy, from the looks of it, I would have thought that the wolf would chew itself out of the gulpers stomach but it was no avail. No body (did not jump out), no bulge in the stomach (maybe happened within the past week).

RIP my wolf.

 

[Zeke]

My little Gulper Catfish are just incredible on what they can swallow. Just amazing to me still. Mine are 3"+ at the moment and I got them at 1.5" or so. Dropped a 2.5" goldfish in the tank by accident once and before I could get back with a net, one of the 2" Gulper Catfish swallowed up the goldfish. I've been wary on keeping them with anything ever since. Just crazy what they are capable of swallowing . Thanks.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Someone here posted a video of a gulper cat that swallowed a broad body fish same size at the cat (nobody think it will fit in that cat mounth until it happened, also from the interweb information gulper cat can swallow much much larger fish than its own size without any problems

 

[kno4te]

Yea those gulpers are so slow and calm.....its like they say come on in. Yea they are able to bend the fish in their bellies so can easy swallow and fit a fish double its size. Sorry for your loss.


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[ultimatejay]

It's not rocket science guys- if any fish' head and body can fit into a gulpers mouth than count on it getting eaten. Doesn't matter if it's twice as long, it has to to be wider than the gulpers mouth. This goes for most wide mouthed catfish as well- red tail, TSN, etc


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[Anderman]

You have a catfish with the name gulper and you are surprised a fish went missing after a month of holidays.That's probably just the start of it, wait until it gets bigger. Better not buy a RTC.

 

[greenerinks]

Yeah just boggles my mind. I don't think the gulpers mouth was the same size of the girth of the wolf. Oh well, lesson learned.. I actually have a few other tanks and everyone else seems to be fine except another 6" gatf that disappeared as well. Probably my 11-12" endli or rtg. They were both still alive and kicking the week before I got back. Grrr

 

[Zeke]

Any predatory fish kept together have to be the same size. No wonder the ATF got eaten.