Sun/Eclipse Catfish help

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303mfk

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2011
534
9
18
Colorado
Hey guys, the last week or so i was researching around for catfish and found out about the eclipse catfish. I picked one up at about 1.5 inches, currently in a 29 gallon barebottom growout. I was wondering what to feed it to get him to grow? and if a 5 gallon water change every few days would help speed the growing process untill he is big enough to go in my 75? Will throw some pics up later. Anything is appreciated thank you
 
Hey guys, the last week or so i was researching around for catfish and found out about the eclipse catfish. I picked one up at about 1.5 inches, currently in a 29 gallon barebottom growout. I was wondering what to feed it to get him to grow? and if a 5 gallon water change every few days would help speed the growing process untill he is big enough to go in my 75? Will throw some pics up later. Anything is appreciated thank you

Good diet with clean water will definatly promote healthy fast growth!!!

Varaiety is key: omega one sinking pellets, bloodworm cubes, chopped up raw shrimp, scent free night crawlers and even some flake food, just alternate each food everyday and scoop out what he doesnt eat.

As for the water the key is keeping the nitrates as LOW as possible! If your tank is cycled meaning you have ZERO ppm ammonia/nitrite all you have to do is change water and vac to keep nitrates low! Imo nitrates shouldnt exceed 20ppm, buy a good test kit and check ur levels!

For example if you have 30ppm nitrates then a 50% water change will bring them to 15ppm!

GL



#1 S. Vettel
 
Sun cats grow rather slow IMO, tooks a couple years to get them to 5", from what I remember. Do yourself a favor and get 3-4 more. They are a schooling cat and do much better in schools. Single cats tend to hide alot. Once larger they do real well with large SA/CA cichlids.

My previuos group of 10"ers

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Sun cats grow rather slow IMO, tooks a couple years to get them to 5", from what I remember. Do yourself a favor and get 3-4 more. They are a schooling cat and do much better in schools. Single cats tend to hide alot. Once larger they do real well with large SA/CA cichlids.

My previuos group of 10"ers

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Nice cats!!!! Very healthy

#1 S. Vettel
 
Thanks not sure why the pics loaded up so small. Bigger pics in my "Fish room, Nickel tour" thread.
 
Good diet with clean water will definatly promote healthy fast growth!!!

Varaiety is key: omega one sinking pellets, bloodworm cubes, chopped up raw shrimp, scent free night crawlers and even some flake food, just alternate each food everyday and scoop out what he doesnt eat.

As for the water the key is keeping the nitrates as LOW as possible! If your tank is cycled meaning you have ZERO ppm ammonia/nitrite all you have to do is change water and vac to keep nitrates low! Imo nitrates shouldnt exceed 20ppm, buy a good test kit and check ur levels!

For example if you have 30ppm nitrates then a 50% water change will bring them to 15ppm!

GL



#1 S. Vettel

Sweet, thanks for the info! I do have a few types of pellets, some freeze dried krill and some bloodworms. Ill be picking up some night crawlers and probably frozen shrimp next time im out. As far as the water changes go, I was thinking doing 2-3 times a week, small 5-10 gallon changes. Should that be okay?
 
Sun cats grow rather slow IMO, tooks a couple years to get them to 5", from what I remember. Do yourself a favor and get 3-4 more. They are a schooling cat and do much better in schools. Single cats tend to hide alot. Once larger they do real well with large SA/CA cichlids.

My previuos group of 10"ers

View attachment 768241

View attachment 768240

Thanks for the help! I did read quite a bit of different info, saying they grow fast untill about 8-10 inches then slow down, others say they were slow growers from the beginning. I would have got a couple more but they only had 1 left. I plan to call around and see if i can find a couple more his size. What would be a good tank size, say for 3-4 sun cats, and a male midevilxbloodparrot hybrid?
 
oh and very nice fish Bderick :) cant wait to have some monsters like that! also is that midas in the background?
 
Where you at in Colorado? I got 3 of the 4 I had from the petsmart on 104th Ave in Thornton. Still see them there occassionally. As far as tank size a 4 foot 75g would work but would be a bit cramped, especially if they did get bigger then 10". A 6 foot tank would be perfect as they can be quite active. They will pf any fish that fits in their mouth after light are out. Good luck with it/them, they are a great fish and I regret selling mine.
 
Where you at in Colorado? I got 3 of the 4 I had from the petsmart on 104th Ave in Thornton. Still see them there occassionally. As far as tank size a 4 foot 75g would work but would be a bit cramped, especially if they did get bigger then 10". A 6 foot tank would be perfect as they can be quite active. They will pf any fish that fits in their mouth after light are out. Good luck with it/them, they are a great fish and I regret selling mine.

Im down off wads and 285. I got this one from a petsmart but was the last one. Ill definately try and find a 125-180 to keep these guys long term. I love mine already, cruises the tank and rockwork all day in his dimly lit tank. Im gonna see how big they are by the end of August and go from there. Thanks again for all the help.
 
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