True piraiba aka Brachyplatystoma filamentosum
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Video update on all three piraibas.
The Suriname fish from Wes reached at least 2.5', might be a bit over. Still in the "less aggressive" 4500 gal. I've not guts to try it again in the "aggressive" 4500 gal, where it had been almost killed once. It seems alright though with the tank mates, albeit it could swallow about half of them, which too makes me uneasy.
The Peru pair from Mark Chen of Discus Origins is still in the same 240 gal. The dominant one is clearly more relaxed, feeds more, grows more and is at 17"-18" currently. The submissive and lighter-colored one is still at 15"-16". But overall, they are getting notably more skittish, I think due to their long barbels which now touch front and back glass at the same time easily.
The Suriname fish from Wes reached at least 2.5', might be a bit over. Still in the "less aggressive" 4500 gal. I've not guts to try it again in the "aggressive" 4500 gal, where it had been almost killed once. It seems alright though with the tank mates, albeit it could swallow about half of them, which too makes me uneasy.
The Peru pair from Mark Chen of Discus Origins is still in the same 240 gal. The dominant one is clearly more relaxed, feeds more, grows more and is at 17"-18" currently. The submissive and lighter-colored one is still at 15"-16". But overall, they are getting notably more skittish, I think due to their long barbels which now touch front and back glass at the same time easily.
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Don't house larger piraiba with a smaller tig in 4500 gal.
They have been together for about a year. Piraiba has grown from ~20" to ~30", tig from ~15" to 18". Every now and then I saw damage on the tig - a bitten pec fin or tail, sometimes a slight abrasion in a form of a bite mark, nothing too worrisome but not something to be taken lightly. The tig would take breaks from feeding well and change its sitting spots. I didn't know who was the culprit - too many candidates. I suppose at least one of them I know now but it's too late for our biggest tig.
While I didn't catch the piraiba do it (or any of the prior damage), it is clear the piraiba is the only one in the tank who could do it.
Got this guy at 4" in Aug 2015 - 2.5 years ago from George Fear and Shark Aquarium right before George retired.
Final measure is 18". ~3 years old.
They have been together for about a year. Piraiba has grown from ~20" to ~30", tig from ~15" to 18". Every now and then I saw damage on the tig - a bitten pec fin or tail, sometimes a slight abrasion in a form of a bite mark, nothing too worrisome but not something to be taken lightly. The tig would take breaks from feeding well and change its sitting spots. I didn't know who was the culprit - too many candidates. I suppose at least one of them I know now but it's too late for our biggest tig.
While I didn't catch the piraiba do it (or any of the prior damage), it is clear the piraiba is the only one in the tank who could do it.
Got this guy at 4" in Aug 2015 - 2.5 years ago from George Fear and Shark Aquarium right before George retired.
Final measure is 18". ~3 years old.
Do you think this is some sort of territorial display or predator-prey situation? Actually it is weird for me to see piraiba being the aggressive one.
It does not look like predation by any means to me. At 30", the piraiba can swallow about 1/5th of all the fish in that 4500 gal. It hasn't gone after a single one yet.
Yes, I am surprised too. But now there is a trend emerging. So far my model of their behavior is: they are peaceful with tank mates, even of smaller size (if the piraibas are well fed), but can be aggressive to their kin and other Brachyplatystoma.
I have three cases so far:
-- the one above
-- one of my 12" Peru piraibas killing a 7" dourada catfish (in this case I caught the piraiba with the dourada sticking out of its mouth, head in the stomach already being digested, just like the tail end of this poor tig above is half digested)
-- one Peru piraiba dominating the other, mostly tolerable but at times it can get rough.
So in a sense, piraiba is an unpredictable fish. It's behavior and aggression can change from time to time. But to say that he only attacks his kin, that's scared me. Sinister fish.
Update.
A few days ago: Suriname piraiba has eaten two walking catfish https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/walking-catfish-at-fish-story.704473/#post-7943427 (of the initial 11; can't be sure if live or already dead) and yesterday it got a third one, which to my sheer amazement somehow evaded being swallowed despite spending several hours in piraiba's mouth about half way in, head first. This morning that catfish is out and about, slightly banged up but to my second amazement not that bad at all and the piraiba's tummy is empty.
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Today: Kuma kuma (our Suriname piraiba), or simply Kuma as we call it, has eaten one more walking catfish yesterday (second one Kuma got in and swallowed tail first it seems - I am surprised). That's three cats eaten and one spit out of the original 11.
Tomorrow, I plan to try transferring Kuma to the other 4500 gal, in which it almost got eaten once about 1.5 years ago but miraculously survived, having had a lot of skin from its rear 1/4-1/3rd removed . It has put on another foot since then.
This makes me quite uneasy but Kuma's become a danger to many other tank mates, seemingly because the alpha Sperata aor and bowfin bother it too much, to the extent that it cannot feed on what I offer easily, hence, the taking down of the walking catfish tank mates.
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The two smaller piraibas from Peru (Discus Origins) are still in 240 gal and have not grown much, perhaps around 16"-18" now. They are not comfortable in their tank nor with their tank mates, hence poor appetite. It is high on my priority list to get them into 4500 gal next or to set up a new tank sooner than later.
A few days ago: Suriname piraiba has eaten two walking catfish https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/walking-catfish-at-fish-story.704473/#post-7943427 (of the initial 11; can't be sure if live or already dead) and yesterday it got a third one, which to my sheer amazement somehow evaded being swallowed despite spending several hours in piraiba's mouth about half way in, head first. This morning that catfish is out and about, slightly banged up but to my second amazement not that bad at all and the piraiba's tummy is empty.
********
Today: Kuma kuma (our Suriname piraiba), or simply Kuma as we call it, has eaten one more walking catfish yesterday (second one Kuma got in and swallowed tail first it seems - I am surprised). That's three cats eaten and one spit out of the original 11.
Tomorrow, I plan to try transferring Kuma to the other 4500 gal, in which it almost got eaten once about 1.5 years ago but miraculously survived, having had a lot of skin from its rear 1/4-1/3rd removed . It has put on another foot since then.
This makes me quite uneasy but Kuma's become a danger to many other tank mates, seemingly because the alpha Sperata aor and bowfin bother it too much, to the extent that it cannot feed on what I offer easily, hence, the taking down of the walking catfish tank mates.
*******
The two smaller piraibas from Peru (Discus Origins) are still in 240 gal and have not grown much, perhaps around 16"-18" now. They are not comfortable in their tank nor with their tank mates, hence poor appetite. It is high on my priority list to get them into 4500 gal next or to set up a new tank sooner than later.
