True piraiba aka Brachyplatystoma filamentosum

[suckerfish]

Free 18” food, that’s also an invasive!!!!! I’d be chopping those up all day. I didn’t realize clarias were that bad there. Friend had a piebald that was very cool.
Viktor’s Freeze Dried Catfish
made in America
environmentally friendly
great for all your pet’s needs
pretty damn good table fair too

Send me a box

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Had to move the piraiba, now 3', from one 4500 gal into the other:

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

A year later update.

The two Peru piraibas are now 2' but are still stuck in their 240 gal, waiting for the 4500 gal to get thinned out and most importantly the two Sperata aor and the bowfin (who used to bother their Suriname brother) rehomed form there too. They feed well though and except for an occasional skittish tantrum seem adequate for the time being. They seem to have gotten spots on their heads too or maybe I've not noticed them before. In any case, by the size of 2', the Suriname piraiba seemed to have lost all or most spots.

The Suriname piraiba is still in the "monstrous" 4500 gal, doing seemingly well. It has reached 3'+, can't be sure more exactly. Its nemesis continues to be the Sperata aor but it bugs the piraiba less than in the other 4500 gal.

All three piraibas strongly prefer pellets to thawed fish. This makes it a challenge, especially for the bigger Suriname, to get them to fill up.

Peru pair:

Suriname:

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

2+ months later...

Since Rod (Predatory Fins) thinned out our stock significantly by adopting 12 large catfish, I was able to rehome the Peru piraiba pair into the "non-RTC" 4500 gal tank. No footage as of now of them in there but hopefully will film some later.

The Suriname piraiba in the "RTC" 4500 gal appears to have reached 3.5'. The circumstances have occurred such that all of its tank mates have reduced their feeding and the piraiba was able to get at a lot more thawed out fish, which he gorged down happily.

 

[GiantFishKeeper101]

If your measurement are correct, that means your's have very good genetics. Most I've seen takes forever to reached 3'. Surprisingly it doesn't thrashing all over the tank, must've getting used to all the ruckus of moving fishes.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Yearly update.

The two Peru piraibas have been adequate in the non-RTC 4500 gal. One continues to be skittish and feeds less and grows slower but has less damage on it too. The other, the darker one, really, really surprised me in that 4500 gal. It is not skittish and feeds aggressively and even chases other fish that happened to grab a piece of thawed food and even challenges some other catfish at night it seems because it wears lots of scuff marks and other minor damage. It probably is damaged by the wyckii, Sperata aor, vaillantii, I presume but still the spirit of this fish is vastly different, 180 degree different from our other two piraiba - the lighter colored Peru and the Suriname.

The darker Peru is probably around 28", the lighter is probably 26", the Suriname is 4' or longer.

Nothing much changed in the Suriname behavior or circumstance, still in the RTC 4500 gal, still bothered by the Sperata aor nemesis, still takes a long time to take food. Some other damage to the fins is from the two temperamental Jau catfish.

BTW that 4500 gal has been leaking for half a year now, I need to re-fiberglass one bottom seam. I hope to finish our 16'x18'x5.5', 10,000 gal in some months and transfer everybody there, then empty the 4500 gal and repair and then restock and shuffle.

Two Peruanas underwater 8:15-9:15 minutes:

and here too 0:00 to 5:50 min:

Suriname, underwater, 9:40 to 11:00 minutes:

5:55 to 9:30 min:

 

[dazzapolypterusweeksii]

It seems its had a huge growth spurt as i was gobsmacked to see the latest update on the sheer size of suriname. you have done great with these. I have the exact same behavior from mine as yours with feeding takes a while to feed.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

It seems its had a huge growth spurt as i was gobsmacked to see the latest update on the sheer size of suriname. you have done great with these. I have the exact same behavior from mine as yours with feeding takes a while to feed.

Thank you, Daz. I always thoroughly enjoy and look forward to your updates too.

I can hardly wait to free the Suriname from the tyranny of the Sperata aor.

The growth has been steady over the last 2 years. The piraiba had a good start back in the other 4500 gal a year or so ago where it partook of four or five 20" walking catfish tank mates. An apex predator all of a sudden.

Yes, it is the dead last to come check out any food offering and if there is any tank mate loitering there and gets in the way, the piraiba will shy away from taking the food 9 times out of 10 and do another slow and thoughtful circle around the tank before trying again.

This seems typical of them, which is why I was and still am so blown away by my darker Peruvian, who feeds like a wolf, not a sheep.

 

[dazzapolypterusweeksii]

Im looking after joshs peru piraiba and that is a wolf also it gorges itself to size of a football and taking x2 more food than my suriname. Mines feeding well at the minute so hope it continues he likes his larger portions so a 7" trout is his favorite.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Im looking after joshs peru piraiba and that is a wolf also it gorges itself to size of a football and taking x2 more food than my suriname. Mines feeding well at the minute so hope it continues he likes his larger portions so a 7" trout is his favorite.

Thanks for that. There you go! Why didn't say so before? I love when patterns emerge and we increase our knowledge. Even if tentatively.

So it looks like the Peruvian versus Suriname thing, a behavioral wolf versus sheep.

Is Josh's Peruvian also more assertive with tank mates like my darker Peruvian?