Try to Id this guy

[necrocanis]

Well as for the parenting i feel this cat is 100% hybrid. Just doesnt have the pattern/ features of a driftwood. And again, IMO, he has very distinct shovel nose features...the slim wedge shaped face. I assume its possible to breed rtc x dwc hybrids, but i havent seen or heard of that. As i hope we all know, a hybrid is unable to reproduce do to chromosomal mismatching, which also makes them gain hybrid vigor. with that said i feel a hybrid of all three would be impossible to come by, not sure if that was a question involed in this thread or not.

As for the "dots" being a growth indicator its a really cool process:

Stage 1- tail and fin extension/ stretch
- My cats grow abnormally and obviously larger tails before they grew. This can be backed up by thinking in terms of the fish, they need a larger tail/ fins to move a larger body, and it makes sense to grow them first because it takes massive calories to grow the next two stages.

Stage 2- head, mouth, should growth
- Again, my cats then grow dispropotionat, like they were squished in the middle and tails and heads were larger. In terms of the fish, they can now find faster/ larger prey, and thier mouths can now swallow larger prey. increasing thier calorie consumption on each meal. its important to remember these are WILD animals and dont realize the difference between river and tank

Stage 3- body growth
- Now that they can catch, and swallow larger prey, they need to expand thier stomachs, so thier body grows and thier organs grow. Mine went from eating a few 2-3" long silver sides to being able to take quarter or more of fish filet, about 8 or so silver sides worth.

As for the patternign it shoudl progress liek this

stage 1- dots appear in white behind pectoral fins. dots small, background white, stage one completes when dots directly behind pectoral fins begin to enlarge.
stage 2- dots enlarge along entire length of body. dots should be the same size as those on already present in the dark. dots enlarged, background white. stage 2 ends when white skin under new dots begins to darken
stage 3- skin under new dots begins to tunr black/ ashey in color. this stage takes some time as the entire body is growing/ elongating. at the end of this stage the "cycle" is complete. no dots on white background.

each stage varies in length based on diet, habitate, and even on each fish. One of mine completes his cycle long before the other, even though they live together and eat the same food. i have found if you want to really grow and get them going fast, fresh foods is the way to go. This is fairly simplified but its the easiest way to explain the dots and growth. Let me knwo if yours act the same. i'd be really curious to know.

I agree with this completely. I have done a complete skeletal analysis of this hybrid and find no traits smiliar when compared to my planiceps skeleton. As you state the hybrids should be sterile, but one must also remember that a certain percentage of hybrids will be fertile. In saying that I have also in my possession a copy of the original documentation for when this hybrid was first made. There was experimentation with various pimelodid species to obtain the highest amount of hybrid vigor while pursuing the highest carcass yield. There were several planiceps hybrids produced. None of them were chosen for production though. Testing ended years ago and full production of RTC x TSN was instituted with ongoing studies of the Leiarius x RTC hybrid. Asian breeders have perfected the techniques to produce these hybrids. RTC x TSN had the highest reported hybridization rate. It is of interest to note that A P. corruscans x Planiceps hybrid produced that showed incredible vigor, high rate of hybridization, but low carcass yield. The hybridization rate of RTC x Planiceps was exceptionally low, and non survived to adulthood. Even some lima hybrids were produced, as well as some other smaller pims. I only wish this document included pics of all the hybrids it speaks of. I will have to dig it up sometime.

So what I am trying to say here is what others have already said. This is 100% RTC x TSN. grow him out very large! Can grow to over 3' in less than 4 years in ideal conditions!!!

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Hey Cliff, I am amazed at the depths of your hybrid knowledge and a collection of skeletons. Are you (almost) an ichthyologist? Would be excellent if you found, scanned, and posted that doc you are speaking of.

 

[necrocanis]

Hey Cliff, I am amazed at the depths of your hybrid knowledge and a collection of skeletons. Are you (almost) an ichthyologist? Would be excellent if you found, scanned, and posted that doc you are speaking of.

Just over enthusiastic. Was trying to go to school but life got in the way. So will stay amature. I really admire the dedication of Dr. John Lundberg to catfish over so many years. He is very humble and has taught me so much and showed me that there is still much more that we don't know. The document is hopefully in my email somewhere. lol, without the right contacts I wouldn't have the info that I have. I'm not sure I am allowed to share it either. I'll dig it up and ask for permission. If I remember correctly it is for license sale on google scholar. I can't remember the title and it's in another language anyway. lol