Wels (Silurus Glanis) Growout and Update thread

[Chub_by]

Saw them both eat for the first time yesterday. I was pretty sure at least one was eating since the food disappeared over night but yesterday I sat by the pond during the last few minutes of light and saw them both gobble up some chunks of pangasius fillet.

I also saw some very strange behaviour, though; they were both circling each other and swimming up and down, slightly mouthing at each other. Not rough enough for a fight, I reckon. If I didn't know any better I would have 100% said it's mating behaviour but obviously they are too small and too young by several years for any of that shenanigans.

 

[Chub_by]

Thought I'd have to go to a wholesaler to find small whole fish but I was at the supermarket looking for some shrimp to feed them and found this. A kilo of anchovies - will make up the bulk of their diet and should last them a while

 

[Chub_by]

Albino hanging out under a lilypad. I suspect I might have to add some more hiding places since they are probably fighting about the best one in there which will have driven the albino out.

 

[AaronKWolfe]

I'm sure you've thought this out but I just wanted to make sure, no predatory birds or animals you might have to worry about while they are still small. Not sure about where you are, but we've got herons and other birds that would love to eat a fish in a pond, as well as raccoons and other rodents who might take some swings at them.

 

[Chub_by]

Gradually getting them to eat earlier in the day. At the beginning they only ate overnight, then right at dusk, now they're eating at just before dusk.. we are getting there. Feeding video coming soon, hopefully!

I'm sure you've thought this out but I just wanted to make sure, no predatory birds or animals you might have to worry about while they are still small. Not sure about where you are, but we've got herons and other birds that would love to eat a fish in a pond, as well as raccoons and other rodents who might take some swings at them.

Yeah, they're too big for cats and my garden is heron proof so I should be good


I have been debating giving them some pondmates since my family are complaining about lack of activity... Lol
So far I've debated

Pike;
Pros:
-Native predator which would look and probably feel great in my pond which is full of pond lilies
-Absolutely awesome fish in pretty much every regard
Cons:
-Very Hard to get on live foods, not completely sedentary in winter like Wels so would have to keep feeding
-Very opportunistic and will lunge at anything. So not only might the Wels attack the pike, but vice versa too.

LMB;
Pros:
-High activity
-Can be kept in pairs or small groups
-Probably wouldn't eat in our cold winters
-I believe they take dead food quickly
Cons:
--here they are slow growing and have smaller max sizes so could end up as food for the Wels

Zander; Awesome fish but apparently do not do well at all in clear water, so I binned that thought

Alligator gar:
Pros: -Awesome fish, look great and should be pretty visible
Cons: -Hard to get on live
-Apparently handle cold winters only at larger sizes; would need to be a larger size anyway to not get gobbled by the Wels due to their slim shape; hardly available here in larger sizes and if so very costly

Any input or other suggestions?

 

[Chub_by]

?

 

[..puSkar..]

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View attachment 1473094

Alligator ?????? ?

 

[Chub_by]

Alligator ?????? ?

Nope ?

 

[xenacanth9]

Update?

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

Same here, would also like to see an update