.. You go out and buy an infrared night vision scope just to see some of your fish! For whatever reason I seem to find the most reclusive cat species the most interesting and observing their behavior and interactions with tank mates is part of my interest in these fishes. I tend to set up my tanks with environments that catfish in general prefer, no lights, gravel substrate and plenty of driftwood hiding places to be comfortable during the day. I have had and currently have fish I don't see for weeks if not months at a time as some will only leave their hiding spots in total darkness whether to feed or just roam around. This being the case I can't normally check their general health or with young fish observe their growth over time, in other words if they ain't floatin', they must be o.k. Some of my parauchenoglanis (dwarf giraffe cats) and one batrochoglanis ("jelly cat") and several species of botia loaches fit in this category, Anyway, if you have a night vision scope you can feed the fish, turn out the lights and observe the secret life of these strictly nocturnal specimens, seeing fish not observed for a long time and sometimes seeing ones you forgot you had!
You know when you're a true catfish freak when...
- Thread starter Yellowcat
- Start date
That's quite cool! I play the low light game with my Centromochlus, but to be honest they'll buzz around whenever there's food. It's a great solution there!
Like the Mister Rogers reference, thanks neighbor! An update, the new IR scope proved to be of value, I discovered amazing growth among my fish in one tank, so far. I've had a pair of parauchenoglanis monkei for over 2 years, arriving at around 2" and haven't seen them much at all since only a fleeting glimpse. I found out last night that one has grown to about 3" but the other one is now over 5", almost full adult size! With the size disparity I likely have a male and a female, ideal of course! Also got to see the synodontis batensoda I got a few weeks ago that I haven't seen and had originally hoped to be less reclusive. Night vision scopes won't show any color, only black and white in this case or green and white depending on the make. I had one of these in the past but it broke. I got the scope for other purposes too as they are useful when I'm out at the river at night camping or fishing for flathead catfish, whether on the bank or in my boat as you can see what's making noises on the water's edge or in the tule's and bushes nearby.
This picture is of one of the p. monkei when they arrived. As of last night the markings have changed drastically, no pigmented blotches, just a smooth background with the typical dwarf giraffe markings with 5 rows of vertical connected dots...
I guess now I need an infrared camera, eh?
This picture is of one of the p. monkei when they arrived. As of last night the markings have changed drastically, no pigmented blotches, just a smooth background with the typical dwarf giraffe markings with 5 rows of vertical connected dots...
I guess now I need an infrared camera, eh?
