PlanetCatfish.com

I was at a "Chain Pet Store" and saw this little guy. He is about 3" long, silver with stripes going the length of his body. He was in a tiny tank with no info on him and has a bump on his nose from hitting the glass due to the small tank and the large rock substrate. I asked for a price on him and they told me $2.99. So i brought him home and he is now enjoying a 55gal tank with a few albino cory's. I was able to get one decent pic of him. But i really have no idea what he is and wat his potential size is. I just didnt like seeing him in that tiny tank with the bump on his nose. He seems to really enjoy the current in my tank and has an irredescent color to him.

ok, it looks similar to this guy, Pangasius sanitwongsei which looks to get huge!

is this what i bought? or is there something else out there similar?

Most likely a , and they ALL grow larger than what nearly all members of this forum can cope with - I know of ONE forum member that would probably be able to cope... ;)

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Mats

Wow, well, hopefully I can find him a good home when the time comes. I cant believe they are selling fish like this with such growing potential at chain pets stores like that with no info on them. Oh well, at least he has more room right now at his size. Any idea on the growth rate of these guys?

As far as I know, they grow fairly quickly. The are bred in SE Asia to make food, and are often available in Europe as frozen fillets (as well as live fish in the aquatic shops). It is a pitty really that they are for sale as live fish, as there are very few who can care for them. They are also active swimmers, which means that they really need a BIGGER tank than their size indicates.

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Mats

In fishkeeping terms, these are some of the fastest growers going!

yeah, i've noticed he is very active. Hasnt stopped for long yet. And he is not skittish at all. Well, I do kow of a couple of fish stores, one for sure that can house him at full size and will surely take him off my hands. Not sure on the size of their tank, but it covers 15 feet of a wall in their store and goes from floor to ceiling. It looks fairly deep too.

Oh, 1 bit of disturbing info i got on him. I called up at the pet store i got him from asking for more info on him. And the manager at the store told me he is a Pangasius and will max at 12". I told him the info i got about it growing very large, and he argued that the ones they sell wont grow that big

There's only one way to prove that wrong! In fact, I suspect most specimens die before that size, simply because their owners are unable to properly care for them.

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Mats

In Aquaculture Pangasius are taken out after about 6 months. If I remember correctly the have about 2 ft by them (and are still growing).

I have seen pictures of severely stunted Pangasius that had been kept in 15gal tanks for years. They had about 6" and looked soooo cute due to their huge eyes. I'd suggest bringing the fish back to the shop. This is not a fish for any kind of tank. Unless you have one of about 30x30 ft.

sunfish wrote:This is not a fish for any kind of tank. Unless you have one of about 30x30 ft.

That is why I said: "I know of ONE forum member that would probably be able to cope... ;)" - Arapimaig has a 24 x 36 foot tank [or something like that], which I think is big enough.

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Mats

MatsP wrote:Arapimaig has a 24 x 36 foot tank [or something like that], which I think is big enough.

Woah! That sounds really cool. You're right, that would be big enough to keep Pangasius. But why should one do that, there are much much nicer fish out there. Pangasius are tasty, but imho not particularly nice to look at.

sunfish wrote:Woah! That sounds really cool. You're right, that would be big enough to keep Pangasius. But why should one do that, there are much much nicer fish out there. Pangasius are tasty, but imho not particularly nice to look at.

Yes, of course, if I had a tank that size, it wouldn't be Pangasius that I would be keeping - I'm not sure what I would be keeping, mind...

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Mats

Am sure arapaimag won't mind me posting these - they are from his forum sig.
15000 gallon:

52000 gallon:

Hi all,

For what it's worth, I happened to see a tank of pangasius catfish at a local chain pet store here in Idaho, USA. The tank was marked pangasius sutchii and that they only grew to 12 inches. Sounds like it's probably the same fish.

Regards
Amberdawn