Anybody else have a saltwater catfish?

[oldschooldino]

Just wondering if anybody else has one of these guys. I have read that they are venomous, but mine is very gentle. I'm very careful when I work in the tank, because he always comes up and mouths my hand and arm. He's a huge pig, though. Have read some very different accounts of ultimate size, also. I do know he's not an adult yet, though, because he still has his stripes.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o64/oldschooldino/catfish.jpg

[euphoricgear]

be careful with these guys, theyre deadly. they have poison and could kill if large enough. i got one before and it died so i took it out with bare hands. later on my hands felt numb. then read my book "the consientious marine something" thats where i found out that theyre real poisonous!

[thor32766]

wow I have never seen one that big!

[SDguy]

I've seen a full grown 1 footer before...HUGE mouth!

[oldschooldino]

euphoricgear: I'll have to find that book. I've so far only read that they can be venemous and that if stung you should run the hottest water you can over the sting. Like I said, he's very gentle and will actually eat from my hand.

thor32766: This is actually an older picture. He's about 8 inches long now and has a head bigger than my thumb.

SDguy: Where did you see one that big? I'd love to see one that size. I am planning on putting a 150 gallon rubbermaid sump in my basement. He's probably going to go there. He eats all my peppermint shrimp, and I need to get rid of some stubborn aptasia. He won't mess with the coral banded shrimp. He attacked my cleaner shrimp as soon as I put it in, but I've since seen him laying in my leather letting the shrimp clean him.

Thanks for all your replies. This is just one of those fish that most people just don't know that much about; including me!

[SDguy]

Someone brought it into the LFS I worked at ages ago.

[oldschooldino]

SDguy: Any idea how much that guy was eating when they brought him in? I'm curious about how well I'm going to be able to sustain this guy at or near adulthood. And what I'm going to do with him if I can't. That's a lot of waste for a captive reef to process.

[SDguy]

I *think* they have the tendancy/ability to overeat. IIRC, the person actually brought two in. One had this massive belly. We couldn't figure out if it was gravid or just fat. They would both eat anything that would fit in their mouth (including other fish). We only fed them every other day or so.

[snorvich]

In the wild, they school (not shoal) in large numbers. As small fish they are cute, as larger ones, they are not attractive. Yes, they are poisonous.

[MIKE ALERS]

COOL FISH