Prehistoric Catfish?

[jmann]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I am not new to keeping fish, I have been keeping them for many years. I have been reading threads here for awhile and have seen tons of great information.

I was hoping someone could help me. About ten years ago I had two prehistoric cats. I haven't seen any since then and have been wanting one. I'm not sure if they are illegal to sell now or they are just not common. I asked at some local area pet shops and they never heard of them. They are long and black with a dorsal seciton similar to a clown or ghost knife.

[Slappy*McFish]

Could this be it? http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/2001-10.htm "Heteropneustes fossilis"

[ChilDawg]

I have heard that the ripsaw catfish, Pseudodoras niger, is oft-called prehistoric. If you are talking about H. fossilis, nobody will import them (since most of the big importers are in the South and Asian Stinging Catfish are illegal there). Trust me, I've tried. PetraAqua, a Czech outfit will sell them to you if you can prove that you're a wholesaler and will buy a whole bunkload. If you mean the Ripsaw, he'll get to be about 40" (recent issue of AFM). Either way, good luck...and, if you happen to import about 100 Stinging Cats, give me a call...I'll take one. :)

[jmann]

Heteropneustes fossilis looks alot like it, but the ones I had were jet black. They were only available one time if thats what they were. They grew real fast and were as mean as anything I had ever seen before. Thanks for the info.