what kind of catfish.....

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

what kind of catfish is all black with white on the belly and white speckles? i got 2 the other day b/c they fasinated me. The lfs had got them by accident, only 2, i got one, then a week later got the second one sence he was still there. Anyone know what kind they are or how big they can get?

[gatotsu77]

Would it be possible for you to post a picture for us? Or perhaps find a picture of something with a similar shape?

[YoFishboy]

A picture is worth a thousand words! Or at least it will help us identify your recent acquisition.... ;)

[plah831]

just from the description, it sounds like a Synodontis catfish. There are many species of Synodontis, but I think that one may get to nearly a foot long. Just a total guess, though, at this point.

edit: my guess is Polka dot catfish (Synodontis angelicus) that gets around 10 inches max.

won't know for sure without a picture of yours, tho.

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/lilstrwburyangl/catfish.jpg

my other one is a little bigger and darker more then spotted like that one. it kinda reminded me of a bull head catfish just the look not the coloring they have though, but i dont know

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

also, the bigger one seems to be picking on the smaller one, in the store they were fine but once i brought home the smaller one I noticed he'll chase him around, and now 2 of his fins look a little torn... what should I do?

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

anyone know??

[plah831]

those bullhead type catfishes (Ictalurids) can be really hard to tell apart. It does look like a little bullhead. If it is, those will get large and predatory!

However, I'm not even sure if it truly is an Ictalurid, as there are many families of catfish.

Hope someone else can help you :)

[fishcatch22]

yeah, I think it's a bullhead. they're native to north america, and the smallest one I ever saw was a foot long. in other words, unless you have a 100-200 gallon tank for them, back to the LFS they go!

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

thanks, I was thinking a bullhead, but wasnt sure if they had that color or not.

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

also, they are in a 55 gallon, and we have a 280-300 gallon koi pond with like 3 goldfish, and 3 placos. would they be able to go in there once to big? or will the weather change hurt them? and everything else?

http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/catfish/bullhead/spotted/ so is that about right?

[plah831]

I'm still not totally sure if it's exactly a bullhead, but if it is it'll be just fine outdoors (they live wild in natural streams and other waterways that get plenty cold). Of course, it probably will eat any smaller goldfish.

It's legal to put your own aquarium fish into a pond (if not your own, then by permission of the pond owner), you just can't release them into a natural waterway. The concern is that the aquarium is a meeting ground for all kinds of funky diseases and parasites, due to the putting together of exotic/non-native fish species. If you release a fish that's been in an aquarium into your local water, those strange bugs could wreak havoc on an unprepared native system.

So I'd think putting them in your pond should be great, as long as there's no way it could escape into a nearby stream or anything. Of course, someone may come along and say No! That's a tropical catfish. So maybe keep checking back to see if anyone can give you a positive ID.

good luck!

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

ok thanks!