Postive ID!!! *Update* 3/23/05

[Oddball]

I would like to point out that there IS more than one species of banjo catfish! But im not so sure now that i have seen a side profile. I doubt that it is a bacu cat but i also doubt its banjoishness!

 

[aloaring]

Oh i know i know *sticking my hand up*

Seen them a lot in the shops recently i believe its a very pale hara hara catfish
hara hara

 

[3fsh]

Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!! *pulls out hair* He looks like all of them! Do you think he'll change colors/shade as he gets older? If not, he is probably a Hara hara... though I haven't seen catfish that look like this for sale ANYWHERE. He's kinda creepy looking, but in a cute way. He ate a slightly bigger bloodworm today! I am so obsessed... sheesh... I sit there with an eye-dropper and squeeze the worm out so that it just barely touches his little whiskers and then he slurps it down. Sometimes he doesn't notice it so I have to suck it back up and do it all over again. *sigh* The things I do for my fish. I'll make sure to take pictures every week or so to document his progress. It will be interesting to see how/if he changes as he matures.

 

[SirMinion]

That's no banjo, this is a banjo:

One of ours:

Yours looks like some sort of woodcat Parauchenipterus spp.

here's some at PlanetCatfish.

 

[CFC]

Well its almost certainly a Doradid species, the barbels and mouth seem to be the wrong shape to be from the Auchenipteridae group (wood cats). Its most likely that this is a juvenile fish and will develop stronger paterning/colours as it grows.

 

[Earthgirl]

Darn that thing is tiny!!!

I so think it is a baby banjo

 

[OoHeatheroO]

Here is a pic of my banjo catfish so that you can rule that out.

They are FLAT, your catfish looks like a corydora of some sort.

 

[SirMinion]

The barbels and mouth seem to be the wrong shape to be from the Auchenipteridae group (wood cats).

Hmm, yes I see what you mean. the whiskers are totaly different. Well spotted.

 

[Jezah]

I agree with aloaring, it looks like a hara hara. I had never heard of them before, but now that I see the pics...it looks right. Its just odd that a petsmart would be selling such a rare type catfish. Hmph.

 

[3fsh]

They are FLAT, your catfish looks like a corydora of some sort.

He is definitely not a corydoras... they are pudgy and roundish. He is flat... just not as flat as a banjo catfish.

The woodcats also have much larger mouths... so that can't be it either.

Its just odd that a petsmart would be selling such a rare type catfish. Hmph.

It's weird because the guy that gave him to me (for free!! ) said, (and I quote) "Some guy brought them in." Not sure exactly what that means... but it sounds like someone had an unwanted spawn or something. He couldn't believe that the little guy was still alive. Poor baby must have been living off of scraps of food that the snails were eating.

 

[3fsh]

Well folks, he has been positively ID'd thanks to the amazing guys over at *another forum*! (Probably because they are slightly obsessed with catfish...) He is officially a Hara jerdoni! Which is just wonderful because there is barely any info on them. I do know, though, that I need to switch him over to sand. What type should I get? Would regular playsand work? Thanx for all of your help!

BTW- He is getting darker and his hara jerdoni patterns are becoming more and more distinct. Plus, he's eating more and is more active/responsive than when I first got him. Seems like everything is going well! I promise to post more pictures soon!

*Edit*: I forgot that you're not supposed to "advertise other sites". Oops... )

 

[SirMinion]

Yay! I know the site you mean and they certainly do know their catfish!

So Aloaring was the closest, with the guess of a Harahara. Well done Aloaring!

Let's see some more photos when it colours-up a bit more please!

 

[OohFeeshy]

He's very cute though. Any idea how big they grow?

 

[3fsh]

I believe only a couple of inches... though I'm not sure how many. Probably somwhere in the range of 4in or so.