whale fish

[jennymit21]

anyone have advice on blue whale fish???

 

[Endgame319]

there is no blue whale "fish", the blue whale is a mammal, and I have no advice on them as I have never kept them.

 

[Fruitbat]

Actually there is a 'blue whale fish'. This is the problem with common names versus scientific names. The 'Blue Whale' (the mammal) is Balaenoptera musculus and, at 100 feet in length for an adult, is obviously NOT for your typical home aquarium. The 'Blue Whale Fish' is a common name that I've heard used to refer to a freshwater fish that I have absolutely no familiarity with.

 

[jennymit21]

sorry i'll clarify what kind of fish a little better he is more commonly known as just the whale fish (cetopsis coecutiens) ..........nobody seems to be too familiar with him :?

 

[Fruitbat]

From http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/candiru.html

DISCUSSION
Ceptopsis is commonly called a Peruvian Blue Whale by English-speaking people.
There are apparently a few color morphs of this species; blue, green, tiger stripped, and one called Sleep Cetopsis.
The whale catfishes are restricted to mainly the northeastern area of South America (ie; Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). They are typically found at depths ranging from 2-40m and can be found in the river channels of the Brazilian Amazon such as the rivers Amazonas and Solimoes. Although some cetopsids in the cetopsidae family have only been found at maximum lengths of 30 mm, C. coecutiens are known to grow up to 35 cm in length. Their larger size and streamline bodies (comparable to other Cetopsidae) allow whale catfishes to swim with great effectiveness in faster currents.
This species is thought to be harmless (See Dr. Warren E. Burgess, Catfishes of the World) however, I would not trust it too far. They attack fishes and carrion in fast moving surface waters. However, in the digestive tracts of related species of Cetopsidae such as B. oliveirai, remains of spiders, heads of ants, mosquito-like dipteran, diptera and orthopteran have been found. This suggests that Cetopsidae may have some form of terrestrial diet in addition to other fish. C. coecutiens have one row of thin, blunt, conical teeth with which they eat their prey.

Maximum Size: Known to grow up to 35cm in length.

Distribution: Restricted to mainly the northeastern area of South America (ie; Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

 

[Wes910]

ha read on that site...i wouldnt keep that fish...its deadly....lol

 

[Pufferpunk]

I had one in my 90g once. I returned after it got to 6" & took over 3/4 of the tank. All the other fish were "cowering" in the other 1/4!

 

[jennymit21]

what did you feed him pufferpunk? it seems to me like he might have an eyesight problem....when feeding he swims around and gets excited but it doesn't seem like he actually gets any of the food (all the other fish are much smaller than him though). don't want him to starve to death.

 

[Pufferpunk]

My staple food of choice is (well rinsed) blackworms. They're in the elephantnose family.

 

[Atlarge]

No thanks.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Huh???

 

[Fruitbat]

To clarify a couple of things:

1) Wes910...the first part of the web page I posted actually referred to another member of the family commonly called the 'candiru'. This is NOT the same fish as the Blue Whale Fish.

2) Cetopsis is not a member of the same Family as the 'elephant nose'. Cetopsis is a South American true catfish of the Family Cetopsidae in the Order Siluriformes. The 'elephant nose' is a strictly African fish of the Family Mormyridae in the Order Osteoglossiformes (same Order as the Arowana and Pirarucu). Though similar in appearance....they aren't closely related.