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how do i know if he eats? i would guess by his small eyes he is a night time fish, but during like 10-11 p.m EST he is still hiding in a bush of hornwort. every night i add some color bits, so i am guessing that he eats it, also is it normal for young onces to not be very active.

You have an Electric Catfish ???

hmm, you've taken on quite a challenge there ...

First of all, yes, they are principally nocturnal, and do the majority of their eating in darkness. And you won't see much activity at all during the daytime for quite some time, even once the catfish has become acclimatised to the aquarium properly. In fact, Electric Catfishes are probably suffiicently obligate darkness feeders to render any attempt at daytime feeding utterly futile, certainly in the first few weeks of captivity.

Incidentally, I hope you prepared yourself for the maintenance problems this fish is going to create. Not only is it going to grow large - in the wild they reach 3 feet - but there is the little matter of how to avoid being 'zapped' during routine maintenance. Even juveniles can produce a 110 volt shock (at around 6 inches in length) and big adults have been recorded as producing 350 volts. Make sure ALL electrical aquarium technology items are suitably protected against a sudden 'zapping' by the Catfish, and make sure that YOU are protected against this too when performing water changes and gravel vacs - you're looking at doing your water changes wearing long rubber gloves to make sure, and possibly with an earthing connection to the aquarium for extra safety!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

yea so far not getting shocked to bad, when i do i usually just want to see what it feels like. he seems to be doing fine, just the other day, i saw him come out when the lights were on, and start feeding.

I dunno. I've never heard of an electric cat shock getting a "not too bad" reaction. Have any pics?

If it's a baby, it might not be too bad. Though I do remember the idiot pet**** guy getting his rear end kicked halfway across the store for playing around in the tank.
Perhaps it's sick....

electric cat???

never seen one before


but i have seen a freshwater electric eel muck about a 50g

I recall one indivdual having accidentally reached into his newly purchased electric cat container upon bagging, and was shocked quite excessively.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 02-Oct-2005 11:42

I have heard that after awhile these fish will get used
to your presence and not zap you?
A fellow who works at the pett store actually decided he wanted to keep one after he lost all his discus (hes a fool dont ask why lol), and so he bought an electric cat and keeps it in a 125g tank.
He said after about a year, the catfish has gotten used to him, and he can work in the tank now without rubber gloves, as it wont shock him anymore. Its a very very cool fish. He has it trained to come to the surface and do this big wiggle before he drops its food in.


Last edited by So_Very_Sneaky at 15-Oct-2005 17:51

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