FishProfiles.com Message Forums

hey gentle fish-folk...

i have four young royal whiptails, and they are doin great, but i would like some extra information, anecdotal or otherwise, from people experienced with this beautiful fish. any info most appreciated. (they are in a 6 foot heavily planted south american community tank with hatchets, diamond, rummy-nose and cardinal tetras, dwarf cockatoos and sterbai).

cheers

I've never heard the common name royal whiptail before. My post probably doesn't help much, as there are over 8 different genera of "whiptail" cats. As a general rule, however, they prefer a sandy substrate in which they can dig themselves in. They also don't do very well in planted tanks as they grow older, because they need large, open areas of the tank where they can swim. The fact that most grow past 12 inches in length doesn't help.

jase101

I have done GOOGLE and came up with a big fat zero nothing at all. I suggest you contact the Aqu where you purchased them and ask for their scientific name. Then start a GOOGLE search.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

wow, yr kidding? what do you guys call them?? they are sturisoma panamense,also called the royal farlowella. done the googling, was just looking for some "real" info from hobbyists.

anyhoo, thanks!

justin

I was just about to say the Royal Twig Catfish. A large catfish, around 8+ inches, with very large flowing fins. They are peaceful, scavenge leftovers and eat algae, prefer flowing water, and can damage some weaker plants because the body is hard like armor and stiff, and very strong when it swims.
A great fish. Keep em at a warm temperature (78 or so), and feed them a varied diet of greens and meaty foods, alternating between sinking wafers for carnivores and algae wafers would work well.
Fresh veggies are also appreciated.
Great fish
I think it will do well in your tank.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Ah, I was confused, as I never heard these guys called whiptails, but rather, twig cats. Too much crude protein makes these guys sick. So meaty foods are generally discouraged. Also, these guys can easily reach inches of 9-10", or up to 26 cm. In the temperate forests of Panama and northern South America, the temperature routinely drops to 20-22, and most aquariusts therefore keep them at similar temps. In my limited experience with these fish, they are pretty intolerant of water params (mine keeled over within half a year after I did a water change to the tank---shame, too, as he was pretty, and expensive), and are shy nearly to a fault.