This is my second post in just a few minutes, but I had to ask. Has anyone ever heard of a barking catfish. No Joke. I have some how inherited the care of my daughter tank. She is in college and brought the tank home last summer. Well after having the tank for a good 2-3 month, I see this cat fish that I have never seen before. Thinking she purchased another fish I ask her about it. She said it was called a barking catfish, and it has been in the tank the whole time. Every couple of months I tried to hunt him down to make sure he is still alive. Sometimes it will come out when I feed the other fish but not very often. It looks like a regular catfish that's in a pond, but it is black with white spots, and about 4 in long, maybe 5 in. I don't have a camera at the moment even if I could get it out. It seems to swim into the tightest places that I think he is dead, but then there he is. Right now he has made his home in the steeple of the old fashion school house. What do you think?
Barking catfish ???
- Thread starter lg102554
- Start date
Look up "talking catfish". Might be one of those. Most cats can make noise, but very small noise. My plecos surface and grunt and bark when they are feeling sick, or there's a chemical in the water they don't like.
I've never heard a catfish from a tank "bark" but I do know that wild cats in ponds and rivers do "bark". If you take them out of the water you will usually hear what people call a "bark", it doesn't sound like a dog barking, but sounds more like grunting. I would assume that since there is not a whole lot of difference in some cats who live in the wild and those that live in tanks, I would say that they would also produce a barking noise. I always hear it from large channel cats that I catch from farm ponds.
Sounds like a "Talking Catfish" which is also called a Raphael catfish. Yours seems to be a spotted Raphael.
Is this your guy? http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=313
Is this your guy? http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=313
they are quite personable and roam the tank. I've had them and they so squeak/grunt to the point they vibrate the container I used to transport them in (no nets)
I have a striped Raphael but he just hides all day, and I never get to see him. How do I get him to roam the tank?
Spotted talking catfish - Agamyxis pectinifrons - are REALLY cool - one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to acquire the 2 that were in the Mbuna tank at Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco before they tore it down. They are now in my 90 gallon mbuna show tank. They are huge, fat old lunkers, pushing about 7 inches, that come out to cruise when ever I feed. Enjoy yours!