Golden Spotted Catfish – 7cm

The Golden Spotted Catfish is a large and adaptable catfish that grows up to 30 cm, they are predators that will eat anything that fits in its mouth but other wise peaceful with other large fish.  Recommended for intermediate to advanced aquarists due to its large size. Min adult tank size 650 litres.

Golden Spotted Catfish (Horabagrus brachysoma) is also known as Sun catfish, Gold Spotted Thai cat, Gunther’s catfish.  They are found in swamps, boggy pools, lakes and the backwaters of rivers in Kerala, Canara and Malabar, southern India.

Behaviour

Although some have mistakenly classified this as a community fish, it really isn’t to be trusted alongside small fishes. Small Sun Cats aren’t much of a problem alongside equal sized fishes, but they are capable of eating anything that will fit in its mouth. They are relatively shy during the daytime, so provide plenty of shelter in the tank to allow it to hide. It can also usually be kept in groups without too many problems, indeed it may be a shoaling fish when young. However, the larger ones will become less willing to share their tank with others, the bigger they grow. Unfortunately, the colours don’t stay quite as bright as the fish get bigger.

Unlike other aquarium fish, the sun catfish will be active during the evenings and nights and remain largely hidden during the day.

The sun catfish is naturally gregarious. It thus is best to keep it in a tank with at least five specimens for its wellbeing. The tank mates you choose should be the same size as the catfish and introduced at the same time.

Tank Conditions

Sun Cats are found in swamps and boggy pools and prefers thick plantations in areas with slow-flowing waters. These are often low-land sections of the water bodies with muddy and sandy bottoms.

For three or four juveniles or subadults, you’ll need a tank of at least a 250 litre tank – ideally a bit bigger, an adult will require a tank at least 650 litres.

As a nocturnal species, your tank should have dim lights and plenty of hiding places for the sun catfish to remain comfortable. This can be in the form of beech branch tangles, thick plastic pipes, large rocks and big bogwood chunks.

The sun catfish produces considerable nitrogenous waste amounts owing to its large size. To keep your water clean, you should have an external filter. When including decoration in your fish tank, ensure that it is either too heavy for the catfish to move or is secured to the tank’s bottom.

Compatibility

Keeping the sun catfish in an aquarium is easy. This fish is not recommended for a community tank because it is a predator fish that will prey on smaller tankmates.  They mix well with other large peaceful fishes, such as big barbs and cichlids. But remember they are capable of eating anything that will fit in its mouth.

The ideal choices, in this case, include large characins, arowanas, cyprinids, and other catfish species. Fish from the Cichla, Polypterus and Datnioides species will also make suitable tank mates for the sun catfish.

Feeding

A predator which prefers to eat fish, but also takes most chunky frozen foods, and often pellets for bottom feeders.  In the wild, they prey on fish, mussels and insects. Some of the adult fish even eat frogs and ground insects. This flexible diet is quite convenient for the fish because the food availability in their natural environments is dependent on the monsoon rains. The catfish is gluttonous when spawning and during the months after the monsoon rains but can survive on little food outside these periods.

Being a predator fish, this catfish will prefer feeding on live fish. Even so, this is not a must for your fish since it can eat other foods. You can substitute the live fish with a meaty frozen diet. You should also include dried pellets, earthworms, frozen prawns and mussels in the sun catfish’s diet. This is in addition to plant matter, invertebrates and smaller fish.

Care

This is a tough and adaptable catfish and does well in hard, alkaline water too.  Change approximately 25% of the water in your aquarium every 2-4 weeks to keep it fresh and healthy for your fish.

You should also be vigilant to watch for the signs that might indicate that there is something wrong with your sun catfish. The most common signs are inflammation of the fins and skin, bulging eyes, open sores, inactivity and cloudy eyes.  Loss of color is a common sign of bacterial infection in the catfish species. Even so, the sun catfish often loses its vibrant colors as it ages, and this might be normal in your fish.

See Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment at Rebel Pets for help with diagnosing and treating diseases.