Walking Catfish

Question
I have recently purchased a Clarius Walking Catfish(about one inch lonc), right now i have him in a 15 gal. tank with a couple guppys, a pleco, 2 algae eaters, and a neon tetra. He doesnt appear to get going after the fish, but iv heard that they can grow extremely fast and with eat the other fish in the tank when they get big enough. I was wondering how long i should wait until separating them, and how big of a tank he will need.  

Answer
Hi Fae;

He will need a 100 gallon tank or so when he becomes a fully grown adult at 18 inches long or larger. They are voracious predators, so you may not be able to keep anything else in with him. I would get him into his own tank very soon. They eat mostly at night when the other fish can't see them. You will wake up one day to find fish (or parts of them) missing. Yikes!

Some sites you may be interested in;

http://www.scotcat.com/clarias_batrachus.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gclarias.html
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/WalkingCatfish/WalkingCatfish.htm...
http://www.seremban.net/fishcorner/fc220199.htm

You can join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://forums.about.com/ab-freshaquaria/start

There is a wealth of information there on may types of fish, plants and other aquarium pets. My member name is ChrisR62.

See you there!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins