7 replies to this topic

[Michael Wolfe]

I have enjoyed and kept a few Margined Madtoms in community tanks. And I have defended madtoms in general and their safety in keeping with darters and smaller fish. And it is very true about the Ozark Madtom that I still have from the 2005 Convention (yes, a 7 year old madtom). But I have started loosing some smaller fish occasioanlly. At first I didn't notice much... but recently I added a group of small shiners (10 or 12)... and the next morning there was only 3 left... no bodies, no floaters, just missing.

I probably just should have read Fritz's book a little closer, but at this point I have to come to the conclusion that the two Margined Madtoms in the tank have gotten to their full size and now are eating 2-3 inch fish.

Just posting this as a retraction of my previous comments, and a warning to others about the potentially piscovorous tendancies of larger Margined Madtoms.

[littlen]

I will agree with you, Michael, 100%. I had 2 juvenile Margined madtoms in a tank with 7 or 8 Redlines (most of which were probably females) and once the cats got full sized I had fewer and fewer darters. To the point that only the last 2 or 3 largest females were left. Being a darter fanatic, I removed the cats and scolded them (gave them their own tank...not really a punishment, I guess). It was great having cats, shiners, and darters living peacefully together, but no longer.

[Michael Wolfe]

So today I went madtom hunting with the head of my perfect dipnet in my 75 gallon display tank. One of the kitty criminals was easily caught as he had been living in a dnse clump of plants near the front glass. The other one required me to remove a very large piece of drift wood, but eventually I was able to net kitty number two. These both had been very small (in the one inch range) when put in the main tank... This is what I found...

...Insane Kitty number one
Crazy Cat number two...

I put the large 1" and small 1/2" marks on the photo tank this morning with a tape measure and an orange sharpie... I guess we can all safely saw that Margined Madtoms can grow to at least 5 1/2 inches total length in a year or so of tank life... maybe especially when they are eating small shiners...

[Michael Wolfe]

I didnt get a good picture, but at this size, the mouth on these guys was plenty large, and it is no surprose that they could eat darters, shiners, whatever. Between this large size and their habit of coming out nad cruising the tank almost everytime I feed the tank, I am going to start recommending them as the catfish people always seem to want when they say "I wish bullheads stayed smaller" or whenever they want a companion for sunfish. I put these two in a tank with a spotted madtom and a warmouth (after adding some plant cover and some additional caves and such so that everyne can find a home).

[Michael Wolfe]

As of today, these bad kitties are both right at 6 1/2 inches...


and this is the last thing your darters or small shiners will see if they live with these eating machines...