# Electric Mayhem: Sparky's Log



## Sakura8

So I thought since he's kind of a novelty, I'd start a journal for Sparky ZapZap Thor Zeus Etc., my electric catfish. For those of you who don't know his short history, Sparky was at one of my LFS for months, kept in a tiny compartment that he could barely turn around in. In the 4-5 months that I've been frequenting that store, I have only seen him turn around once! Every time I went in, I'd see him and feel sorry for him so when my 55gal became free, I decided to get him. I'm still not quite sure what to expect so this will be an adventure.

Sparky settled in nicely when I brought him home. He was initially afraid of the white piece of pipe I put in for him as a tunnel but he has since gotten over that and sometimes all I can see of him are his barbels sticking out of the pipe.

Yesterday, he had his first water change. He handled it very well, just chilled out while I siphoned the water out. But when I started putting the water in, he got quite excited and began to swim around a lot and explore. He looks an awful lot like a floating sausage.

So far, he hasn't wanted to eat much for me. I fasted him for a few days to get him hungry and tonight I dropped in two Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets. If he eats those, then I'll give him some beefheart tomorrow. If he doesn't, I guess I'll have to fast him again until he's hungry enough to eat. I've heard that carnivores like him sometimes only eat a few times a week so maybe that's it? They had just fed him when I got him last Tuesday.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen

Do you have any pictures? How big is he?


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## Sakura8

He's about 8" long right now. Supposedly they can get up to 49" but all the sites I read online said they stay around 12-16" in captivity. I sure hope so. O.O

Pics of Sparky! Sorry if these were posted elsewhere. Haven't had a chance to take new pics.



















http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkysIntro.mp4

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=Sparky.mp4

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=RizandSparky.mp4

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyExploring.mp4


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## Sakura8

He won't eat.  They said they fed him beefheart, krill, bloodworms, and sinking pellets. Tried beefheart twice, tried bloodworms (by the way, sucking uneaten bloodworms out of a deep tank with a sand substrate is not fun). Now I'm trying krill. Hopefully he'll eat that. If not, I'll go back to the store and ask about what specific brands they fed him. 

I put a new shelter in for him too. It's actually a half log meant for turtles but it works.


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## Romad

Have you tried soaking the worms or beef heart in garlic juice yet? That's about all I can think of to entice him. Maybe he's just taking his sweet time getting used to his new surroundings. He looks pretty healthy


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## dbooknook

He is adorable!


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## thekoimaiden

Garlic juice would be my suggestion, too. But I've never actually used it. I've never had a fish (or almost any other pet for that matter) refuse food. 

Sparky needs to eat! He has to maintain that adorably chubby profile! Maybe you should also ask the store when was the last time he ate.


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## Olympia

I'd ask a catfish person.
I know that catfish love love nightcrawlers. You could try a bait shop.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dramaqueen

He looks like a sweet potato to me. Lol poor little guy. I hope he eats soon. Try some garlic juice like Romad suggested.


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## Sakura8

He ate some krill, I think. What didn't promptly get sucked into the filter. I know the last time they fed him was the day I got him. I haven't tried the ol' garlic juice trick but tonight I'm going to. I'd just as soon he not decide that all he ever wants to eat are live earthworms. 

I've heard they are nocturnal and don't like light but when I open the garage door to do water changes, he starts moving around a lot. Sometimes he looks at me and points his little barbels at me and I can almost hear him thinking, "ZAAAAP!"


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## Sakura8

I think he ate some of the garlic-soaked beefheart. Not sure. I went to put it near him but it immediately got caught on the current and a lot went straight into the filter. Strangely enough, his favorite food seems to be sinking carnivore pellets. I dropped two more in and he darted . . . well, waddled out and snarfed them up before hiding in his tunnel again. I'm not sure how healthy that is for him, though. Everything I've read says meaty, chunky carnivore foods are their faves. Sparky, you're weird.


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## Olympia

Maybe he's trying to show you he won't bite you and you can pet him!
"Look ma! All I eat is these pellets!"
o____o
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

:lol: Yeah, he doesn't eat his owner raw. He has to fry her first.


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## Sakura8

It's official. This little weirdo won't eat anything but sinking pellets. Since the Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets are quite small, I went to my LFS and picked up a bag of Hikari Massivore Nuggets for him. He had better eat those because they cost $28 a bag and no returns. -__- The bag says each nuggest is the equivalent of a feeder fish so hopefully it's a little more nutritious for him than the small pellets. Last night, he got so excited he was swimming up to meet my hand as I was putting them in. I almost started to handfeed him before I remembered what he was. :shock:


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## thekoimaiden

Probably no worse than a shock from an electroshocker powered by two car batteries. When I was surveying streams in Arkansas I yelled "off" to the guy working the shocker, but he didn't hear it. My whole arm got a nice shock as I fell on my butt. Graceful and fried  

I'm really glad you found something he likes. He even seems to be warming up to you ^-^


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## Sakura8

I hope he's warming up to me. He's such an atypical fellow. I heard they like darkness 'cause they're nocturnal so I keep his tank light off and he stays in a corner or in his tunnels. But when I do turn it on, he swims all over the place. :shock:

EDIT: One of these days, I probably will touch him just to get it over with. The suspense is killing me.


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## Sakura8

Glory glory, he loves the Massivore Nuggets. Phew!


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## djembekah

yay Sparky! i love Sparky i'm a big fan xD


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## Sakura8

Thanks, Bekah. 

Hehe, I wish he'd move around more so I could take more video. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to catch him eating his new expensive pellets.


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## dbooknook

Sparky is such a cutie pie..... I love him.


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## Laki

"floating sausage".. Coupled with his easter bunny candy eyes and we have quite a fish! lol
I'm glad Sparky likes the new food!


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## Sakura8

:3 Thanks, dbooknook. 

Laki, me too. I would not have been happy if he had refused to eat $28 food with no returns.


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## copperarabian

He's so awesome, and really does look like a sausage XD

What species of electric eel is he? I've only ever seen this type before. Yours is much cuter lol


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## Olympia

He's a catfish! Hence ADORABLE whiskers.
And yea those ones get like 2 meters long. o.o


-holds up #1 fan sign-
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

:shock: Wow. That's an electric eel. I would not mess with those guys, they pack an even bigger punch than electric catfish. They can even power Christmas tree lights. :shock:

Mine is scientifically called malapterurus (may be an extra ru in there, can't spell) electricus, or electric catfish. Definitely looks like a sausage. With silver beady eyes and a pouty mouth.  

*runs out to try and get updated photo*


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## copperarabian

Olympia said:


> He's a catfish! Hence ADORABLE whiskers.
> And yea those ones get like 2 meters long. o.o
> 
> 
> -holds up #1 fan sign-
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


ah, I feel kinda stupid, I keep missing all these things because I'm tired. I got up at 4:50 to take a shower and eat breakfast before work this morning XD

this is cool, a mummified electric catfish from ancient Egypt


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## Sakura8

:shock: Wow. I wonder if I should mummify Sparky when his time comes? *strokes chin thoughtfully*

Haha, it's okay. You got up really early.  

Sparky won't come out of his tunnel for new pics. I'll have to ambush him later.

EDIT: By the way, Sparky, please don't get as big as that mummy.


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## dbooknook

Yeah.... that would be no bueno. I hope you stay small forever, Sparky.


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## Sakura8

He's so cute when he's small! Haha, funny to call an 8" fish small. XD


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## Sakura8

Today, I tossed my fathead minnow in with Sparky. It was a freebie long ago and it's kind of mean. When it was in my 29, it would headbutt my dojos away from their food. So far, Sparky has ignored it. If he can learn to co-exist with other fish, I plan to put some angels in there. But if minnowboy goes missing, Sparky will be a loner.


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## kfryman

Angles have quite the personality, like bettas! I would love some! Just can't wait for the day when I can have a 55 gallon. Rummynose tetras and maybe some angels, maybe not because angels Luis eat them and rummynoses already school tightly... Rambling lol.

Glad Sparky ate his expensive pellet, I would be mad if he didn't!

So can you get plants or no?


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## Sakura8

I'll have to get a new light fixture for plants so for now, they're all fake. Good thing I had enough in storage. 

My dad loves angels so if I can put some in there, that would be great. So I'm hoping Sparky is a sociable, calm type of electric catfish.


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## copperarabian

Will he redecorate at all? 

Also I hope he is calm too


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## Sakura8

He breaks the filter intake off sometimes trying to squeeze behind it and he pushes the sand around a little. I'd probably have to pot any plants. There's less than a 1/2 inch of sand in there so I don't know if he burrows or not.


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## copperarabian

Sakura8 said:


> He breaks the filter intake off sometimes trying to squeeze behind it and he pushes the sand around a little. I'd probably have to pot any plants. There's less than a 1/2 inch of sand in there so I don't know if he burrows or not.


That reminds me of a huge pleco that my friends mom accidentally killed (she dumped in a bunch of aquarium sand when he was in there, didn't let it settle and it clogged up his gills), he messed up one of their filters but they managed to fix it. He also destroyed my step dad's 16g when I used it as a QT tank for him one time, he tore the intake off the filter and it never worked right again. I eventually through that filter out and bought a new one.

Petting's probably the best, I always forget you can pot plants in a aquarium lol


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## Olympia

A 55's just right for a group of 6-7 angels. 
I don't know though, if they were babies I'd probably want them to grow up in a different tank first. You aren't supposed to add angels to a group so you'd be stuck with the group you bought. They are pretty mean fish at times as well.

I can imagine the minnow trying to headbutt Sparky. Maybe Sparky will like it!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Question: Is Sparky nice enough for tankmates?

Answer: No. He didn't eat the minnow but at some point during the night, he zapped him.  I found the poor thing paralyzed on the bottom of the tank. It died later this morning. So, Sparky's swimming solo.


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## Olympia

D: poor minnow.

Minnow: alright! Yea bro headbutt time!!!
Sparky: oh my, oh no, please stay out of my comfort zone!!! .. -zap- .. Oops...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

:lol: Oddly enough I can picture it totally happening like that. Sparky made absolutely no effort to eat him. He was on the opposite side of the tank and I got the impression he might have been there for a while.

I should feel really bad but that minnow was kind of crazy.  I'm still surprised it didn't eat any of my guppy fry.


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## Olympia

I've heard things about the minnow, lol.
On the bright side, if it only paralyzed a tiny minnow, he can't be that powerful so you should feel safer.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Yes, I do. I actually haven't even used the thick, shoulder-length gloves I bought. I'm just really careful to work in a different part of the tank than he's in. And he's not aggressive. It's not like he charges out of his tunnel and tries to zap my hand.


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## teeneythebetta

Olympia said:


> D: poor minnow.
> 
> Minnow: alright! Yea bro headbutt time!!!
> Sparky: oh my, oh no, please stay out of my comfort zone!!! .. -zap- .. Oops...
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Poor minnow.

But ROFL when I read sparky's line, I read it with the voice of pinnochio from the shrek movies. xD


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## Chesh

What an adorably cool (and borderline frightening) little friend you have there! I love him! I think you'll be having quite a bit of fun learning about your new electrically charged buddy. . . poor minnow!


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## Sakura8

Teeney, haha. 

Chesherca, thanks.  I do feel sorry for the minnow. Things looked like they were going so well. But I was going to have to take it to a pet store, where it almost certainly would have gone straight into the feeder fish tank so I guess the end was the same. 

The irony is after I got the minnow out of the tank with the black gravel and into a tank with sand, it lightened up and started to look really pretty.


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## dbooknook

Yay! Go minnow and Sparky!


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## Romad

Sparky - 1

Minnow - 0


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## Sakura8

:lol: So true, Romad.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen

I'm confused, is the minnow dead, or just in shock? 


LOL Romad!!


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## Sakura8

Unfortunately, the poor minnow did die. I feel really bad about that.


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## Sakura8

So something interesting happened when I went to feed Sparky. I plopped in his giant sinking wafers and they fell down between his tunnel and the side of the tank. I thought he might have trouble getting to them so I reached in to move them and he charged out of his tunnel and headbutted my hand. :shock: 

Now the funny thing is I don't know if he even shocked me or if he just headbutted me. If he did shock me, it was so light I didn't feel it. Or, if I did feel it, I didn't even recognize it as a shock. Weird. 

*eyes hand going for the food* "Get your hand away from mah food, woman!"

He then proceeded to snarf his food down and completely ignore me while I reached in again to fix the heater that he knocked out of its holder. 

I don't get this fish.


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## dbooknook

You are so adorably confusing, Sparky!


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## Olympia

Awwwwwwwww. He's different, that's for sure!
Was he.. Squishy? xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## teeneythebetta

Awwwww


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## Chesh

:shock: Oooh! Scary!

Glad that went well, I'd be so nervous keeping an electric fish!!! Glad you didn't get (or perhaps feel) a shock.

Judging by his reaction, I bet he'd be easy to hand-feed, and if he's gonna act all uber territorial about his food, it might not be a bad idea to do so - cuz' then he'd see your hand as a food-bringing friend and not a rival. But. . .that's a SCARY thought, cuz' I don't WANT you to get zapped by your fish!!! I wish there was a way to put him in a battery charger and check his output somehow! ;-)


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## Sakura8

Olympia, his sausage body looks like it might be squishy but he has kind of a hard head. He's like a little battering ram. With whiskers.

Chesherca, I asked my dad if we had a voltometer thingee but he said it wasn't waterproof.  But I think you may be on to something about the hand-feeding idea. Maybe if he learns to see my hand but not actually take food from it. I do find that I have to reach into the tank fairly often to replace things that he's knocked off. He knocks the filter intake off a lot and he also knocked the heater out of its holder.


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## Olympia

I hear that happens a lot with big fish. They do have shatter proof heaters if that's a concern, I know people that keep oscars use them.
I wonder if electrocuting himself would just make him stronger.. Like in pokemon... xD

For the voltmeter, stick a metal rod near him and test it on the rod.. Obviously hold onto it with a rubber part. Lol. That might work. But maybe he only gives off electricity when he's mad.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Yeah, it's a Fluval M heater so it probably can break if he knocks it around hard enough. One of my LFS has little plastic cages you can put around them. I just need to remember to pick one up tomorrow. I keep going there and forgetting.

I might try that. I really am curious to see how much electricity he puts off. He never really looks mad. Mostly he looks like he's laying there going, "Derrrrrrr."


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## Chesh

OMG! Can you imagine that cute little *ahem* BIG thing with a PISSED OFF LOOK!!!? Nooooo, he must maintain his cutesy expression at all times - even when doling out tiny slices of death... the only problem with the hand training thing is. . . what if he just. . . electrocutes his food EVERY TIME? Like. . . just for fun. Without even thinking about it. Wouldn't they in nature? Maybe NOT the best idea!!!

ROFL, LIMPI!!! POKEMON!


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## Olympia

Hahah. :-D
Yea, my python still constricts his dead mice every time he eats. Just let it go before he reaches you.


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## Sakura8

Yeah, some guy in an article I read online mentioned he handfed his electocat until he held onto the earthworm too long and got zapped.


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## thekoimaiden

:lol: Sparky used headbutt!


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## Sakura8

We're off to the Johto region now.


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## teeneythebetta

Someone on here that is good at digital art should draw a pokemon style drawing of sparky 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Haha, that would be fun. I wonder what he'd end up looking like.


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## Chesh

CUTE, of course  Big wet anime eyes FTW!!! Dawwwwww, Sparky!


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## Sakura8

Big cute Sparky broke the filter intake off again. Wonder if I should silicone it on. But then I'd have to remove the whole filter from the tank to clean the intake. Sparky, you're too fat to fit behind the filter intake!!


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## Olympia

Maybe he likes watching you fix things. :O


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## Sakura8

:lol: Maybe. He likes to pretend that he never moves when I'm watching him. But sometimes I'll go out in the garage and catch him squiggling all over the tank. The moment he sees me, he goes back into his tunnel. "Who, me? I don't move. I'm just a sausage."


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## Chesh

*whistles nonchalantly* Juuuuuuuust a sausage, doing sausage-like things. . . lol! Maybe he's self-conscious about his waistline, and doesn't want you to see him doing aerobics. I'm SURE he's measuring his girth - using the space between the tank wall and the intake to judge if he's lost any weight. That MUST be it! 

When my fishy was in QT, I literally SNUCK into the room on hands-and-knees so that he wouldn't see me. He always came over to 'play' when he saw me, but I really needed to know how he was doing when he was all alone! Silly fishes. . .

heeeeeeeeey. . . are you SURE Sparky isn't a she? Just curious.


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## Sakura8

:rofl: Yeah, that must be it. Self-conscious and doing aerobics.  Well, judging from things, Sparky has a ways to go before he can fit behind the filter intake.

Haha, no, I'm not sure he's a he. I think electric catfish are really hard to sex, especially when it involves picking them up and turning them upside down to examine their uhm, nether regions.


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## Olympia

Maybe if he slims down he'll be less self conscious and let you check! xD

Oh Sparky, we are making a fool of you.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Bwahaha! The question is do I _want_ to check? I can just picture it now.

Sparky: "Whatchoo lookin' at? Hey, hey, not there! That's just plain rude!" *ZZZTTTT*


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## Chesh

This MUST be the SILLIEST thread I've ever seen. . . 

So... are electricats SUPPOSED to have giant stummies? Or is s/he *ACTUALLY* tubby? From the way you described the conditions he was kept in, he has more room to actually swim now than he ever has. . . so maybe he actually NEEDS his aerobics. And WILL slim down - as he grows, of course. Like pulling a taffy at both ends  I suspect the filter intake shall be forever out of his reach, poor Sparks! Does he like his white PVC pipe any better yet? I think we need new pics. . . or vids. It's been, like, a DAY! I'm going through Sparky withdraws


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## dramaqueen

I believe Sparky has quite a fan club. Lol


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## teeneythebetta

dramaqueen said:


> I believe Sparky has quite a fan club. Lol


Aww lol he's famous B)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Sparky is hard to take pics of. When I get the camera out, he goes into his tunnel and makes fishy faces at me. I need to set up a surveillance camera and ambush him. He loves the turtle tunnel the best but I do see him in his white pipe every now and then. 

I think mostly he's just happy he can actually swim around, like you said. You're right, he probably does need exercise. What a tubbo. And even now I'm not sure how much I should be feeding him. At the moment, he gets 4 Hikari Massivore Nuggets a day but that feels like too little. And yet, he's so fat! *is confused*


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## Tazman

I still want one of my own.

There is just something about him which makes you fall in love with him/her/it


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## Sakura8

I know, right? I still haven't pinned down what it is though. He can shock you if you touch him, he's a fussy eater and poos a lot, he's rather uhm . . . homely, he hides all the time, and he won't have tankmates. So why do I just adore this fish? XD


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## teeneythebetta

Tazman said:


> I still want one of my own.
> 
> There is just something about him which makes you fall in love with him/her/it


It's the cute eyes and the sausage/sweet potato body 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Olympia

He's got the dumbest look on his face, everything he does just seems comical. xD Those bright blue eyes, those whiskers.
Or maybe it's the fact that we were all like "omg he's such a hazard WEAR GLOVES SAKURA" and freaking out, and it turns out he's just a rolly polly sausage fish.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Actually, the sausage body just makes me hungry for smoked brats. XD

Olympia, hahaha. Yeah, he does have a pretty blank stare, doesn't he?


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## Tazman

teeneythebetta said:


> It's the cute eyes and the sausage/sweet potato body
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


lol...a floating weiner with cute eyes.


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## thekoimaiden

I agree. The googly-eyed potato sausage with whiskers has stolen everyone's heart! I love reading this thread. It always brightens my day! 

Sakura, have you ever done the "Aquarium log" on TFK to create profiles (or something like that) for each of your fish tanks? You can add pictures and videos and a place where you can add a live webcam feed if you talk to the Admin. I think Sparky is famous enough to deserve one.


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## Chesh

Olympia said:


> . . . turns out he's just a rolly polly sausage fish.












BEST. QUOTE. EVER.


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## Sakura8

Oooh, that's an idea. I've never done that (too lazy to take pics of my tanks, to be truthful). But you're right, Sparky deserves special treatment.  I'll look into it. Thanks, Izzy!


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## Chesh

OMG! YES!!! Sparky NEEDS to have a LIVE FEED!


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## Tazman

It's the "you know I will shock you if you annoy me" but then again I have the power to sit here and be cute and let you try and take a picture of me.

I would love to be in his/her mind and be able to see what it is thinking of you.

I have to say, though, am really glad you got him, not only because he was in a bad way but because it is way better to look at than my 75g cichlid tank, which is what you wanted to originally do with your tank


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## Sakura8

I'll have to see how I can hook one up. He's in the garage. Let's see, which one of my neighbor's is the most techie . . .

EDIT: Awww, thanks, Neil.  That means a lot. But I still want a cichlid tank too. XD I'm so greedy.


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## Tazman

Sparky Vision TV, has a nice ring to it...


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## Sakura8

I can somehow picture Sparky hypnotizing everyone with that stare of his.


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## Olympia

This is will be the official start of Sakura's oddball fish collection. She will scour pet stores far and wide, in search of the oddest, most amazing fish!

...wait what? :-D
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dbooknook

Maybe on the tube(the website) he will be a STAR! Just an idea....


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## Sakura8

I told my dad that I wanted my next big fish to be a motoro ray. He said, "Can't those like . . . kill you?"


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## thekoimaiden

Sparky! The fish version of Hypno-Toad!!:lol:

I think this is the start of an oddball fish collection, too! Soon you'll be spending as much time as as on MonsterFishKeepers! What are motoro rays?


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## Sakura8

Up to 39" across and in constant movement because they lack swimbladders. I want an indoor swimming pool for this fellow.

Someone stop me before I get a redtail catfish.


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## Tazman

Sakura8 said:


> I told my dad that I wanted my next big fish to be a motoro ray. He said, "Can't those like . . . kill you?"


Almost on a par with wanting ones of these in your tank:

African Tiger Fish

That picture is of a baby..

Here is an adult

Tiger Fish - Hydrocyus forskahlii


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## thekoimaiden

Those are beautiful! Have you ever seen teacup stingrays? Those guys are adorable!!! ^-^

I kinda want an indoor pond, too. There is a type of double-tail goldfish with a body like a comet called the wakin that I would love to keep, but they are best done as pond fish. Just a simply 1000 gallon pond should hold a school of them. 

If I ever got stupid rich I would have like three ponds.


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## Sakura8

I read the stats on the liveaquaria and was like, "Wait, did that just say they get 3 feet? COOOOOL!"

EDIT: Izzy, no, googling them now. Oooh. That's a little more manageable than a motoro.


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## Olympia

Get a kiddy pool for a teacup ray. I don't think regular tanks are good for rays, not enough floor.
What I really want is an eel. :-D Sparky is pretty much looking like an eel. Or, like a 1000 gallon giant gourami biotope.
(someday)

I think we had a red tail cat at our fish store. We also have a bunch of tiger shovel nose, another huge problem. (but AWESOME).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tazman

Sakura8 said:


> I read the stats on the liveaquaria and was like, "Wait, did that just say they get 3 feet? COOOOOL!"


LOL, look at the teeth on them though. Feeding time on your hand... 

If I happen to win the Canadian Lotto Max jackpot of $50M tonight then, move house, monster fish tank coming up 

And sparky has sent me into a daze, so snap out of it...its those eyes though!


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## Sakura8

Olympia, my LFS had the cutest baby fire eel! I was like, "Hey, what about one of those?" Then I came home and read that they get 39" long. -___- Why are the cool fish so big?

Neil, yeah! Fingers are crossed so you win. 

I told you Sparky could hypnotize people.


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## Tazman




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## Sakura8

I'm moving to that house. Now.


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## Pearl2011

Sparky is so cool! Why wont my parents let me get bigger fish tanks!!! 
He does seriously look like a sausage. 
"Come one come all to try the new, catfish sausage. It will be an electrifying experience for your taste buds!"

^ Pun intended


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## Tazman

It is awesome, I would love to know how much it cost in total! Food cost must be horrendous!

Pick me up on the way, imagine if as a joke he stocked it with tetra...how many tetra could you fit in that size tank...hmmm.


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## Pearl2011

Watch that video and pause at 1:22. A thing of knives.

SOMEBODY is taking me seriously. (JK)


----------



## Pearl2011

Taz, or if he tore it down cause he doesn't like it. It would be like WTHeck


----------



## Sakura8

Neil, hahaha! That would be impressive in its own right, I guess. But the owner would have to get tetras from every single pet store in his state to fill it. 

Just tried to take pics of Sparky but he's in his tunnel. Again.


----------



## Tazman

Pearl2011 said:


> Taz, or if he tore it down cause he doesn't like it. It would be like WTHeck


I know eh.

What if the house was left abandoned and someone moved in seeing those fish starring at you - LOL!


----------



## Pearl2011

That would be wierd.

"Oh look honey they have a basement"
OMG WHAT ARE THESE [email protected]#$%^& FISH DOING IN HERE!!!!

That would be so funny


----------



## thekoimaiden

I've seen that video before, Taz. It's crazy huge, but it's great that they did take that many tankbusters and give them good homes. 

I don't think I would have too many large tanks if I won the lottery (monster fish aren't really my thing). Just a huge koi pond, an indoor goldfish pond, and sturgeon pond! And of course a discus tank.


----------



## Sakura8

I would so like make that my house and then live in a tool shed.

Izzy, I'll ship you some Sacramento Sturgeon. Only 26 feet long. Probably have to ship by freight train.


----------



## Pearl2011

lol. Only 26 feet. 

Good for dinner.


----------



## Tazman

Sakura8 said:


> I would so like make that my house and then live in a tool shed.
> 
> Izzy, I'll ship you some Sacramento Sturgeon. Only 26 feet long. Probably have to ship by freight train.


LOL

Hi honey, I brought a new fish today...its in the van outside...oh and we need to remove the roof to get it in..no biggie..love you


----------



## Pearl2011

Taz, I read that and started laughing so hard. Not good when I just had an ice and am really sleep deprived.


----------



## thekoimaiden

Tazman said:


> LOL
> 
> Hi honey, I brought a new fish today...its in the van outside...oh and we need to remove the roof to get in..no biggie..love you


No kidding. My boyfriend is kinda afraid that I will do that one day. He knows how much I love sturgeon.


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: You'd better leave it some money in your will too. Those sturgeon can live forever. Ancient fish.


----------



## Tazman

Pearl2011 said:


> Taz, I read that and started laughing so hard. Not good when I just had an ice and am really sleep deprived.


My bad


----------



## Pearl2011

Thats fine. 

Try getting your besties to listen to you when you ask them that. Dont work. Ever. 

That why I love them


----------



## Chesh

I *thought* this thread was silly a few hours ago - it has now lost ALL SEMBLANCE of meaning! 

Let us not lose sight of our beloved Sparky, who has brought us all together under his sausageish embrace and beady eyes of looooooove!

It's really past my bedtime. . .


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Chesherca, haha! Beware of Sparky's sausageish embrace, it's shocking!


----------



## Sakura8

Well, these were the best videos I could get of the elusive Sparkster.

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=FailedAmbush-1.mp4

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=StopStaringatMe.mp4


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Spaaaaaarky! You have just acquired another fan. He's definitely the cutest, blue-eyed sausage I've ever seen. Can't wait to see more!


----------



## teeneythebetta

Lol video number two: the death stare.

He's so awkwardly cute c:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

Hahahaha!!! He's so FUNNY!!! AND FRIKKIN' CUTE! Keep trying. . . one of these days, he'll give up and do a dance for us. . . you know he can! 

I can picture it now. . . Sparky doing one of those dances they do with the tophat and cane? "Hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my ragtime girl..." 

*nods* The image is clear in my mind...


----------



## Sakura8

I checked under his tunnel and he has a little boombox hidden there. Maybe he practices break dancing at night?


----------



## Pearl2011

I cant picture him breaking dancing. Maybe hula?


----------



## Romad

He's probably doing the worm


----------



## Sakura8

Romad, :lol:

Pearl, hahaha! Instead of waving his fins for the hula, he waves his little whiskers.


----------



## Sakura8

I present to the jury Exhibit A:
A patch of mysteriously moved sand.







Evidence of midnight breakdancing practice? You be the judge.


----------



## Pearl2011

Thats just weird O__O

Freind: "Why is there no sand there?"
You: My swimming sausage was break dancing"
Ex-Freind: Ya, I um, need to call a physiotherapist for you. BRB."
You: No really my fish can PARTYYYYYYYYYY!!!


----------



## teeneythebetta

Pearl2011 said:


> Thats just weird O__O
> 
> Freind: "Why is there no sand there?"
> You: My swimming sausage was break dancing"
> Ex-Freind: Ya, I um, need to call a physiotherapist for you. BRB."
> You: No really my fish can PARTYYYYYYYYYY!!!


LOL. The next morning..

You: *walks over to fish tank to Literally find sausage in the tank* :|
Friend: cmon were going. :roll:
You: no I swear. He was a sausage fish, not an actual sausage! He dances! Nooooooo :crazy:


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: You two are so funny!


----------



## Pearl2011

Well, I like sausages.


----------



## Chesh

I like turkey sausages. . . don't think I'd want to eat a fish sausage, tho 

Funny that you can't catch that silly fish actually MOVING, but he leaves evidence. What a funny fellow that Sparky is. . .


----------



## Pearl2011

Same here, turkey sausages rule!

Why the heck are we talking about TURKEY SAUSAGES on a FISH website?
Live is so messed . . .


----------



## Pearl2011

And Sakura, how hard is it to maintain sand? Want to get some but seems like a pain to clean.


----------



## Sakura8

Pearl, it's not too hard. In Sparky's tank, the sand is not even a 1/2 inch thick. To clean it, I hover the gravel vac just over the surface. In my 20gal, it's much thicker because of the plants and I have to remember to poke and stir it at least once a month to keep it from developing pockets of toxic gas.


----------



## Pearl2011

What type of sand do you have? Play sand is inert and fine for plants/cories and less then ten bucks, right? 
Only have 50$ to get plants, fish and everything else I need . . .


----------



## Sakura8

I have play sand for Sparky and for my 29gal. It's just fine for plants and cories and I think I got a 50lb bag for $5.  Some play sand might have silica that could cause a bit of algae though but otherwise, it's great.


----------



## Pearl2011

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...atchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&s=true

Did you use either of those brands? They seem good. 
Hmm, 12 cents more for 11 pounds more . . . cant decide . Maybe ill go buy a sausage.


----------



## Sakura8

I don't know. Mine was in a brown paper bag and just said playbox sand or sand box sand or something like that. Lots of people use Quikrete though.

Sausage!


----------



## teeneythebetta

To be honest i don't like sausage. (the food) xP

You shall name him/her sparky-sausage-sweet-potato and he/she shall be your sparky-sausage-sweet-potato.


----------



## dramaqueen

Sausage fish! lol Poor Sparky. We're going to give him a complex.lol


----------



## Chesh

. . . brings new meaning to the expression 'hitting the sauce' Or should it be spelled sause?

Please DON'T hit the sauce... or the sauce may hit you - WITH A LIGHTNING BOLT!

"I'll be back in a sec, I gotta go hit the Sauce with some pellets before we leave. . ."

(I seriously have to stop looking at this thread when I'm half asleep - I go all goofy when I see his little sausage self. . . I can't help myself!)


----------



## Sakura8

Haha, if Sparky didn't have a complex before just from being so er . . . homely, then nothing will faze him. 

Got a good look at him as he was perched in his mangrove root. Boy, is he a tubbo!


----------



## Olympia

Maybe his momma's feeding him too much? 
Does he look fatter than before?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

He doesn't look fatter than before, I don't think. Just . . . fat. O.O

Momma doesn't know how much to feed him. So far, 4-5 Massivore nuggest at night. Also going to look into getting earthworm pellets.


----------



## Olympia

They make pellets out of earthworms? That sounds kind of gross, lol. xD

Edit: on second thought the thought of making a pellet out of anything sounds gross.


----------



## teeneythebetta

Sausage pellets.
Sweet potato pellets.

A dinner in a pellet. 

O_O
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Life would be so much simpler if dinner was in a pellet. No more cooking. No more food shortages in 3rd world countries that don't have electricity to keep food fresh. O.O We'd all eat pellets!

Simpler and kinda boring.

Fish food sticks and bits

EDIT: Olympia, yes, I don't really want to think about the process of making earthworm pellets. :shock:


----------



## Olympia

Lol. Earthwoms already kind of look like pellets, I guess.


----------



## Sakura8

If I can feed earthworm pellets instead of real earthworms, I'd be much happier. Not fond of worms. At all.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky says:

Dear diary,

Today I spent all day hiding in my tunnel because every time I go outside, that woman ambushes me with the camera. She stuffs it right in my face and even though I go ZAAAP, I can't shock her! Maybe I'll get lucky and she will drop the camera in the water . . .


----------



## Chesh

ROFL, NAUGHTY Sparky! No shocking crazy ladies OR their cameras! Just smile for your picture, and she'll leave you alone. It won't hurt, I promise. . .


----------



## Sakura8

When Sparky smiles, he looks like he has gas.


----------



## Chesh

ahhh, so THAT'S why his tum is so bulbous! It's the gas. . . obviously. Poor Sparky! He has such a hard life!

Y'know. . . how do those critters feel about plants? I can't help but think he'd be appreciative of a well-planted tank - and having seen some of your other tanks, I feel sure you've got some ideas in the works here. So spill! What are your plans for that BIG OLD GIANT AWESOME tank that the Sparkster inhabits? Or do you think he's too shovey for anything green? 

Just curious! We all want the happiest Sparky there has ever been. . . poor thing! I wish you had taken a picture of the sad little tank he came from in the pet shop. Hopefully they DON'T get any more in stock anytime soon - or Sparky might just end up with Sparkina, and YOU might end up with a tank full of baby Sparklings! Daaaaaaw. . .


----------



## Olympia

Oh there are photos of it.. Lemme find em.


----------



## Chesh

Oh that just makes me so SAD!!! *cries* Poor little(ish) SPARKY! *hugs* No wonder you're so chubby and strange!


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca, I would love to plant Sparky's tank but I have to get a better light for it and I can't afford that right now. *cries* Why is everything so expensive??? And even with a light, I might have to pot things. Lots of amazon swords, some vallisneria in the background. Maybe a some crispus . . . And then one night, during his break dancing, Sparky rearranges the tank . . . 

Considering that Sparky was there for at least 4-5 months, I would hope the LFS decides electric cats aren't good sellers. They were all terrified of him. :shock: 

Little baby Sparkers . . . I bet he was so cute as a baby.


----------



## Olympia

Yea, they better not get another one. Otherwise you'll be scrambling to find if they are compatible with each other!


----------



## Sakura8

They probably wouldn't be. From what I've read, they are solitary and only get together briefly for breeding. They'd probably spend all their time zapping each other. *ZZZZTTTT*


----------



## djembekah

someone needs to do Sparky fan art x3


----------



## copperarabian

I just read how he head butted your hand when you tried to move his food, that is so cute how much he loves his food


----------



## Pearl2011

You could put a lightning rod in the tank to absorb the electricity, or use it for your house


----------



## Sakura8

Copper, he loves his food and it shows. He's a chubbo.

"Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meyer weiner . . ."


----------



## dramaqueen

Wouldn't that be nice if he could generate enough electricity to light your whole house? lol


----------



## teeneythebetta

If sparky could talk, he would have the voice of a 5 year old English boy


----------



## dbooknook

I swear, if my great aunt was in Sakura's house, she would try to pinch Sparky's cheeks and get electrocuted.


----------



## Sakura8

dbooknook, :lol:

A five year old English boy. Hmmm. *starts laughing hysterically*


----------



## dbooknook

At least he doesn't have any wrists.... then she would bite them. No joke.:shock: It's all out of love, though.


----------



## Sakura8

Your great aunt sounds . . . interesting. :shock:


----------



## dbooknook

Mmhmm... very interesting.


----------



## teeneythebetta

If sparky had a brother named Charlie, here's what he'd say.

"Charlie Bit my whisker! That really hurt Charlie!"


----------



## Sakura8

Teeney, :lol:

Right now, Sparky is resting upright against the side of the tank. He looks like he is trying to climb out but got too tired and had to rest. The first time I saw him like that I got worried he was sick and poked him with an algae scrubber. He waggled his whiskers at me and swam into his tunnel.


----------



## Olympia

"What's your problem, woman? I look slimmer this way!"


----------



## Sakura8

Olympia, :lol: Yes, Sparky, you just keep right on believing that.


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sakura8 said:


> "Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meyer weiner . . ."


:rofl:

I imagine you have lots of fun checking in on Sparky and seeing what new trouble or space he's gotten into.


----------



## Tazman

I still think the webcam is a great idea


----------



## Sakura8

Some days all I see is a tail or whiskers peeking out of the tunnel ALL day. Put them in a lineup and I'll know Sparky's whiskers from anywhere.  The rest of him, enh, not so much.


----------



## dramaqueen

Maybe he thought he wouldn't look so much like a sausage if he was standing upright. lol


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah, then he looks like a tree trunk.


----------



## dramaqueen

lol. Can you get some pics of him standing upright?


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah, the next time he does it, I'll go paparazzi on him.


----------



## teeneythebetta

Mr. Sweet potato head.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## dramaqueen

teeneythebetta said:


> Mr. Sweet potato head.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


lol.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky reminds me of so many types of food that I get hungry thinking about him.

Come to think of it, it WAS hot enough to fry a catfish today . . .


----------



## teeneythebetta

:shock:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## djembekah

lol. if only Sparky knew mom's sense of humor.


----------



## Chesh

Ummm... _please_ don't fry th' Sparkster! I luff him!

What foods? I mean... aside from sausages and sweet potatoes and. . . well, _CATFISH!?_ 
I suppose those whiskers DO kind of look like noodles, now that I'm thinking about it


----------



## Sakura8

Bekah, :lol: 

Sweet potato, sausage, hot dogs, twix candy bars . . . Mmmmm.

If I tried to fry the Sparkster, I'd end up being the one sizzling.  *ZZZZTTTT*


----------



## Chesh

I bet, if you put him in the proper environment, he could microwave _HIMSELF! _The perfect combination of fast food and home-cookin' 

You could make a fortune. . .


----------



## Sakura8

The self-cooking fish.  All right, Sparky, I'm getting you a girl so start breeding.


----------



## Sakura8

Well, Sparky just had an emergency change of habitat. As I went to feed him tonight, I saw that his water had gotten up to 90 F! :shock: Poor guy looked like a limp . . . well, sausage. It's 9:30 here, too dark to do a water change and put in cooler water so I transferred him to the 6 gallon Rubbermaid in the rec room. He is not happy about this and let me know about it. I could feel the water tingling as I chased him around trying to catch him. Tomorrow, I'll change the water in both his tank and the "coldwater" community and put in cooler hose water. It's only supposed to be 92 tomorrow, not 105, so it shouldn't get quite that warm. Poor Sparky!


----------



## dbooknook

Oh nos! In the last picture he's like "Hey lady, this is like the petstore. I should like report you or something."*zaps* "not working"


----------



## Olympia

Crazy lady with a net!
"Ahhhh! Zap zap zap zap! It's not working!"
Oh man, the water TINGLING. SO cool! :-D
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

POOR SPARKY!!! But. . . AWWW! Great picture! It is so super COOL that you could feel the water tingling! Yay that it means he can't kill you (VERY nice to know - you MUST have been sooooo nervous! You're a BRAVE lady!) But boo that he was so stressed by it. Two steps forward, one step back for the Sparkster.


----------



## thekoimaiden

You are one brave lady for reaching your hand in there! After getting shocked by a backpack electroshocker (google for pictures), I have a very healthy respect for electricity and water. I'm glad Sparky is safe (if a little grumpy). Hope your heat spell breaks soon! We've finally gotten a break here on the east coast.


----------



## Pearl2011

thekoimaiden said:


> You are one brave lady for reaching your hand in there! After getting shocked by a backpack electroshocker (google for pictures), I have a very healthy respect for electricity and water. I'm glad Sparky is safe (if a little grumpy). Hope your heat spell breaks soon! We've finally gotten a break here on the east coast.


Didnt it get to like 35C? That just to hot to do anything beside nap in front of the air conditioning.

OMG the water tingling!! Wonder what would have happened if you touched him. Sakura sausage! (not suggesting that you are a sausage ) 
That is insane!! I wonder how many guys would of put there hands in there??


----------



## teeneythebetta

Lol I hate putting my hands in Teeney's tank coz she's a finger nipper... 

But sparky is on a whole different level xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: I'm not quite as brave as you think. After I got him in the Rubbermaid and realized how POed he was, I had to reach in to get his tunnel out. It was too long so we were going to saw a few inches off. I put on the rubber gloves for the first time. XD Haha, he kept trying to swim into it even as I lifted it up out of the water. 

The water temp has gone down to 83 F so I went ahead and put him back in his tank. He waggled his whiskers at me a lot and I'm pretty sure he was saying, "I will so get you for this, lady."


----------



## thekoimaiden

Pearl2011 said:


> Didnt it get to like 35C? That just to hot to do anything beside nap in front of the air conditioning.


Try more like 40C. It's been brutal. Too hot to do anything but sleep in the basement. Thank goodness it's finally broken. 

Glad to hear Sparky is back (and obviously plotting his revenge :lol: ).


----------



## Sakura8

When I went to feed the tank below his tonight, he came to the front of the glass and waggled his whiskers a lot. Somehow, he reminded me of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars when he shoots lightning from his fingers. :shock: Even after I did a 50% change on his tank, the temp only went down to 80 and now it's back up to 82. Fortunately, they are tropical fishies who like warm water.


----------



## dbooknook

Luke,join the dark side.... we have cookies! I love Star Wars.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky's the evil Emperor, plotting to take over the galaxy!


----------



## Pearl2011

dbooknook said:


> Luke,join the dark side.... we have cookies! I love Star Wars.


Join the light side, we have bran muffins!


----------



## Chesh

NOES!!! He's _not_ plotting his revenge! Sparky is_ not_ evil! You've got it all wrong. . . he's saying thank you for putting him back in his nice tank with nummy pellets to eat and apologizing for trying to zap you. . . he didn't _MEAN_ to, really. . . the heat made him grumpy. I understand, it makes me grumpy, too - and I don't even have whiskers! (like that made sense)


----------



## teeneythebetta

WTF xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca said:


> NOES!!! He's _not_ plotting his revenge! Sparky is_ not_ evil! You've got it all wrong. . . he's saying thank you for putting him back in his nice tank with nummy pellets to eat and apologizing for trying to zap you. . . he didn't _MEAN_ to, really. . . the heat made him grumpy. I understand, it makes me grumpy, too - and I don't even have whiskers! (like that made sense)


Awwww, Sparky's second biggest fan.  Yes, the heat probably did make him grumpy. At least he didn't charge my hand again. I love Sparky's waggly whiskers!


----------



## Olympia

Sparky's just a big dopey lump. I don't think he has evil in his body. Just electricity that is oh so hard to control sometimes.


----------



## Sakura8

Electrical incontinence. :shock:


----------



## Pearl2011

Or so you think . . .


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: True, true. 
Sparky: I'll make her think I zapped her on accident . . .


----------



## Pearl2011

Smart fish, then his owner is all:

Oh wittle sparky-poo I just wuv your itty bitty whiskers! i know you would never ever hurt me on purpose would you sweetie? Of course not. *dumps bag of food in tank* Is that enough for my lil sugar plum? Mummy can get you more in a wittle bit. Oh I just wuv you!!

Sparky: Moron.


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Oh how I can just hear Sparky thinking that. Haha, Sparky doesn't need a whole bag of food. Sparky needs a diet.


----------



## Pearl2011

So his plan is working?


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura, I just realized your a moderator! Im not slow on things


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Yes, his plan is working.

I am the moderator with the power to zap you if you misbehave!


----------



## Pearl2011

Well, there go my plans.


----------



## Olympia

If his tail is negative and his head is positive, if you grabbed his head and tail at the same time, THEN you'd feel it. :-D Heheheheheh.


----------



## Pearl2011

lol, considering what a bad day I had you guys make me smile


----------



## Sakura8

*runs over to Sparky's tank to try out Olympia's theory . . . returns with hair standing straight up and smoking* Yup, that works.


----------



## teeneythebetta

Lolz I love this thread. It's so random and funny 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Yes, I am good at random. Oh, look! A Sparky!


----------



## Chesh

Hmmm... wonder if Sparky could jump start your car if it broke down? You could then call him Spark Plugs - that's like his super-cool alter-ego. . .the misunderstood bad-boy who zaps anything that moves. . . and hangs out in parking lots smoking. . . um. . . making people's hair. . . smoke. Yeah. BEDTIME! *nods*


----------



## Sakura8

Spark Plug. The superhero catfish who rescues stranded motorists. :lol:

Night!


----------



## Chesh

EVEN BETTER - cuz' Sparky is GOOD. . . Ooooh, if he IS a she. . . could you PULEEZE name her SPARKLE! *big wet anime eyes* PLEEEEEEEEEASE!??

Yes. I AM going to bed. But I just looked through your pictures (I get SO distracted!) and there are NO Sparky pictures in the 'other fish' OR the 'cat' album (yes, I thought. . . maybe. . . he'd count in the cat album, being as he's a cat and all) 

Also... I love your kittahs, but HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE (be clear if The Sparkster is included in this number!)

*GRINS and vanishes*


----------



## Olympia

Omg Sparkle. So perfect. I think Sparky will never be properly sexed (is it even possible?!) though.

Sakura, if you can, you should just leave the video camera playing with the whole tank in view and just leave the room for a bit. Maybe we'll see what this dancing catfish can do.


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca, I wonder how I'll ever find out what gender Sparky really is. But yes, if I ever find out he is a she, she shall be Princess Sparkles!

And I have 8 furry cats. They might not zap me with electricity but they are rather liberal with their claws and teeth. *looks at scars on arms and legs* 

Huh, that's right, I haven't updated my albums in like forever. Thanks for reminding me!

Olympia, that's an idea. I can try it and see if he moves sometime. Don't know how long my camera's video lasts.


----------



## Olympia

He probably jumps up and starts going nuts as soon as you walk out! 

Chesh, if Sparky became Princess Sparkle, I'm sure she'd get along great with your betta.. Princess Shimmer Blue, was it?


----------



## Chesh

Olympia said:


> Chesh, if Sparky became Princess Sparkle, I'm sure she'd get along great with your betta.. Princess Shimmer Blue, was it?


DUUUUUUDE, you know that's EXACTLY what I thought the moment I read the word Princess!!? *giggle* My poor little girl is still INSISTENT that poor fish is a she - she gently corrects me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Silly little goose. But Princess Sparkle would probably EAT Princess ShimmerBlue, so . . . yeah, maybe we should stick to pen-pals 


Sakura! YES! UPDATE those albums!!! You gonna put Ol' Sparkyboy in the cat album? Just for a giggle? I would  Does your camera have a cord? Maybe you could plug it in and leave it. . . that'd be a lot of footage to scan through, lol, but to see him breakdancing it'd totally be worth it. Maybe he just . . . doesn't. Maybe he's the calmest fish, ever. What are the like in the wild? I mean. . . electric catfish. . . he probably IS wild-caught, don't you think? *wonders about the mysterious Sparky*


----------



## Sakura8

My first betta when I was in 3rd grade was a red veiltail named Princess Rose. :shock:

Maybe Sparky waltzes? (insert "Blue Danube" here) He keeps time with his whiskers.

I'm 99% sure he's wild-caught because as far as I know electric catfish don't breed in captivity. They'd need a big tank for that, like a 1000gal or more. Poor guy. Snatched out of his natural habitat just to spend months on end in a cramped tank at a pet store.


----------



## Chesh

But NOW he has YOU! AND PELLETS! And you and pellets are, like, FANTASTICALLY wonderful and happy in every way! I just got my very first batch of wild-caught fish and it really blows my mind to think that they were free swimming in a river just, like, a minute ago! At least Sparky has taken a step UP by coming home with you. I'm mad at that fish shop. . .

If *I* had whiskers, I'd totally keep time with them. And waltz. . . cuz' why _wouldn't_ you?!


----------



## Olympia

Heheheeh. I remember your first Sparky videos were of him going crazy, I think that's what he's like when you're not around.


----------



## Sakura8

Haha! When I went to feed the tank beneath him, he was laying with his back to the world. Only way I knew he was still alive was every now and then he'd just sort of bob a little. He really wants me to believe he's just a harmless sausage.


----------



## Chesh

BECAUSE HE ISSSSS! A very SWEET harmless ELECTRIC sausage! *hugs Sparky (with rubber boots on)* Do you think he came from a river near you? Obviously, I know nothing about electric catfish - but they're adorable and fascinating. . .and TUBBY!


----------



## Olympia

Breaking news- electric catfish swarm the rivers of California. Local fish shops taking advantage of this and selling them.
Heh. Aren't they from like Africa?


----------



## Sakura8

I think they are from Africa. If I ever saw one in our waters I'd be surprised right out of my skin. For one thing, Sacramento water is COLD. 

I just caught Sparky in the very act of swimming when I went out to the garage to get something. The moment he saw me, he plopped to the ground and pretended he was a log.


----------



## Chesh

LOL! Yes. I just googled it  HUZZAH for African fishies! LOL! Sparky log. . . I love him - he's so funny! I wonder how long before he starts begging you for food like the guppies do?!


----------



## Sakura8

He's like, "Nuh uh. I have my pride. Not gonna beg. Oh, pellets!" *snarf*


----------



## Olympia

It's all he's got for camouflage- log mode.


----------



## Sakura8

So, sausage mode is his attack mode then?


----------



## Olympia

Yea. Because when a fish sees a sausage, it creeps up closer to try and eat it, and then ZAP. It's dinner. Like an angler fish but he just uses his whole body. Sausage mode and log mode look exactly the same to us- but fish see them differently.


----------



## Chesh

Looking at videos on YouTube. . . and pictures. Such a strange creature. . . especially when compared to your betta brigade! Now for something completely different, lol! I like him. . .and yours isn't the ONLY one with a chubby stummy!


----------



## Olympia

Can you imagine if someone read this while debating whether they should get an electric catfish?


----------



## Chesh

Haha! They'd be SOLD for sure. . . I love Sparky - over there. I don't think he's my kind of fishy, even though he's adorable! My fish like to nibble on me when my hands are in the water, but I draw the line at, like, POSSIBLE DEATH and stuff  He is _AWFULLY _cute and surprisingly loveable, though. . . hmmmmmm. . .

Sakura. . . you seriously HAVE to leave that video cam going and leave the room! I'm so CURIOUS!


----------



## Pearl2011

You need to do that! That would be so neat!


----------



## Sakura8

Guess what I got?

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyEatsSortOf.mp4


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura8 said:


> Guess what I got?
> 
> http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyEatsSortOf.mp4


A waffle?


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: And syrup to go with it. 

Just reading on the web about people who successfully keep their electric cats with other fish. The key, it seems, is a very big tank. Sadly, Sparky's 55gal is not big enough. Hopefully one day soon I can upgrade. A 180gal with an oscar or other big cichlid and Sparky!


----------



## Pearl2011

What are you doing, sitting on your pellet? Trying to hatch it?
Of course he is, then he gets ore pellets!

Atleast im not the only person that talks to her fish


----------



## Sakura8

Oh yes, I must always provide the dorkiest commentary I can think of.  I listen to the audio on these and think, "Wow. Gotta remember there's sound on these videos" and then I start babbling even more.


----------



## Olympia

Wouldn't be a Sparky video without Sakura's narrating. xD
He's gotten so FAT. Look at his belly! Hasn't gained weight, pfft. :rofl:


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Thanks, Olympia. :lol:

Oh yes, he's gotten chubby. I don't think he is being stunted by his tank but he does seem to be getting fatter and not longer. I feel like once a day, I should make him swim against a powerhead for 10 minutes or something, just so he exercises.  He'd probably zap the powerhead and short circuit it though.


----------



## Olympia

Maybe he mind controls you into giving him too many pellets. 
Forget sausage, he'll be a blimp soon enough.


----------



## Sakura8

He'll go from being a sausage link to a sausage patty.


----------



## teeneythebetta

At my grandma's old house, she had a Cory and there were cat fish in it.

And we swam in it. Never did the thought come into my mind that one might try to murder me xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

LOL! HE'S SOOOO CUTE! You crack me up. . . "NO! SHE KEEPS WATCHING MEEE!" Poor fishy. . . I think he IS getting fatter!!! It adds to his charm, though


----------



## Sakura8

If you look at the Sparkster from certain angles, he looks he has a massive gut. :shock: I would say I'm overfeeding him but 4-5 pellets once a day for an 8-10" fish? Maybe I should cut it down to 3 pellets.


----------



## Olympia

Well, you have to consider that in the wild, he probably would never get a meal every day. Maybe eating once a week would be lucky for him. Maybe don't feed him every day I'd say? I know that's pretty standard for any large carnivore.


----------



## Sakura8

I might try that then. Every other day, 4 pellets? See if that slims him down some or at least controls the spread. Otherwise, it's diet time!


----------



## teeneythebetta

Sakura8 said:


> I might try that then. Every other day, 4 pellets? See if that slims him down some or at least controls the spread. Otherwise, it's diet time!


"No eating here tonight.. no eating here tonight... no no no eating here tonight YOURE ON A DIET!" -Dori from nemo... 

I saw on TV today some type of cat fish.. IT WAS FRIGGING SCARY. HUGE. Not the average cat fish.. i guess it was like.. a cousin of the cat fish mixed with a shark or something xD SCARY.


----------



## Sakura8

There are some catfish species that get gargantuan. Like the wels catfish. Don't wanna mess with that bugger, I think it gets bigger than me! 

Never did receive a reply from Marineland about the faulty bio-wheel in Sparky's Marineland Emperor 400. He's only getting half the filtration from that filter right now. Thank goodness the Fluval 405 is rated for up to 100gals.


----------



## Chesh

Gah, that's sad! I have two tanks with those weird biowheels in them. . . and while mine have never done anything to make me mistrust them - I DO! I'm just not so sure about that form of filtration - even though the tanks they run in are fine! Hopefully they get back in touch and all is well


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah, some part is missing in the little notch where the biowheel sits and rotates, so this one wheel won't spin. The other one does. I think the only way to fix this is for them to send me a new filter because it's such a weird part to be missing. I don't think it can be repaired or replaced.


----------



## Pearl2011

That sucks. When I had 5 goldfish in a 10 gallon (pet store advice, and I thought 2 gallon a fish was a lot) the filter was so clogged it stopped working. It was so gross. I got my mom to clean it 
Hopefully they get back to you. That must be such a pain.


----------



## Sakura8

Thanks, Pearl.

Today is day one of Sparky's new "every other day" feeding regimen. He was waiting in his typical corner when I went out there, bobbing like a log. How disappointed he must be.  I'm sorry, Sparky, it's for your own pudgy good! *hides pellet bag*


----------



## CreativePotato

This thread just cracks me up. I'm having a crappy day, too, so I'm glad I found this lol.
Sakura, Sparky should run for president this fall...he already has quite the cult following! XD


----------



## thekoimaiden

teeneythebetta said:


> I saw on TV today some type of cat fish.. IT WAS FRIGGING SCARY. HUGE. Not the average cat fish.. i guess it was like.. a cousin of the cat fish mixed with a shark or something xD SCARY.


Actually some of the largest freshwater fish in the world are catfishes. Sparky comes from a long line of chubby fish! The biggest fish that has been verified was a mekong giant catfish that weighed in at 646 pounds (293 kilograms) and was nine feet long (2.7 meters). 









Better not let him get that big, Sakura 

National Geographic article about this monster

Then there are also the goonch (_Bagarius yarrelli_), piraiba (_Brachyplatystoma spp_), and redtailed catfish (which is sometimes sold in the aquarium trade grr) on top of the wels catfish. After seeing his cousins, better keep an eye on Sparky's weight! :lol:


----------



## djembekah

Sparky's liiiiips! I want to kiss them :*


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky was not happy about his new feeding regimen. When I went out this morning, he looked as if he had not moved from his "feeding" spot. He even bobbed up and down extra enthusiastically, rising at least two centimeters off the substrate instead of the usual one. :shock: Whoa there, Sparky, calm down!


----------



## Pearl2011

lol, mine usually get 2 centimeters _out _of the tank.


----------



## teeneythebetta

djembekah said:


> Sparky's liiiiips! I want to kiss them :*


Lol dare ya! I think sakura needs you to sign a waver first... No reason xD :-D


----------



## Sakura8

I hereby swear I will not sue Sakura8 no matter what side effects I may incur from kissing her electric catfish on the lips. These side effects may include, tingling, numbness in the hands and feet, nausea, headache, blackouts . . . wait, aren't those the side effects for 90% of the drugs they advertise on TV?


----------



## Pearl2011

You forgot to mention death and a coma as the side effects . . .


----------



## Sakura8

Oh gee. How could I forget those.


----------



## Pearl2011

I know, shame Sakura, shame.


----------



## Olympia

Aww I feel bad for telling you to put him on a diet now!
Poor Sparkster!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

At least he just got a water change. Which he spent the entire time hiding in his tunnels. At least act happy about the clean water!


----------



## Olympia

Are his poops big?

MAN, what is with my fascination with animal poop lately. >_<


----------



## Pearl2011

Olympia said:


> Are his poops big?
> 
> MAN, what is with my fascination with animal poop lately. >_<


And my friend think I'm weird? I will never understand people who make me look normal, co-ordinated and quiet.


----------



## Sakura8

Olympia and Pearl, :lol:

Yeah, they usually are but then they break down into things that look like brick crumbles. Even with all that extra filtration and Kent's Nitrate Sponge in the Emperor 400, his nitrates still got up to 40.


----------



## Chesh

Olympia said:


> Are his poops big? MAN, what is with my fascination with animal poop lately. >_<


 Limpi, have I told you yet that I _adore_ you? Poops. . . *giggle*


----------



## Olympia

It's funny. First I went to the ADF thread to ask about their poops, then I came here and asked about Sparky's poops. I work at a vet's office so I have to deal with A LOT of poops there, I guess I'm starting to get an appreciation for it?! :rofl:

... Or is that I'm saying poops?

Sooo, Sparky eats pellets and poops out pellets, pretty much? :-D


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> Sparky was not happy about his new feeding regimen. When I went out this morning, he looked as if he had not moved from his "feeding" spot. He even bobbed up and down extra enthusiastically, rising at least two centimeters off the substrate instead of the usual one. :shock: Whoa there, Sparky, calm down!


Pooooooor Sparky! Maybe. . . just _maybe_ this'll teach him that he LOVES you! Have you considered putting him near one of the Betta tanks? Perhaps he should watch how they dance for their pellets? We_ KNOW_ he dances when nobody is watching - I wanna see him dance for his supper! Can you imagine? Sparky? Doing the Betta Wiggle!? Ooooh, yeah.


----------



## Pearl2011

You should do that, just as an experiment. Although mine jump (and have died because of that) and i dont think you want to pick up an electric catfish. 

Betta wiggle? OMG i seem so normal now!


----------



## Chesh

Pearl2011 said:


> OMG i seem so normal now!


I feel it may be imperative at this point that we define the word "normal." I just want to be clear. . . ;-)


----------



## Sakura8

I own a fish that could shock me potentially into a coma. I'm definitely not normal.

Dancing sausage . . . *visions of Sparky doing the betta wiggle*


----------



## Olympia

I wonder if you could train him to do that fish school thing where they swim through hoops. Size extra large please. :-D
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

I'd have to use a needlepoint hoop or something huge.  And he'd probably still get stuck. *halfway through* "I'm bored. Think I'll just stop here for now."


----------



## Chesh

I bet he'll move if you put PELLETSES on the other side of that hoop! Do you think he'd end up like Winnie The Pooh, though? When he ate so much honey he got stuck in his house! Poor Sparky. Such speculation! Such mystery! Such a lot of sitting around doing NOTHING, and yet somehow. . . he has us ALL on the edge of our seats! *luffs Sparky*


----------



## Chesh

. . . then again. . . he'd prolly just zap you for trying to 'train' him like some kind of PET!


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca. :lol: "Oh bother. She thinks I'm some kind of . . . pet." *zap* "Now, how do I get unstuck from this hoop? Oh bother."


----------



## Pearl2011

No, he'd zap you for treating him like a fish. 
My bestie trained her betta to swim through a hoop when she was 9. Dont ask me how.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky decided to spend the day leisurely lounging in his tunnel with most of his back end sticking out. He is, in some ways, a very economical fish to keep because I rarely turn his tank light on except to feed him. Of course, what money I save on his light, I spend on the fact that he needs 3 filters in his tank. 

Pondering setting up a guppy breeding tank to breed feeders for him. I have the guppies, I have the tank. Do I have the will to doom them to a sparkified death?


----------



## Tazman

Something for the Sparky range of Merchandise when it comes out


----------



## Sakura8

You can be head of the marketing division, Taz.


----------



## Chesh

Oh, I LOVE IT! When will the tee-shirts become available? I have to do a sketch of this little guy!!!


----------



## Pearl2011

3 filters?? I see why you dont want to turnthe light on.


----------



## Sakura8

I may switch back to feeding every day but only feeding 2 pellets. I honestly have no idea how much to feed a fish of his size and type. But Hikari says each Massivore nugget is like the equivalent of 1.5 feeder goldfish soooo . . . yeah. I'm thinking 2 a day?


----------



## Olympia

The Hikari site says feed once a day as much as they'll eat in a few minutes.. 
Somehow I think that's not right.. hehe. Maybe ask some monster fish keepers?


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah, I think I will. Although, I don't think he can eat much in 1 minute. He's a slow eater.

What do you mean, put on my happy face? This IS my happy face.








If I can't see you, you aren't there.








EDIT:
In an effort to see how big Sparky is, I measure his pipe tunnel. It's about 8.5 inches and Sparky can fit all the way into it so I'm guessing he's approximately 7 inches or so. I wonder if he'll grow?


----------



## teeneythebetta

Omg his tail is so cuteee 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## thekoimaiden

AWWW Sparkybutt! Between the koi and Sparky, you are on your way to becoming the site's resident monster fish keeper! :lol:


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Izzy, yeah. Now I just want a freshwater stingray and a school of redhook pacu.


----------



## thekoimaiden

Teacup stingray!!! :-D Have you seen videos of those little darlings? You could turn the garage into your fishroom!


----------



## Sakura8

Teacup and motoro. A pair of each. If we weren't building a studio where the pool is, I'd leave the pool and just dechlorinate the life out of it. Imagine, I could even have a redtail cat!

So I just fed Sparky his pellets and they were gone the moment they hit the bottom. I didn't even see them disappear into his mouth. Just *poof* gone. Boy likes his pellets.


----------



## Sakura8

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyBobs.mp4

He was in his tunnel but when he saw me, he swam out and went straight to his "feeding corner."


----------



## Romad

Sakura8 said:


> Sparky Bobs video by SakuraNeko8 - Photobucket
> 
> He was in his tunnel but when he saw me, he swam out and went straight to his "feeding corner."



Love it! Look at who's a camera hog after all


----------



## Olympia

It's like talking to a wall.. xD
You can really see how it just looks like someone glued some googly eyes onto him.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Pearl2011

There another patch of missing sand in that video?! Maybe hes using Zumba to loose some weight??


----------



## Sakura8

If he is, Pearl, it's not working. 

I can't help but wonder just how much he sees out of those googly eyes of his. O.O


----------



## teeneythebetta

Ya know, in a weird sort of way... He kinda looks like a walrus.. Of course without the massive teeth.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Pearl2011

Nope, def not working . . .
His eyes are so 'Im watching you' (high pitched creepy laugh)
Or is that me?


----------



## Olympia

Nawh, his eyes look like they don't even work. xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

His eyes are about as big as his nostrils. 

He's hiding in his tunnel today because I turned the light on so the anubias in there can grow a little.


----------



## thekoimaiden

Olympia said:


> You can really see how it just looks like someone glued some googly eyes onto him.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I totally agree! He really looks like someone glued whiskers and googly eyes on a crazy potato-sausage hybrid. I showed the first videos to a friend of mine who had no clue about the running Sparky jokes, and he asked "what is that potato-fish-thing?"


----------



## Pearl2011

What is that potato fish thing? That is so lolz


----------



## Chesh

Dude... he is so darn CUTE! And his lips look so lush and. . . KISSABLE!!! 
*MWAH* *ZAAAAP* *MWAAAAAAH*

NOBODY kisses like the Sparkster! 

His eyes. . .look like some type of candy, I can't quite put my finger on it. . . but they do! DUDE! You should, like, take an eclair, and put some icing on it, and add some whiskers using those shoestring licorice pieces, and. . . find the candy for the eyes. . . and HAVE A SPARKY PARTY!!! *BLOWS NOISEMAKER AND DANCES*


----------



## Olympia

They look like chocolate Easter bunny eyes!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

THEY TOTALLY DOOOOOOO!!! Doya think he'd let Sakura put bunny ears on him next April? The whiskers would make it perfection! Oh, how _DARLING!!!_ 

The funny thing is that we have all these ridiculous thoughts and misconceptions about this silly catfish, when the reality is that he just sits there. And eats. And hides. That's _VERY_ boring! 

And he's REALLY. . . ugly! But somehow. . . the cutest thing EVER!

Oh, Sparky, how do you do it? What is this magic spell you've cast to so capture our hearts??!


----------



## Sakura8

Went to visit him tonight and he was . . . wait for it . . . just sitting there. :lol:


----------



## Chesh

_OH SPARKY!_ _WHY_ must you torment us so? All we want is to sit at your feet(?) and adore you - we live and breathe for just _one_ twitch of your magnificent whiskers, and hang on your every word(?). And yet, you insist on keeping your electric love always and eternally at arms reach. Sparky, dear Sparky. . . *swoons*

Hmmm. . . Yup! It's past my bedtime, fer sure! ;-)

Sooooo. . . about those bunny ears?


----------



## Sakura8

I shall be perusing the costume collection at Petco soon. XD 

Why am I tempted to put lipstick on Sparky's lips? Red or pink? Or perhaps coral?


----------



## Chesh

CORAL!!! LMAO! CORAL!!! Oh, you slay me! Mmmm, I think something with a bit of GLITTER to it would do the job. Maybe he'd like to go goth? Think black. . . not quite as dangerously kissable that way


----------



## Pearl2011

I think coral lipstick would be perfect, with a bit of eye liner and mascara.
Would the mascara go on his whiskers? Poor sparky! rofl lolz


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Poor Sparky is right. 

I think he needs false eyelashes.


----------



## Pearl2011

OMG that would be funny, Time to photo shop . . .


----------



## Pearl2011

The one and only fabulous SPARKONATOR!!


----------



## djembekah

omg that's so cute pearl xD


----------



## Chesh

Oh, poor, poor SPARKY! *giggle*


----------



## Pearl2011

I had waaayy too much time on my hands . . . 
I need to work on keeping the mouse steady when I do it.


----------



## Sakura8

I should print it out and put it by his tank. If my stupid printer wasn't broken. So adorable, Pearl!


----------



## Olympia

All this means is that... Sakura, Sparky feels you're not worthy of going to his danceathon.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

But . . .but . . . I paid the admission fee of 2 pellets!


----------



## Chesh

haha! Maybe try THREE!!?


----------



## Sakura8

3 pellets and Sparky will be too fat for his own danceathon. :lol:


----------



## Chesh

He kind of already is! Hmm... the exercise is good for him, the pellets are not. What a connundrum!

Here's a random question for you - when I was looking at these fish on Youtube, everyone was feeding them WORMS! Are you going to go that route eventually? Or just stick with pellets? Just curious. Worms are *blegh* and since he takes the pellets altogether too well, I guess there isn't a NEED. But, you know, I wonder things! You still feeding him every other day? Any changes in that adorable tummy? I kind of LIKE the chub, you know!


----------



## Sakura8

Someday I might try worms just because I know they're supposed to love them but on the other hand, worms are as you said, BLEGH, and I don't want him to get attached to eating them. He sulked so much that I started back on an every day feeding schedule, but only 2 pellets. Sigh. I gotta ask my LFS how much I should be feeding him, since I never got an answer from another place I asked.

So, it's another heat wave and Sparky's tank is getting up toward 90 again so he's back in the house, this time in a 10gal. No more Rubbermaids for Sparky! Here's a video of his Sparkiness.

Sparky in 10 Gal video by SakuraNeko8 - Photobucket


----------



## Chesh

Poor Sparkster! I wonder if he somehow feels MORE comfortable in a smaller tank, since he's been stuffed into one for so long? Or. . .probably just exploring. Whatever, it's nice to see him moving around. He's so CUUUUTE! Hope the heatwave passes quickly again. How on Earth do you catch such a big fishy??!


----------



## Sakura8

With a really big net. Although this time it was easy. He swam into his PVC pipe so I just scooped the pipe up, tipped him out into the net, and carted him on in.


----------



## Chesh

LOL! Was the water zinging? Poor Sparkster. YOU are a very brave lady!


----------



## Sakura8

Not this time, thank goodness. This time it's day so he's all sleepy. Last time, it was night and he was wide awake and waiting for his food.


----------



## Pearl2011

Or just give him lots of food so he is to fat to electrocute you.
He heavy when you pick him up? I've only have goldfish and bettas.


----------



## Sakura8

He weighs maybe as much as a full soda can? He looks so slimy and squishy when he is out of water. I just want to poke his fat belly. 

Tempted to leave him in the 10gal, he's so much more active. But alas, when it cools down, back out to his 55 he goes. 

Love your avatar.


----------



## Pearl2011

Thanks Sakura, she has some serious issues. And she over weight just like Sparky. 12 pounds.


----------



## Chesh

I really wonder WHY?! Is it a sign of stress, do you think? SPARKY! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT!?


----------



## Sakura8

I'm not sure if he's stressed or what. He's so mysterious. But he's been scootching along in his tiny tank all day. Comes out of his tunnel to look at me when I walk by and everything. 

Pearl, one of my cats ate the corner off a wooden windowsill.


----------



## Olympia

He's pacing like a caged animal! How dare you put him in 10 gallons? Or, maybe he's agoraphobic so being in a tiny tank makes him feel safe.


----------



## Sakura8

Because the 15gals would be too heavy for the table. -___- Sparky, I'll never understand you.

More likely, he just realizes that now I see him a lot more often so he's bugging for food. "Oh, there she is! Foood?" Ten minutes later. "Hi again! Fooooood?" Later that evening. "Where ya been? Fooooood?"


----------



## Chesh

HARUMPH! Sparky does not ONLY think about food! Sparky is deep, and contemplates the meaning of the universe behind those glass walls. If only he could talk. . .


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Sparky has discovered the answers to all the world's greatest questions, eh?


----------



## Chesh

Purple. Because ice-cream has no bones.
*nods solemnly*


----------



## Olympia

He's just trying to tell you the meaning of life, but you won't listen! IMAGINE how frustrating that is! xD


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: You two crack me up.

Day two of Sparky's indoor stay. Still pretty warm outside. Discovered I have to change the water in the 10gal twice a day though because he puts out so much ammonia (filter isn't cycled either, that makes a difference). I can tell when I need to change it because he starts breathing heavier. Poor Sparkster.


----------



## djembekah

lots of changes, wow!


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah. Fortunately, I drag the hose in from outside so the filling up part goes really fast.  So can't wait for it to get cooler again. Because his tank is up high, it gets pretty darn warm. The tank on the floor gets cool air from the concrete and the vent so it stays only 82 F.


----------



## Romad

You're going to have to change his name to Sweaty


----------



## Chesh

sweaty fish. . . ? sweaty electric fish. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Romad, :lol:

Woke up, was not in the mood to change the 10gal again so I just dumped him back into his 55gal now that the temp dropped to 80. He gave me a very mild jolt when I reached in to grab his tunnel. "Quit messing with me, woman!"


----------



## Chesh

Can he control the intensity of his attack? WAS it a warning? Does he actually love you, and so _CHOSE_ not to kill you? Or is he just too little (or fat!) to be very good at the whole shocking thing yet. . .


----------



## Sakura8

So much we don't know about the mysterious Sparky and his motivations. He probably didn't kill me 'cause he realized he'd never get food again.  Wonder if his fat acts as an insulator and dulls his electricity?

Oh Sparky, I do love how easy it is to catch you. Just scoop the net and voila. No chasing all over the tank like when I have to catch tetras.


----------



## Chesh

LOL! I was wondering the same thing about that glorious chub. 

Speaking of Tetra. . .and other such small fishies - are your other newbies eating yet?


----------



## djembekah

what kind of snails do you keep with Sparky? where are your baby rabbit snails gonna go ^-^


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca, they still won't eat pellets or flakes but I finally found that they love frozen spirulina brine shrimp. I feed pellets in the morning for the other fish but the frozen foods at night so at least they're eating something. Hopefully in time they'll start eating the pellets too.  The floating water sprite seems to help them a lot.

Bekah, I'm thinking about putting the babies in the 20gal. Haha, definitely not with Sparky. He has pond snails that hitchhiked in on the anubias and he doesn't bother them.


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sakura8 said:


> Woke up, was not in the mood to change the 10gal again so I just dumped him back into his 55gal now that the temp dropped to 80. He gave me a very mild jolt when I reached in to grab his tunnel. "Quit messing with me, woman!"


:lol: HAHA! Forget coffee as the best thing to wake you up in the morning!!


----------



## Chesh

thekoimaiden said:


> :lol: HAHA! Forget coffee as the best thing to wake you up in the morning!!


 :shock: I'll TOTALLY be sticking to my morning cuppa joe, thankyousoverymuch! *giggle*

I'm _SO _glad to hear that you've got them eating something, and that they're starting to settle in! Little troublemakers!!! :roll:


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky decided to celebrate being back in his own tank by breaking the filter intake off again. Oh Sparky.


----------



## djembekah

he does it because he knows you love it xD

heheheh. the 20 sounds like a good home for them. i wouldn't put them with Sparky either, even if he wants a pet bunny.


----------



## Sakura8

"Please momma? I promise not to zap them on purpose! Please? Just a lil pet?"


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura8 said:


> "Please momma? I promise not to zap them on purpose! Please? Just a lil pet?"


Key words: On purpose


----------



## Sakura8

Well you never know what he might do if he gets too excited about his lil pet.  "Wheeeee! Lookee my new pet! Lookee!" *ZZZTT* "Oh. Oops."


----------



## Pearl2011

Ooops! That all you have to say for giving a poor innocent bunny a coma?! 

Shame Sparky, shame


----------



## Sakura8

Oh Sparky, I think the only pet you'll ever have will be a pet rock. I'll be sure to find a nice big one for you. You can cuddle up to it at night.


----------



## Pearl2011

Unfair! I want a pet rock!!:evil:


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky doesn't share. Sparky is a diva.


----------



## Olympia

GASP.
Find an aquarium safe way to draw a face on it. :-D


----------



## Sakura8

Haha, yeah. That would be hilarious.


----------



## Pearl2011

That would be so funny!
Give it a moustache and a unibow!!


----------



## Olympia

It has to look terrified- because it's living with Sparky.


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: A unibrow! Too funny!


----------



## Chesh

ARE there aquarium-safe paints? My kids paint rocks ALL THE TIME, it's a really fun (and cheap) craft. Ladybugs and turtles are their fave things to turn them into. For Sparky, a little ladybug would be PERFECT, It think! So bright and CUUUUUUTE!


----------



## Alcemistnv

I found Sparky's rock


----------



## Pearl2011

That. Is. Freaking. EPIC!


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

I've heard Krylon Fusion is safe for tanks. But it could work. 

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/


----------



## Sakura8

Alchemistrv, I love it! :rofl:

I wonder if it could be coated in aquarium sealant.

Sparky is getting social. He swims to meet me at the front of the tank.


----------



## Pearl2011

Yay!! If he is social you should get him a Facebook page!!
Cee-lo Green has a twitter page for his cat. O_O


----------



## Olympia

OH! What's Sparky's favourite Olympic sport? 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky likes synchronized swimming.  He also has secret dreams about platform diving. (I read his diary when I cleaned his tank)


----------



## Pearl2011

You read his diary?? I'd love to see him doing gymnastics!! Double back filp off the beam thing and he sticks the landing . . . er . . .belly flop.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky is watching water polo right now and is getting some funny ideas. I think he likes this sport even more. "Hey, I could body slam people!" *ZZZTTT* "But ref, I can't help it! I'm an electric catfish!"

Sparky can't figure out how he could do most of the apparatus for gymnastics, without very long pectorals. "Can't reach the high bar!"


----------



## Olympia

Use his whiskers?

Sparky would be a NATURAL at MARCO polo (came to mind with water polo!) He could just use his electric senses to find everyone! :OO


----------



## Sakura8

He would love Marco Polo. He could just stun everyone and tag 'em easy.


----------



## Pearl2011

So as a catcher for softball. Zap em before they get to home plate. Should consider that for next season . . .


----------



## Sakura8

One of my other LFS had a baby electric catfish! Eeee! It was about 3" long. Too bad Sparky is a loner or I would have gotten him a buddy.


----------



## Olympia

Wow... That's kind of annoying, wonder how long the poor thing will be there. :-(


----------



## Sakura8

Hopefully not long or I might cave and get it anyway. This was a different LFS so I think they'll move it on pretty fast. Maybe put it in the 20gal for now? No! *smacks face* I must be good! No more electric catfish rescues!


----------



## Olympia

Sakura will become a crazy cat(fish) lady! 
Is he spotted like Sparky?


----------



## Sakura8

He was half hidden by a huge sponge filter. All I saw was his little head poking out. He even had a dopey grin like Sparky.


----------



## Olympia

Family resemblance!


----------



## Alcemistnv

I just read back and I'm trying to imagine a sausage like him jump off a diving board


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: It was. I was like, "Aww, Sparky's little sister!"

EDIT:




Alcemistnv said:


> I just read back and I'm trying to imagine a sausage like him jump off a diving board


Doing a back double pike with a full twist, too.


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura8 said:


> :lol: It was. I was like, "Aww, Sparky's little sister!"
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Doing a back double pike with a full twist, too.



Double pike with a full twist, ptfff, how PATHETIC! Sparky, work on your dives more!! Dont be a wanna be!

Did you hear what the Chinese team did for gymnastics??


----------



## dramaqueen

I like the idea of Sparky getting his own facebook page. He's got quite a fan club here. lol


----------



## Sakura8

Hmm. Sparky and I will have to discuss that. I have enough trouble keeping up with my own facebook page. 

Sparky thinks he could swim the 100m butterfly in record time. I've seen him practicing.


----------



## Pearl2011

Then he could joint the Canadian swim team!!
Beat that Phelps!!


----------



## Chesh

Wait, what? Sparky knows how to swim??! When did that happen? I thought he just. . . kind of. . . bobbed


----------



## Olympia

Do you know if they can breathe air like betta?
I know a lot of primitive fish can.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Well, Sparky does have to work on his form a lot but he thinks his bobbing motion makes him a natural at the butterfly. If he just bobs a little more enthusiastically, he'll have it down.  Rio De Janeiro 2016, here we come!

Olympia, hmm. I'm not sure. I don't think he can breathe air. At least, I haven't read anything about them being able to use their swimbladders as auxiliary lungs or anything like that. But see, that's an advantage. He doesn't have to come up for air when swimming a race. 

EDIT: Pearl, Sparky will join an African team, as he is an African catfish.


----------



## Pearl2011

We can have African fish on our team, that how PRO we are!!
Do bad he cant play softball, because, oh no, the Olympic comity just HAD to get rid of it. Stupid people.


----------



## Sakura8

They got rid of softball because USA kept winning every single Olympics. Can't remember how it went in baseball. Just remember that competition wasn't very good because none of the MLB teams would send their best players. 

Sparky thinks if he isn't a swimmer, he'd like to try judo.


----------



## Pearl2011

Then you could give the other teams a couple of years and they very well could catch up.
Hey, are softball team went from ultimate bad to 2nd place provincial champs. You just need time. And the pitcher we have could pitch 65 mile an hour when she was 11.


----------



## Sakura8

Go Team Sparky!

Haha, he gets any longer and fatter and he'll be mistaken for the bat.


----------



## Pearl2011

How many inches around is he? It he is more then 2.5 inches the bat is bigger. And he would be longer if he was 33 inches or bigger. Some people have smaller bats but that what I use.


----------



## Sakura8

He's got to be around 4" at least at his widest point. He's such a chubbo and I got no help at my LFS on how much to feed him.

"Try one pellet a day for a week and see if he loses weight. But usually, just feed as much as he'll eat."

Considering how fast the pellets disappear once I put them in, he could eat me out of house and home if I fed him as much as he'd eat.


----------



## dramaqueen

Sparky went from being a sausage to being a baseball bat. Rofl


----------



## Chesh

a rather oddly-shaped and. . . squishy baseball bat. No, I don't think it's going to work out. He's simply too FLOPPY to be used to hit a home run. Can you imagine the wet 'slpat' he would make on impact? Not okay at all. 

I think we should stick to sausage/sweet potato, though. . . consistency-wise, my vote goes for sausage.


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: It'd be like fish schlapping (thinks of Monty Python). "Fish schlap, schlap away your day!"

Sparky enjoyed his water change today. So far, his tank temp is holding steady around 80-85 F so he hopefully won't need to be moved indoors during this latest heat wave.


----------



## Pearl2011

Depending on the team you dont even have to hit to get a triple, and a bunt gets you a home run. O_O


----------



## Chesh

No. _ABSOLUTELY NOT_. Sparky does not, nor shall he ever - bunt. The practice of catfish bunting has been strictly prohibited, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law should you be found to be involved in any way with catfish buntery. 

You should be ashamed to even think such things of our fearless leader! Sweet Potatoes and Sausages are cute. We can eat them, or choose not to. But a _BAT?!_ The line must be drawn HERE. This far, and no farther!





@ Sparky - do you believe these people!? :roll:


----------



## Sakura8

:rofl:

*thinks about it some more*

:rofl:


----------



## Pearl2011

Chesherca said:


> No. _ABSOLUTELY NOT_. Sparky does not, nor shall he ever - bunt. The practice of catfish bunting has been strictly prohibited, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law should you be found to be involved in any way with catfish buntery.
> 
> You should be ashamed to even think such things of our fearless leader! Sweet Potatoes and Sausages are cute. We can eat them, or choose not to. But a _BAT?!_ The line must be drawn HERE. This far, and no farther!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> @ Sparky - do you believe these people!? :roll:


My friend emailed me to say tHe pOtAtOe kNoWs aLl 

And about catfish buntery, how about catfish home running? Or grand slammingery?


----------



## Tazman

We still need sparky vision to be online. Get the webcam going!


----------



## Pearl2011

Just 1$ per minute


----------



## Sakura8

$1 a minute to watch Sparky just lay there.


----------



## Tazman

lol


----------



## Chesh

And you KNOW we'd all watch him from time to time! Talk about easy cash


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah, enough cash to get another fish tank.


----------



## Chesh

DO IT! I'll commit to at LEAST $5 a week


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: I may be moving by early next year so I'll be in a better position to set up a webcam. Kinda hard to get it set up out in the garage.


----------



## Chesh

excuses, excuses. . . 

How goes the heatwave, btw?


----------



## Pearl2011

And when he moves 5$ a minute! 

If the fish tanks are in the garage how do people see them?


----------



## Olympia

Sparky, our fearless leader? Hahahhahaha!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Pearl2011

I dont want to be rules by a floating sausage over lord!!


----------



## Olympia

Hey! The Berlin zoo has their electric cat with other fish!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo3blEn766A
You just need some giant fishies for Sparky's tank! :3

(honestly they did cross my mind for my tank.. but I don't want to risk anyone!)


----------



## Sakura8

Sure, I just need a tank that size and then I'd be more than happy to get Sparky giant fish tankmates. 

Pearl, people only see the tanks if I show them out in the garage, which I don't always do (stinky catboxes are out there too). I can't wait until I can move the tanks someplace different. You have to practically lay on your stomach to see the fish in the 29gal, because it's on the floor.

The heatwave goes. His tank is staying steady at 84 F. A little warm but as long as it stays at 85 or under, I won't worry.


----------



## Sakura8

Well, this'll probably be the last pic or vid for a while, seeing as my cat broke my camera this evening. I had just taken this during a commercial break, set the camera down for a moment, turned around and the cat had grabbed the strap and pulled it onto the floor. Now the lens won't retract and the camera automatically turns itself off after 2 seconds. -_____- And the Best Buy bill was just paid off literally two weeks ago. Sigh. 

Buuut, on the other hand, someone was unusually active tonight.  I wanted to get this filmed quickly but he just kept on swimming so it's kind of long.

Sparky Swims! video by SakuraNeko8 - Photobucket


----------



## thekoimaiden

Hehe. Sparky looks like he's trying to burn off those extra calories. His belly does look a little chubbier. 

If you look at that video Olympia posted, you'll see their electric catfish also looks pretty chubby. I guess it runs in the family! :lol:


----------



## Olympia

That's a good point. If a zoo has a fat one then it must be okay!


----------



## Romad

Sparky has Olympic fever! The judges give him a 9.999


----------



## Chesh

Y'know. . . I really DO think Sparky is a girl... I randomly read info on electric catfish, and keep running into the information that MALES are more SLENDER. Slender... our Sparky is not. Of course, this IS in comparison, and so I suppose we're no more ahead than we were before without a pair!


----------



## Sakura8

Sometimes when Sparky swims up the glass with his stomach showing to me, I sorta . . . look. But I can't tell. At one point, I thought for sure he was a male but the next time, I wasn't so sure. Sorry for invading your privacy, Sparky!


----------



## Olympia

He looks as fat as the zoo catfish.. Email the zoo and ask the gender of their catfish! xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

I could. I wonder . . . all I need is a little diagram of the differences and I could probably tell the next time Sparky swims up the glass.


----------



## Pearl2011

Do the cat try ot get at the tank on the floor? My cat drank from my fish tank when I had it off to change the filter. And she used to sleep on it. Thats the only time I really get mad at her . . . then give her the cold shoulder for a bit. Little rodent.


----------



## Pearl2011

I just found a catfish that makes Spraky look slim, fit Americas next top model lol
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=753085&d=1330562960

He is FAT!!


----------



## Olympia

Wow, that fish has nothing on Sparky.


----------



## Sakura8

That is one fat fish! He even has the silly grin too! Wheee, I love electric catfish!

As my mom put it, they're so ugly they're cute and so boring they're interesting.


----------



## Olympia

I noticed the grin too. That one has "jazz fins" going on. xD


----------



## Sakura8

He and Sparky could totally do synchronized swimming.


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> As my mom put it, they're so ugly they're cute and so boring they're interesting.











Tell your mom she's a genius! She nailed it! Sparky is the greatest. . .


----------



## Sakura8

:lol:


----------



## thekoimaiden

Pearl2011 said:


> I just found a catfish that makes Spraky look slim, fit Americas next top model lol
> http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=753085&d=1330562960
> 
> He is FAT!!


:lol: I just love that grin!!! Sparky shouldn't feel as bad anymore. 

On note about Sparky's gender, looking at his.. ehem.. probably isn't going to tell you much. Generally the differences between males and females in the fish world revolves around fin shape, body shape (females are chubbier), and the occasional breeding tubercules. Some cichlids will develope breeding tubes from their cloaca around breeding time. I checked Fishbase.org out to see if they had any M/F differences listed, but they didn't. However, they did have some interesting info listed about Sparky's electric organ. 

"Active at night, feeding mainly on fish stunned by electric shocks. The electric organ, capable of discharging 300-400 V, is derived from pectoral muscle and surrounds almost the entire body. It is used both for prey capture and defense. Electric organ discharge (EOD) is intermittent and the amplitude increases with size of the fish" More info. I guess it's a good thing he's a small little bugger!


----------



## Chesh

*wonders if we can have that removed?*


----------



## Sakura8

"Doctor, I'd like my catfish's electrical organ removed."

"Err, you mean, you want a cat neutered?"

"No, de-electrified."

"Riiiiight. Contact your electric company then."

Izzy, yeah, I figured as much but I have read about some fish that have erm, as the fish profile books put it, papilla that denotes the gender. Thought it was worth a try as long as he was showing it off. He has no shame.


----------



## Olympia

I know for a lot of rare catfish the standard is to stick a metal probe.. in.. there and you can feel whether it's a boy or girl. (They do this for snakes too).

Hey Sakura.. metal probe. Good idea? xD


----------



## Sakura8

Sure, I'll handle the probe and you hold him. :lol:

I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe was sticking his finger in snake arses to sex them.


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> Sure, I'll handle the probe and you hold him. :lol:


Please remember to wear rubber boots :shock:


----------



## Pearl2011

Well, that conversation was . . . awkward 
How about you learn to speak electric catfish and just ask him/her? I dotk now, but I have alwasy thought of Sparky as a girl. But thats me


----------



## eaturbyfill

I didn't know there was a Sparky log! Anyway, those pictures of him/her are lovely :-D


----------



## Chesh

SPARKLES!!! *bats lashes*


----------



## Sakura8

Haha, somehow the name Sparkles makes me think of some Japanese anime superheroine. "Electric Love Hug!" *thinks of Sailor Moon*


----------



## Pearl2011

YES!!! You should re-mane her Sparkles!!! That is pure pwnage!!! 

Cant believe I just typed that. I sound like were about to play the softball team we cant stand . . . .


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Maybe I should just name the poor thing Pat.


----------



## Chesh

Sakura. . .
"I'm beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion. . ."


----------



## Pearl2011

I'm with ches! Why would you call you adorably violent fish Pat?


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Atilla? That name seems to go either way, even though it was a guy . . . Atilla the Sparky!

By the way, I'm not Sparky's favorite person right now. Sometimes I find him just bobbing there and I get worried he's dead so I poke him with a net. I've done that 3 times in 2 days now. He really looks like an inanimate sausage when he doesn't move.


----------



## Chesh

I don't know a darn thing about catfish - should we be worried? Is that normal catfish behaviour? (I know it's normal fish-keeper behavior, even though it shouldn't be).

Do you think he would benefit from a trip into the 10g for an hour a day to get some exercise?

Psh, everybody knows Atillia is a GIRL'S name!


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sakura8 said:


> He really looks like an inanimate sausage when he doesn't move.


Which is all the more reason to have a Sparky-cam! You could set up some probes in his tank and make him power it! :lol:

But in all seriousness we are enthralled by videos of a chubby fish sitting still and occasionally waggling his whiskers. <3 Sparky


----------



## Sakura8

He just looks at me and I can't even see his gills moving. Scares the life out of me. I'm always like, "Nooooo, the people on the forum will kill me if you die!" I mean, aside from the obvious fact that I'd be devastated if something happened to the Sparkster. He's just so . . . Sparky!

Once I move, I can get that web cam set up somehow. I just can't figure out how to get it work out in the garage when the wireless modem is at the other end of the house. And now with my camera out of comission . . . *steals parents' camera*

Haha, yes, maybe Sparky needs a membership to the 10gal gym.


----------



## Chesh

That would make me nervous, too! Sparky is a deep sleeper. . . wonder if he snores?


----------



## Pilot00

Sakura8 said:


> :lol: Atilla? That name seems to go either way, even though it was a guy . . . Atilla the Sparky!
> 
> By the way, I'm not Sparky's favorite person right now. Sometimes I find him just bobbing there and I get worried he's dead so I poke him with a net. I've done that 3 times in 2 days now. He really looks like an inanimate sausage when he doesn't move.



Which hours and under what luminosity? Catfish are nocturnal by nature. Durring the day he will find a place and stay there immobile. I had one of those for a short time and believe it or not he jumped out of the tank (though it was much much smaller than sparky).

EDIT: You might want to consider fastening him a bit he is a glutton as i can see from the pics.


----------



## Olympia

Sakura8 said:


> He just looks at me and I can't even see his gills moving. Scares the life out of me. I'm always like, "Nooooo, the people on the forum will kill me if you die!" I mean, aside from the obvious fact that I'd be devastated if something happened to the Sparkster. He's just so . . . Sparky!


Sakura, as Sparky's care taker, you'd be a huge target if something happened to him. Like Michael Jackson's doctor. ;-)

We've been talking about a fish that does nothing for almost 50 pages now. :shock:


----------



## Sakura8

Pilot, knowing he was nocturnal, I almost never turn his tank light on. He gets some dim light filtered in through the windows in the garage door and of course light when anyone is out in the garage with the light turned on but other than that, his habitat is kept quite dim.

And do you have any recommendations on how much to feed him? I've never been able to get a conclusive answer from my LFS. Currently, he's on a 2/2 Hikari Massivore Nugget diet but the amount really has bounced around, from 2 every other day to 5 a day and all over the food map. I've never fed a fish this big.  I feel like 2 isn't enough but 4 is maybe too much . . . 

Olympia, :rofl: I know. I can feel the pressure already with my fat little celebrity. It's only a matter of time before Sparky gets to make a whisker imprint at the Hollywood walk of fame.


----------



## Olympia

Well from what I know about bichir, even adults should be fed daily. I think, 2 a day is good.. Or maybe 2 in the morning 1 in the evening. Those pellets seem so small from the video though, it's weird that he's chubbed up so much.


----------



## Sakura8

But then, the electocat in the Berlin zoo looked pretty fat and he had a huge tank to swim around in. 

Maybe they're just . . . fat fish? 

I might try the 3 a day route, I guess. He just inhales them. I mean, literally. You know how his mouth is shaped like a vacuum cleaner nozzle? *whooosh* Sucks in all the food in the general area. 

The LFS was like, "Just feed him as much as he'll eat in a few minutes." 

If I did that, he'd be a Sparky Blimp. :shock:


----------



## Pilot00

I wouldnt feed him twice a day. Can you post a pic to see whether his belly is normal or not? 

I have been feeding mine once at noon/early night.
They are a carnivorus species but can eat everything provided you train it. The food you throw him is good, i have kept mine on it, they also eat bloodworms and beef heart. They have the goldfish syndrome (will eat until explodes) more so if it has ever hunted in the past and now depends on you to feed it.

They indeed grow fat easily but their form is sleek.

EDIT: As far as i know there is no standard on how much to feed them, they will eat anything and everything on every amount. The only constant must be high protein because they are carnivora. If you see he is turning too fat reduce the amount and fasten him for 2-4 days. They can last for 15-20 days (when well fed previously) without food. I had mine left for 20 days each August for 4 years and he didnt even loose weight. They are strange thingies.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky is a picky eater. -___- I would prefer if he ate nice cheap frozen foods like beefheart and bloodworms but he has so far ignored everything but the pellets. The expensive pellets. 










All the best shots of his fat belly are in the videos scattered throughout the thread.


----------



## Pilot00

He has a belly but i wouldnt call him overfed. You might consider leaving him for a day each week without food. He probably was used to the pelets thats why he wont eat anything else.


----------



## Sakura8

They told me at the LFS that he ate bloodworms and krill too but he's refused those also. 

I can certainly fast him once a week (probably should've been doing so all along). I'm just a little concerned because he seems to be getting fatter but not longer. He's about 7.5" now.


----------



## Pilot00

If you can find him a tubular cave/decoration to call his own you will make him very happy. They like these but will most probably cover the entire tank hahaha.

Provided enough space he will roughly double on that size eventually.

What is the size of the tank if i may ask?


----------



## Sakura8

He has a PVC pipe and a huge turtle tunnel that he adores.

A 55gal. I've had him for maybe a month?


----------



## Pilot00

Check this out, its fully grown (for an aquarium, they get longer in the wild)

EDIT: I wouldnt worry he needs some time to grow up


----------



## Olympia

I really think Sparky is a beauty queen in electric catfish world...


----------



## Sakura8

Oh, she's amazing! Sparky looks just like that when he goes into feeding mode too. She looks like she's in a 55gal also?

EDIT: I just adore these fish.


----------



## Pilot00

Sakura8 said:


> Oh, she's amazing! Sparky looks just like that when he goes into feeding mode too. She looks like she's in a 55gal also?
> 
> EDIT: I just adore these fish.


To be honest i cant tell. I have a 36g and from the video it looks smaller than mine. My perception through vids is not good XD


----------



## Sakura8

If that's the case, I certainly don't feel so bad about keeping Sparky in a 55.


----------



## Olympia

Mmm at the end of the video he says it's a 40 gallon.


----------



## Sakura8

Oh, I missed that. So Sparky is just fine in his 55.


----------



## Chesh

HOORAY for another Electrocat keeper!!! Welcome to this silly thread. . . Sparky is, like, the coolest fish that ever was. *nods*

I will make a pilgrimage to Hollywood to see Sparky's . . . whiskerprints. . . annually. *nods* Sparky is my hero!


----------



## Sakura8

I wonder if Sparky IS a female because he's so round. I dunno if I could adjust to that, I'm so used to him being a him.


----------



## Chesh

Believe me, if I can adjust to calling my daughter's beautiful MALE Betta PRINCESS, you can adjust to the ol' Sparkster being a girl, too!


----------



## Sakura8

:rofl: True, I suppose I can. :lol: *fondly remembers Princess Rose, my first betta*

So, poll time. Who thinks Sparky is a girl?


----------



## Chesh

Oooh! Oh! I do! I do! *waves hand*

ETA: This is based on no evidence whatsoever, I just want his full name to be SPARKLES! Because an ELECTRIC catfish named Sparkles is OMG! ROFL! AWESOME!


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Chesherca. So we have one vote for Miss Sparkles. 

Did his water change. It's 105 so at least that got his water temp down to 81 F. I don't think his heater has kicked in once since I got him. Which is good because I still have to get a heater guard for it. I heard these guys can easily burn themselves. 

"I'm sorry guys, Sparkles had an accident with the curling iron, er, heater today . . ."


----------



## Olympia

:shock: Heater guard. I think I may need to look into those too.


NO. Sparky _is _a BOY. I refuse to believe otherwise! :|


----------



## Sakura8

And we have a vote for Mr. Sparky. Uh oh . . . who wants to be a tiebreaker?

Ooh, right, your ropefish and bichir will probably need them.


----------



## Olympia

I hear rope fish love burning themselves on heaters. :lol:
They seem to be the biggest pain in the butt fish ever, actually. "Any hole 1/4" or bigger must be covered." THAT small?! HOB filters are not recommended for them either.


----------



## Sakura8

Oh you are going to have so much fun with your guys, haha! Well, I did hear they were exquisite escape artists. The good news is at least if they get loose, they'll live for a while.


----------



## Olympia

T-minus 60 minutes to locate rope fish. Go.


----------



## Sakura8

As long as it doesn't slither under the sofa. 

*checks lid on Sparky's tank* Nope, that fat boy/girl ain't going nowhere.


----------



## Chesh

Pearl2011 said:


> YES!!! You should re-name her Sparkles!!! That is pure pwnage!!!



I think we already _HAVE_ Pearl's vote 

**see page 47 of this ridiculous thread for more details**


----------



## Sakura8

Why yes, indeed we do have Pearl's vote. That makes it 2-1. Sparky is a female!


----------



## Chesh

ROFL! That seems like it was too easy! Maybe we should hang on, TazMan might want to have some say in this - the question of gender is HUGE!


----------



## Olympia

In my defense, Sparky IS the thinnest electric catfish of all the photos and videos we've seen!


----------



## thekoimaiden

I do have to agree with Olympia. Most of the electocats I've seen in google have been rather plump (boyfriend thinks they are the funniest thing in the world). I vote Sparky as male. 

Also, I know it's off-topic, but Olympia, have you looked into external heaters for your African oddballs tank?


----------



## Olympia

No.. I already have a few small internals. I have 2 but might need one more to add up to the tank size. It needs to be warmer than I thought at first.

These.. external heaters.. are they expensive? Because I am broke.


----------



## Sakura8

At least the name Sparky goes either way. Sooo, it's 2-2. Sparky, you are a mystery to us all.

Wait, if Sparky is thin then . . . :shock: Those other cats must be real chubs!


----------



## Pearl2011

LOL, ya I think Sparkles is a girl (see how easy *I* can adjust to calling her the proper gender).

And common, girls are better then boys. We are a lot smarter, understand the meaning of 'in-style' so much better and we are a lot tougher and less squeamish. Or at least the girls I know.
This actually happened in my class playing soccer. A guy got kicked and kept complain, I got a soccer ball in the face and my eye puffed up and contact almost fell out and I didnt cry or complain. Girls kick guys butt.


----------



## Chesh

I have no idea what 'in style' means. . .
. . . unless it means_ SPARKLES!!!! _

If *I* had a fish named Sparkles OR Sparky, I'd just end up calling it Sparks. Cuz' that's what I do. Princess ShimmerBlue is Shimz or Shimzy (because I. . . just. . . can't REMEMBER that we're _pretending_ he's a girl all of the time so (s)he is kind of gender neutral as a fish right now, lol, Sparky even more!

We could just agree to call the aforementioned electric catfish Sparks and be done with it. It's gender-neutral, so we can all keep our opinions, neh? ;-)

(But I dunno. . . naming a creature that looks like ol' Sparks does. . . something as girly and CUTE as Sparkles. . . appeals to me


----------



## Sakura8

Pearl and Chesherca, :lol: 

And Pearl, totally. I'd like to see a guy go through childbirth without whining or begging for pain meds.

I guess we can each call him what we think he is and we'll still know who we're talking about.  

Shimzy, haha.


----------



## Pearl2011

Chesherca said:


> I have no idea what 'in style' means. . .
> . . . unless it means_ SPARKLES!!!! _


Have you had caffeine today??


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura, so we could call him Stephen the flying purple elephant, or Bob the Blob, and youd know who are Im talking about?


----------



## Sakura8

Pearl, :lol: Yes, if you called him that on this thread, I'd probably eventually figure it out. *now wishes Sparky was purple*


----------



## Chesh

Pearl2011 said:


> Sakura, so we could call him Stephen the flying purple elephant, or Bob the Blob, and youd know who are Im talking about?


I dunno about Sakura, but *I* totally would, and this thread is not *quite* silly enough already. . . ?

Actually. . . a water main broke down the street from me, and I don't have any water to MAKE coffee with right now  since you asked. I still have no ideas about fashion, but Sparkz is trending!


----------



## Sakura8

Oh no, this thread can never be too silly with Sparky involved.


----------



## Sakura8

Well, it looks like the heat wave is going to continue for some time so I went to Wal-Mart and got Sparky a summer home. As long as his water temp keeps getting to 85 F and above, he'll have to stay in his 27gal Rubbermaid in the house. Unfortunately, the downside is the only filter I could use with it is rated for a 10gal max. -____- Sorry, Sparkers, not gonna buy an expensive internal filter for a Rubbermaid. 

So, here's a vid of him. It's kinda short because my mom and dad were talking at each other. I also felt bad because I couldn't really properly acclimate him because the tanks were in different places so the best I could do was lower him really slowly into the new water. I was so afraid he'd get temperature shock but he's buzzing around right now so I guess he's okay.

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkysSummerHome.mp4


----------



## Olympia

SUMMER HOME.
Poor guy. Hopefully once you move you won't have to carry him around everywhere! :-D


----------



## Sakura8

I hope so too, for his sake. He's such a good sport about it, as far as I can tell. His tub is even on a rolling cart so I can roll it to the back door and drain the water out on the deck.


----------



## Olympia

Of all the fish you could be carrying around all over the place.. you choose an ELECTRIC fish. ;-)


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: I know, why can't I drag one of my bettas around? 

Here's a much longer video. My folks left so it was nice and quiet.

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyUpdate.mp4


----------



## Sakura8

Poor Sparky. Just checked and he's still got air bubbles all over him, even on his whiskers. I added an airstone to help dissipate the bubbles.


----------



## Olympia

Bubbles? What does that mean? O__O

Hahahahah. -zapzapzapzapzap- "IT'S NOT WORKING!"


----------



## Sakura8

You know those bubbles you get on the tank walls after water changes? Those are little gas bubbles that come from . . . something, I can't remember and too lazy to look it up. But on rare occasions, those bubbles can get breathed in through the gills and cause bubbles under the skin, or gas bubble disease. Just want to make sure the Sparkster doesn't get that.

I wish I could pet him more. There's something so pettable about him.


----------



## Olympia

I could tell you were enjoying petting him.. haha. 

Really? O__O Those happen when I do 100% changes on the little tanks. Actually.. not lately. I pour in water extremely fast now and it doesn't happen anymore.. hmm.


----------



## Sakura8

I'm only worried because I can actually see the bubbles on Sparky. Usually, I can't see them so what I don't know, I don't worry about. 

It has something to do with superheating the gases in cold water. I think they're nitrogen bubbles?


----------



## Olympia

Superheating? Maybe he was zapping too much and they formed? D: That seems possible. Electricity is hot.


----------



## Sakura8

Caused by gas saturation in water and is "amalgous to the 'bends' in human divers." It is mainly nitrogen gas that is toxic to fish above 104% saturation. "This condition may arise when cool and gas-rich water is quickly warmed." Basically, cool water heated by a heater. It also happens when "newly set up aquaria have been filled with cold tap water and quickly warmed to operating temperatures." Such as when we draw lukewarm water from our tap.

Source, A-Z of Tropical Fish Diseases and Health Problems by Burgess, Bailey, and Exell.


----------



## Olympia

Sounds like it could happen from zapping. 
Good to know, I'll avoid using cold tap water. xD


----------



## Sakura8

I'm sure he was zapping away, poor guy. He seems to be doing all right now though. I caught him swimming around a moment ago but he hid when he saw me. I wonder why? ;-)


----------



## thekoimaiden

:lol: Love the video of you petting him! He doesn't look too happy in there. It's for the best, Sparky. 

Am I the only one who has a habit of apologizing to her fish? Like I'm fumbling with the food and apologize for being so slow. Or I accidentally drop something and it startles everyone.


----------



## Sakura8

Nope, I apologize to them too. "Sorry, I overslept and forgot to feed you!"


----------



## Chesh

Poor Sparky! He's having a rough time. . .but he seems to be adapting well to his . . . ahhh. . . hotel accommodations, lol! I really loved the vids, and it was very cool to get to see him in actual comparison to your hand - even covered in a gigantic rubber glove  I had no idea that bubbles could be so dangerous! Good luck to both of you getting through this heatwave - hopefully it'll be the last one before autumn descends. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky is a little ammonia machine. :shock: I purposefully got a huge 27gal rubbermaid so I wouldn't have to change it daily. I know the filter is tiny but I did seed it with bacteria. Nevertheless, in 24 hrs, Sparky managed to spew out .25 worth of ammonia. I had to do an emergency water change during the closing ceremonies. He was laying there gasping. Poor baby. And last night, one of my cats spent all night sitting by him howling (or so my mother told me).  Oooo-kay.

Heatwave projected to last well into this week. Shoot me.


----------



## Olympia

Sakura, mind if I put some Sparky shots on my tumblr? :-D

How's the little guy holding up?


----------



## Chesh

You know... I was about to come over and ask the same thing - it feels like AGES since I've had a Sparky update - even though it's only been 3 days, lol.


----------



## Sakura8

Olympia, sure! Post all the Sparky shots you want. When I get a new camera, I'll try to take really nice ones. 

Well, it looks like the heat spell finally broke, if you can call the mid-high 90's a break. He was gasping a bit this morning so I went ahead and moved him back into his tank. He's probably a little ticked off at all the moving. I'm sorry, Sparky. Hang on a bit longer and soon your tank will be inside a nice temperature-regulated house! Never having tanks in the garage again. 

The cats miss him though. They liked to sit around his tub and stare at him.


----------



## Chesh

Cats + CATFISH =









Wonder how Sparky feels about that. . . do you think he's kind of okay with cats, in general. . . some kind of whisker bond?

Glad to hear the poor little guy is doing well enough and back home, hopefully he gets to stay there this time! Was he as active in his . . . tub. . . as he was in the 10g? Does he seem happy to be back in the garage? Or is he maintaining his trademark indifference?


----------



## Sakura8

He spent the first day jetting around his tub but then he reverted back to lounging. I don't think he would give the place 5 stars though because every time I went to look at him, he'd come out of his tunnel and waggle his whiskers at me as if to say, "There's no Wi-Fi in here and housekeeping is lax." 

Sparky must just be following the fine tradition cats in my house have established: if you are a cat, you are fat. Apparently even CATfish are included.


----------



## Pearl2011

.25 in one day?! My fish seem really . . . clean now (dont look at the algae, please!!).
LOL, our last cat was never above 6-7lbs (was at the vet once and was 5lbs) and our cat now (who is 14 years younger) is 12lbs. And I have starve my fish so there not fat.
I love catfish so much. At the Aquarium there are these HUGE catfish. Def bigger then me. So over 5 feet long. THEY ARE AWESOME!!


----------



## Sakura8

Haha, 6 of my 8 cats are on the pudgy side. One is skinny because she is old and had some teeth pulled and the other is skinny because he is super-duper hyper and runs all over like a sprinter. The rest are ploppers who lay around a lot. 

Sparky seems to be doing all right back in his home. The temp is about 83 and I probably should do a water change or at least top off the several inches of evaporated water buuuut . . . feeling lazy. Sorry Sparks.


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

How's the Sparkster doing?


----------



## Sakura8

The Sparkster managed to break off the filter intake tube again and get it lodged inside his tunnel. I thought I was seeing an awful lot of him lately. Then I saw this big black blob in his tunnel. How he maneuvered it into the tunnel is beyond me, it's a big tube. 

The electric catfish at my other LFS is still there. Either that one is underfed or it's a male and Sparky's a female. Dunno. That one doesn't have Sparky's endearing "paunch." Oh Spark, I wish you would get along with your own kind so I could get this one too.


----------



## Olympia

Awww. :-( Poor baby, send him to me! :-D

Hahah, I love this fish. Breaking of the intake, pssh, seen it before. Pushing it into his tunnel? Genius. He keeps things fresh.


----------



## Sakura8

I put a piece of small driftwood in for him to play with but he seems to have gotten bored with it. Maybe I should put a golf ball in for him to roll around. 

One of my LFS (I have 3) has a mostly full-grown redhook silver dollar. I keep wanting to get it to see if it would do okay with Sparky but $16.99 is a lot for a potentially fried fish.


----------



## thekoimaiden

I'd be worried about a golf ball being swallowed. Maybe a med/large beach ball? 

Could you build him a PVC pipe maze? Kinda like a fish version of those huge play rooms for kids. :lol:


----------



## djembekah

i want a playroom...


----------



## Sakura8

Izzy, you're right. Now that I think about the size of his mouth, a golf ball isn't nearly big enough. Maybe a croquet ball.

Haha, a maze. That would actually be pretty cool but then I'd probably never see the little dude. I kinda liked it when he had the intake tube in his tunnel so he was out in the open.


----------



## djembekah

hahah! get him one of those like, sky bounce balls? all i know is that they are clear plastic, look like bubbles, and are really light. and they are bouncey. sky bounce balls is prrrrooooobably the wrong name, but i could see him pushing one of them around


----------



## Olympia

Well I think it should sink or else he probably wouldn't like it. xD


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sakura8 said:


> Haha, a maze. That would actually be pretty cool but then I'd probably never see the little dude. I kinda liked it when he had the intake tube in his tunnel so he was out in the open.


Make it out of clear plastic! :-D (Wait.. do they have clear plastic PVC?)


----------



## Olympia

Hamster tubessss.
Except.. I don't know if he'd fit in those. xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

He's too faaaaat for a hamster tube. He'd need like . . . a guinea pig tube. I have a plastic store in town, I should see if they have clear PVC. I know I want some when I finally am able to get a black ghost knife. 

*pictures Sparky pushing a super bouncy ball through a clear pipe maze*


----------



## Chesh

Hey!!! Taz posted up this 6 part documentary on cichlids - you might be interested in checking out the last segment for some adorable electric catfish vs otter action - the cats come in at around the 2 minute mark.








*giggle* Poor otters. . .

". . . with feeble fins, bilious skin, and piggy eyes, it's not much of a looker, but in it's own way, it's stunning." 

What a mean thing to say! This dude has never met ol' Sparks, who brings adorable into that equation for sure!!!


----------



## thekoimaiden

It's awesome to see one of these guys in the wild! And even there they are chubby. I guess there is no hope for poor Sparky.


----------



## Sakura8

Otters! So cute! "What's this? Ouch! Looks edible! Ouch!"

Aww, I wish my tank was big enough that Sparky could swim freely like that. Sparky's much cuter than that guy. He has pinky red skin, not brown.  

Sparky, genetics apparently say you are doomed to forever look like a fat sausage with whiskers instead of say, a sleek broom handle.


----------



## Sakura8

Just a quick update on Mr. Pudgy Fins. He has a new tankmate: a medium-sized trapdoor snail. And surprises, he hasn't eaten or zapped it yet! Yay! I'd love it if he could have a fish someday. I may try a bala shark or a silver dollar or a kissing gourami. We'll see. These days, Sparkster spends most of his time just chillin'. The weather's been decent so his tank is just right. But he seems to be getting fatter. I'm beginning to wonder if he IS a she.


----------



## Chesh

What if he IS a she and SHE is pregnant!!?








I know I know. . . but let me dream for a second, k?
Cuz' then there'd be, like, zillions of tiny little Sparklings running around everywhere. . .d'aaaaaw! And we could ALL have one, and keep it, and love it, and name it Spark. . . something. And they'd be soooo cute and we'd squeeze them, but they'd zap us, so we wouldn't, cuz' they're fishes. . .









But... okay, I'm about to betray (again) the fact that I know nothing about fish. But. . . catfish lay eggs, right? Do they get chubbier when they're, like, getting ready or anything - full of roe - regardless of a male being present? My frog does. Frogs and catfish are JUST the same, neh? Just. Exactly. The same. . . *pokes Sparky's tum* I wish he had a bellybutton. He'd be THAT much cuter. . .

Oh! And congrats on the roomie - does he/she/it (this is the tank where you put creatures of dubious gender) have a name yet?


----------



## Sakura8

:-D Supposedly electocats make a burrow in the mud and lay their eggs in it. Poor Sparky doesn't have enough sand to burrow in. But wouldn't that be so cute? Squeee! Little electocats! Aww, now I want a huge pond so I can breed these guys. 

I have no idea how electocats work regarding eggs and being fat. I just know that in the majority of fish species, the females are drabber than males but larger. Sparkster is definitely pudgy. Yesterday he tried to squeeze under the branches of his fake mangrove root and almost got stuck. It was too funny watching him thrash his way free. 

So far, the snail goes from being named Present to Missing and back to Present. :shock: And I'm not sure if I just never noticed all the pond snails or if the snail promptly gave birth to a bunch of babies because I seem to notice a LOT more baby snails in there. At least Sparky makes a good babysitter.


----------



## Olympia

He's letting his minions multiply so he can lead them into battle... Against... land cats.


----------



## Sakura8

Great, the war of cats breaks out in my garage. :shock:


----------



## Olympia

Land cats vs water cats!
Too bad you sent the cories away, it's pretty much Sparky vs your fat cat army.


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah. Sorry, Sparky. I'll try to get a redtail cat to back you up.


----------



## Chesh

But. . .are you SURE? What if it's land AND water cats against THE HUMAN RACE? THEN we'd be in trouble for sure. Nobody could stand against the sheer brilliance that is Sparky's infinite mind.


----------



## Sakura8

:shock: Sparky as a war general. Napoleon reincarnated as a floating sausage. Mankind would be doomed.


----------



## Pearl2011

I cant picture Sparkles as a war general. It's too cute.


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> Napoleon reincarnated as a floating sausage.












Pearl! There is _NOTHING_ "cute" about GENERAL SPARKZ. . . if he put that brilliant mind to it, he'd destroy the human race in moments. And LAND CATS!? *shudder* They're like ninja. . . you'd never even know what hit you. . .


----------



## Sakura8

"We're off to war, we'll shock you good/We might leave you alone for food/Sound off"


----------



## Pearl2011

You guys should read the Warriors series, might give you some idea about what your cats are goin gto do. Just finished them.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky was evicted from his tunnel by his snail.  Found Sparky crammed into his PVC pipe while the widdle snail crawled around inside the tunnel and cleaned things up. Later Sparky gave up and swam back in, practically laying on the snailie. But he didn't shock it because I later found the snail meandering around another part of the tank. Still not sure if the snail gave birth to a bunch of babies right after I put it in or if I just never noticed I had so many baby snails. They're all over the place!


----------



## Chesh

*giggle* Sparky's a chump! He got evicted by a snail! That or he KNOWS how badly ha needed the cleanup crew! Poor Sparks!


----------



## Sakura8

Oh no! I broke Sparky's filter.  This is not good because his other filter is also partly broken. Now all he has is half of an Emperor 400 and a sponge filter to last him until I can find replacement parts for the canister. He swam out of his tunnel to laugh at me while I tried to fix it.


----------



## Chesh

Oh dear. . . ammonia machines don't do well with half-filtration! Hope you get it fixed ASAP! At least HE didn't break it - has he finally given up on trying to squeeze behind the intake? Silly little Sparkster. . . glad he thinks it's amusing, at least!


----------



## Sakura8

Now he thinks it's fun to squeeze under his mangrove root. Watching him squirm and thrash trying to get through is amusing but worrying at the same time. I may have to get a bigger root.


----------



## thekoimaiden

"We're gonna need a bigger root." 

Sorry.. couldn't resist.


----------



## Sakura8

:lol: Izzy. :-D


----------



## Chesh

thekoimaiden said:


> "We're gonna need a bigger root."
> 
> Sorry.. couldn't resist.


*giggle* I DID THE SAME EXACT THING WHEN I READ THAT!!! *hums Jaws music*


----------



## thekoimaiden

Chesherca said:


> *giggle* I DID THE SAME EXACT THING WHEN I READ THAT!!! *hums Jaws music*


If someone wants to photoshop Sparky into the Jaws movie poster I would be eternally grateful!!!


----------



## Sakura8

Sparkjaws, inspiring fear with waggly whiskers and a dopey grin.

He was quite active at dinner tonight, swam around a bit before finally inhaling his pellets. I hope his snail is okay, he knocked it over several times.


----------



## Sakura8

I saw Sparky yawn for the first time! Hehehe, he looked so adorable with his mouth all agape. I also finally got the replacement part I needed for his Emperor 400 so I fixed that today. Now he finally has full filtration, yay!


----------



## djembekah

awe yawns!! how cute!


----------



## Chesh

YAWNS!!! You _REALLY_ need to get this guy a webcam. I luff him TOO much! I wanna see him YAWN!!! *squeeee* for the cuteness. A webcam and his own forum... *nods*

Huzzah for filtration! Filtration is AWESOME! Sparky LOVES filtration. . . how are the snails holding up?


----------



## Sakura8

Every time I think he's finally zapped his snail, it comes back to life.  I just don't know what to think any more. It spent two days just laying there looking very dead and then one morning it had moved. 

Sparky has funny little ridges on the roof of his mouth that I assume are to help him eat. I think bettas have similar ridges. They're like teeth but not teeth. Izzy, help me out here.


----------



## Olympia

Are they... FANGS?
:lol:


----------



## Sakura8

All I need is an electric vampire catfish. Heck, if he was that, I'd be exhibiting him for a fee.


----------



## thekoimaiden

I guess Sparky doesn't like escargot! :lol:



Sakura8 said:


> Sparky has funny little ridges on the roof of his mouth that I assume are to help him eat. I think bettas have similar ridges. They're like teeth but not teeth. Izzy, help me out here.


Backwards facing ridges? Those are his teeth (or well the fish equivalent; they are made of dentine). They help him grab onto his prey (fish in the wild). Fish with sharp, backwards facing teeth are fish-eaters (piscivores). Fish teeth aren't always attached to the jaw. Most of the time, they are in those ridges on the top and bottom of the mouth.


----------



## Sakura8

Aaaahhhh, I knew I could count on Izzy to clarify for me. Thank you, Professor! So it seems like very few freshwater fish actually have teeth as we know them but have those ridges instead . . . well, save for pike and those kind. But a lot of the fish we keep aren't known for teeth. 

Haha, I guess Sparky isn't into gourmet food. Maybe he's waiting for me to get the garlic out for him first.


----------



## thekoimaiden

The carps like goldfish, danio, and barbs aren't known for toothy grins, but characins like tetra are! Look for a close up picture of a cardinal tetra. They look like mini piranha (lol which they actually are as those two a closely related). Not too sure about the cichlids, tho. I haven't been playing fishy dentist with them lately.


----------



## Olympia

Omg Izzy you're right..









They are related to tiger fish!


----------



## thekoimaiden

Congo tetra are actually more closely related to the tiger fish, but they are all part of characiformes!










Who wants to go swimming now?


----------



## Sakura8

Yeaaaah, I'm not going in the water without Jeremy Wade. :shock:

I remember how surprised I was when I first learned piranha and neon tetras were related. Fish taxonomy is fascinating and confusing (quit changing the families around!!!).


----------



## Sakura8

It just occurred to me that since Sparky seems to be okay with snails, I can turn his tank into a snail tank! I've always wanted to get pink or red ramshorns but never had a place to put them. But, do ramshorns crossbreed with pond snails or trapdoor snails? Put enough cucumber slices in and they shouldn't mind that there are no plants, right? 

Sparky, you may be getting your own snail farm soon.  Maybe even some rabbit snails in the future? *runs off to aquabid even though she is broke*


----------



## Chesh

I can't wait to see this. . . Sparky and the snail farm. . . HA! Just as long as they don't nom on his slime coat, that'd be hilarious!!! Poor Sparky, wonder if he'd care?


----------



## Sakura8

Poor Sparky. I feel like a horrible electocat mom. Not only did I totally forget to feed him last night, I left his tank light on all day and all night. I swear when I went out this morning, his eyes were bugging. "Too . . . dang . . . bright . . ."

*on knees* Sorry Sparky, please forgive me!


----------



## Sakura8

Weird, weird, weird dream. I dreamt that I put Sparky and my koi into the swimming pool (it's an above-ground pool that is partially sunk in the ground) and I dreamt that somehow Sparky climbed out and was hopping down the sidewalk in the backyard and I had to use the pool net and a regular fish net to try and catch him. And then, inexplicably, I carried him into the house where he kept escaping and kept hopping all over the place and every time I caught him, he got loose and once he shocked me. 

How an aquatic animal shaped like a sausage could HOP on land is beyond me. :shock:


----------



## Chesh

Sparky was invading your dreams to punish you for his wakeful (and hungry) night  
I KNEW Sparky had mind powers!


----------



## Sakura8

Between the electric shocks and the mind powers, I definitely want to stay on Sparky's good side. :shock:


----------



## toad

Sakura8 said:


> How an aquatic animal shaped like a sausage could HOP on land is beyond me. :shock:




Hahaha! :rofl: That's fantastic.


----------



## Sakura8

Today, Sparky taught me a lesson: even if there is food left over in his tank, do not touch it. :shock: Tried to get an uneaten pellet out of his tunnel this morning like a good fishkeeper. He was "shockingly" clear that he wanted it left right where it was. 

Sparky 3 Sakura 0

Also, Sparky will soon be getting his snail farm! I hope you like the color pink, Sparky.


----------



## Olympia

BAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.
Oh my gosh, that's hilarious, well _NOT _for you!
How dare you touch his stock pile? He's saving that for something!


----------



## Sakura8

I coulda sworn he was out of his tunnel but I think just as I reached in he turned around and swam back in. Saw this big hand in there and went, "AAAAGH! Mah foooooood!" 

My arm tingled for hours. :shock:


----------



## Chesh

Girl? Don't you know _ANYTHING??!_ NEVER - and I mean *NEVER* - get between a chubby boy and his pellets!!! 

HOURS??! Sounds like Ol' Sparkster is amping it up! I gotta say, this is kind of scaring me! Please don't get shocked anymore! *worries*


----------



## Sakura8

But Sparky, I was thinking about the water quality! 
Me: "Oh, I'd better get this out so it doesn't foul up the water!" 
Sparky: "Forget that, it's mah foooooood! Just change the water when you regain feeling in that arm." 

Yeah, I don't know if he's gotten any longer but he's definitely gotten fatter and it seems to be helping him in the zap department. He spends a lot of time now with his chin resting up on the filter intake tube. Maybe it's some kind of weird exercise he does.  

Haha, I probably should've put the gloves on but it's really hard to pick up water-logged pellets with those things on.


----------



## Chesh

Silly Sparky! That isn't what they mean when they say to do chin-ups. . . He's _so_ lazy - he'll NEVER lose that gut that way! At least he's found something better to do with the filter intake tube than knocking it down every 20 seconds!

I can imagine that it would be with no feeling in your fingertips. I hate doing ANYTHING that requires anything like precision with gloves on. That said? WEAR YOUR GLOVES, LADY! Fumbling around with no feeling in your fingertips for a few moments is WAY better than fumbling around with no feeling in your ARM for a few HOURS. Or death. Death by electrocat is_ NOT OKAY!_

Any snail casualties yet? Maybe he's grumpy about the snail farm and taking it out on you. Well, because it's your fault!


----------



## Sakura8

It just occurred to me maybe he was saving the pellet for the snails to eat. No live plants in there means their only food is from the cucumber I put in and whatever is left over. Was Sparky being . . . thoughtful?!


----------



## Chesh

Perhaps. He is not our leader ONLY because he has adorable piggy eyes and a pot belly, you know. There ARE other reasons. Maybe his kindness and concern for those smaller and weaker is one of them!? . . . um. . .unless you're that obnoxious fish that got zapped that one time. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Yeah well, I suspect that obnoxious fish tried to headbutt him. Technically, that could be called an assassination attempt on our great leader so no wonder it ended up twitching on the sand.


----------



## Chesh

Hahaha! You _GOTTA_ watch the little ones *nods* They're the ones that do ya in every time. Good for ol' Sparkster. He never lets his guard down. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Yup, not bad for a guy with no bodyguards.


----------



## Chesh

Ahhh, but I thought you said he hired an elite force of samurai snails to watch his back? Paid in pellets, neh? Sparky shall be safe from the evil treachery of villainous head-butting tiny assassin fishies without ever having to dirty his whiskers!


----------



## Sakura8

Well, samurai snails dressed in pink anyway. At the very least, the assassin fishies can laugh themselves to death. But . . . but pink is my favorite color!


----------



## Chesh

You, and Sparky, and the pink snails, AND the would-be assassin fish, are ALL hilarious! When are you going to get that webcam put in???


----------



## Sakura8

Heheh, soon as I move. Maybe by early next year?


----------



## djembekah

woo!


----------



## Pearl2011

Sakura8 said:


> Well, samurai snails dressed in pink anyway. At the very least, the assassin fishies can laugh themselves to death. But . . . but pink is my favorite color!


Pink??? Green is sooooo better. And green can go with more things then pink. GREEN KICKS BUTT!!
Not being bias, or anything. Just saying.


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky's snails have arrived!
pink pearl ramshorns







the ramshorns and a trapdoor snail from Tikibirds








When I first put the ramshorns in, he scooped a few up in his mouth, thinking they were pellets. :shock: Fortunately, no harm done because they are moving about now.


----------



## Olympia

BAHAHAH what a gem! Did he spit them out then?
Sooo many snails. :shock:


----------



## Sakura8

It was so weird, he acted like THEY shocked HIM. He jerked and spit 'em out like they were watermelon seeds.


----------



## Olympia

Well, what can I say? He's not French? You found his weakness? Or maybe that was their initiation into his army?


----------



## Sakura8

Some bizarre electric catfish/snail hazing ritual? :rofl: 

"Listen up, if you wanna be in MY army, you gotta be tough. Tough I tells ya! So listen up, if you can spend one second in my electric mouth then you're in. Ready? Here we go!" *gulp*


----------



## Chesh

Maybe they latched onto the roof of his mouth and he actually DID shock himself, because. . . it was the only way to get them out! Poor unsuspecting Sparky. . . nomnomnomnom_WTH?!_

Now those are some_ GIRLY_ snails, for sure. Before too long there will be pillow talk and hair curlers, and poor Sparky will finally get his glam makeover!


----------



## Sakura8

I'm still half-convinced Sparky is a Sparkina so maybe (s)he wouldn't mind a glam makeover and some girl chat.

So pink!







The foot is actually pink/red and the shell is clear.


----------



## Chesh

_SPARKLES _*FTW!* 
Neat snails. . . I really like snails. . .
Snails are weird.


----------



## Sakura8

Some of them are floating, all caught up in the filter current. I can see their little antennae waving as they spin around. "Help meeeeeeeee! Gonnna be siiiiiiiick!"


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky got his first worm today! My dad was getting ready to plant some flowers and I had him put a worm he dug up in Sparky's tank.  Sparky touched it first, then jerked away, but after a few minutes he suddenly went SNARF!

Looks like I may need to get some bait for a special treat, eh? But should I be worried about parasites?


----------



## Chesh

Haha, that's awesome! Girl, where is your video camera when you need it!? I have no idea about parasites, I worry about everything anyway. Let me know what info you dig up on this, I've read that my ADF would enjoy some chopped worms *BLEGH* but I've always been too nervous to even go there. . .


----------



## Sakura8

I wasn't sure he was even going to eat it so I was like, enh, not gonna wait around. Turned to leave and that's when I saw him make his move. He sucks more than a Dyson. Just "whoooooosh" and the food disappears and all you see is his silly little grin. 

I'll look into seeing if bait is a carrier for parasites. I don't know. I never really thought about it before.


----------



## Olympia

I don't think something from the ground has a high chance of infection something from the water. :dunno:


----------



## Sakura8

I don't think so either but just want to make sure since, being scaleless, he'd be hard to treat with meds. He was a lot more active tonight too, when I went to feed him his regular food. Chugging along all over the tank.


----------



## Chesh

Heehee... WORM POWER!!! Glad to hear he was having such a wonderful evening - he really needed a protein shake . . . of course this means that YOU get to do what you've been avoiding thus far - and feed worms! IK! 

I think that the worries with earth worms are less to do with parasites and more with contamination from chemicals and ferts that could be in the ground. Could be wrong though. . .


----------



## Sakura8

So if they're bait worms, no problem with chemicals and ferts.

Worms. If I can get my dad to feed them, maybe Sparky can get his worm fix more often. Ugh . . . creepy, crawly, slimy . . . ugh. But *gulp* anything for Sparky!


----------



## Olympia

It's spaghetti for Sparks.


----------



## Sakura8

*Slurrrrrrp*


----------



## Sakura8

A bunch of guests come over and want to see Sparky, the famous electric catfish. What does he do? Hides in his tunnel so all they can see is his tail. Sparky, you brat.


----------



## Chesh

ROFL! Such a letdown! You really didn't expect anything else, did you? Maybe next time try baiting him with a worm  At least they got to see the pretty pink ninja snails!


----------



## Sakura8

No, Sparky does not seek attention. He is a leader who shuns the spotlight, not so much out of humility but because he is nocturnal and the spotlight hurts his beady eyes.


----------



## dramaqueen

Eww, worms. Blech. Lol


----------



## Chesh

Rather than ninja. . .I have to admit that I think of those pearly pink snails as a kind of chorus line. . . I have no idea HOW this would work, as they have no legs, but. . . I can't get the image out of my mind. Perhaps born from the idea that came around a while back of Ol' Sparks tap dancing with a cane and tophat. . . perhaps a chorus line would be to his liking. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Well, I always did want to be a Broadway actress. Maybe Sparky does too.  The snails can wiggle their antennae like dancing legs, I guess.


----------



## Chesh

Where can I buy tickets?


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky's Follies. So much more entertaining than Ziegfield.  Next year, they plan on staging 42nd Street.


----------



## Sakura8

Gotta admit the Halloween devil in me wanted to put Sparky's tank in the entryway and dare trick or treaters to bob for apples.  What can I say, I was sleep deprived yesterday.

For some reason, last night he forgot to eat his pellets and the snails got to them. Ever since, he's been all over the tank looking for food. I feel bad, I can't wait until I can get him a wider tank so he can turn around a little easier. Wish I could measure him. Guess it's time to get the rubber gloves on and grab the measuring tape. 

Anyway, here is a rare sighting of the great Swimming Sausage strutting his stuff. He's best friends with the Great Pumpkin, by the way. (new camera, mic isn't so good so you can't hear my silly voice)

SausageontheMove.mp4 video by SakuraNeko8 - Photobucket


----------



## Chesh

WAIT!? He didn't eat his PELLETS?!! OMG! Is he SICK? Or... oh. He must have had too much Halloween candy. *nods* Love the title 'Sausage on the Move' So silly, and so TRUE!!! Rather than actually try to MEASURE him, do you think you could wait until he gets close to the glass and mark where his ends stop with a marker on the outside of the glass - then measure THAT? Something about trying to hold an electric sausage whilst fumbling with a measure. . . just doesn't seem like it would be a very wise or easy thing to do!!! I would like to know how big he is - tip to tip and top to bottom  Maybe we could get a circumference on that TUMMY!!!!


----------



## Sakura8

*frets* He didn't eat them again last night. All he does is circle around the tank, even during the day. *frets some more* Gonna thaw some krill and try that tonight. Can't be the water, he had a change on Wednesday. 

All I know about his circumference is he's almost too big for his PVC pipe now. :shock: Luckily the local reptile shop has a tunnel just like his but bigger so if he outgrows THAT, I know where to get another one.


----------



## Chesh

OH NO!!! SPARKSTER!!! Whassamatter!? I remember him being very active in the small tank during the heatwave - maybe he just decided that his tank is too small? Sparky not eating is really worrying!!! You DID take the Halloween candy away, right??! :shock:


----------



## Sakura8

Oh yes, Sparky got to eat one KitKat bar and the rest was confiscated for yours truly. Maybe he's mad; he thought his costume was very authentic and deserved more attention (how many kids do YOU see dressed as sausages?). 

One eye looks slightly cloudy, although it's a little hard to tell since they always have kind of a glazed-over look. If that is the case, I need to research treating scaleless fish and then plop him into his tub for treatment. Most likely bacterial in nature. I blame the snails. It can't be water quality. Once a week, 50% and the dude has 3 filters on his 55gal, including one rated for a 100gal. He can't be THAT messy . . . can he?


----------



## Chesh

Oh man, poor Sparky! I'm glad you pay close attention to him, I hope you get him fixed up right away *cries* NAUGHTY shiny pink snails, making my friend sick. . . I was going to suggest that perhaps he wants more of those wormies - but it looks like he's sick. I imagine it IS difficult to see if there is cloudiness in those tiny beady eyes of his. . . Poor Sparks.  Get well soon, Sparky!!!


----------



## Sakura8

I just don't know what's up with the Sparkster. 

Sparky Gone Loopy! video by SakuraNeko8 - Photobucket


----------



## Sakura8

After a closer inspection under lights, Sparky's eye is cloudy and has a spot of blood in it. Unfortunately A) I have no experience medicating scaleless fish and B) I don't have the medication I would have chosen on hand and no way to get it until Wednesday.  I just hope the bacterial infection is only topical and not internal and that's why he's off his feed. I fed him a few minutes ago and he swam right over the pellets. Will have to fish them out later.


----------



## Chesh

Sparky!!! Don't be sick. . . I'm so SAD for him, Sakura! 
I hope he'll be okay.. . I'd be doing TONS of water changes until you can get the meds in on Wednesday, in my limited experience - it'll help. Even if the water tests perfection, fresh pristine water can do wonders in helping a sick fish heal themselves. . . I always thought I'd WANT to see Sparky's more active side, but now that it's here. . . I want it to go away!!! *hugs* Get well soon, Sparkz! We're all rooting for you! Wonder what could have happened?


----------



## thekoimaiden

Oh no!! :-( You're usually the one we go to with sick fish questions. I'm sorry I can't offer any advice. Byron might know someone who could offer advice. I hope the chubby little guy gets better. Sending positive thoughts your way! <3


----------



## Sakura8

Thanks, Izzy. I've been doing some research and it looks like Melafix may be a better choice than an antibiotic right now. It's weird, being a betta person, I always avoid Melafix. 

He's not so hyper today and is just resting in his tunnel. I don't know if that's good or bad.


----------



## Olympia

Sakura, try looking up info on medicating naked catfish (synodontis family) for tips...


----------



## Sakura8

Naked catfish. Got it. Thanks, Olympia.


----------



## Chesh

NAKED!!!









Poor Sparky! We shall leave him NO dignity!!! 

. . . I hope you find the info you need to help poor Sparky. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Maybe the thought of having his dignity stripped away did something to him. Either way, he ate 4 of his 5 pellets tonight and I think the only reason he missed the 5th one was because he was laying on it. Will still put Melafix in when I can get it, just to make sure that eye doesn't get seriously infected.


----------



## Chesh

I've used Melafix and Pimafix with loaches and my wild-caught tetra before with no harm - snails, too. Many people treat it like it isn't a 'real' medication, but in my experience it helps - and you can use both at the same time. I know loaches and catfish aren't the same, but. . . *shrugs* I hope it helps the poor little baby out! I feel so bad for him. . . HUZZAH for eating though! Keep up the good work!!!


----------



## Sakura8

That's great to know, Chesh. Thanks! Now I feel better about using Melafix and I think to keep him happy, I'll just medicate him in his 55gal, snails and all. I guess, if some snails go belly up . . . oh well. Better the snails than our swimming sausage.

I know the "fixes" aren't really great for internal problems but I've heard they are wonderful for external issues and I'm hoping that's all Sparky's eye is.


----------



## Chesh

I'm glad I could help you feel better about using it - despite my lack of catfish knowledge. I really hope it helps him. . . and aren't those pretty little Pearlies Ramshorns? I don't think_ ANYTHING_ can kill Ramshorns - unless you REALLY want them dead! You could always pull a handfull of 'em out and pop 'em in a jar just to have a backup. . . I've had a few Ramshorns that rode in on plants living in a jar with a bit of sand, a nano marimo ball, and some duckweed for MONTHS, lol! They're just sitting on my desk, being snails . . . don't seem to mind much of anything! Just hope it works on that adorably beady little eye! C'MON, SPARKY! FIGHT!


----------



## Sakura8

What do you guys think that whiteish mark is? I have a heater guard so I don't think it's a burn but it's also not oozy like a cut. Just a natural mark? I hope?


----------



## Chesh

It DOES look like an injury of some sort... Melafix is great to aid in healing, too - but of course the question is where did it come from in the first place - do you think his tunnel or any of his other ornaments are small enough that he could have bumped his head on his way in or out?


----------



## Sakura8

Could be his PVC pipe. I may be confiscating it soon, as he is also getting rather too large for it. Sorry, Sparky, you're down to one hiding spot.


----------



## Chesh

:/ Poor Sparky! He's having a rough week!!! How's the eye looking? Is back to eating still? Pacing slowed? Poor baby. . .


----------



## Sakura8

No more pacing. Now he's back to doing his dead log impression, to the point where I am regularly poking him with a net to make sure he's still alive.  I hate when he does that to me. Eating is back, thank goodness! Eye still looks a tad cloudy but overall, he seems to be doing much better. Sparky thanks you all for your concern and wishes he could give you a big fishy hug but uh, his fins aren't big enough to reach and he might zap you.


----------



## Chesh

YAY!!! For once I'm_ GLAD_ that to hear that he's being inactive! Normal behavior is a good thing! SO relived to hear that he's looking better and eating again! Go, Sparky, GOOOOO!!! 

P.S. I accept air hugs from electric catfish


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky blew you a big electric kiss.


----------



## Chesh

Electrifying - even through the air (took a while for the blown kiss to make it here )

Just checking in - how's my buddy doing? Hope all is well. . .


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky is pleased to report that he feels superb! The trick now is to keep his tank warm enough. We've purchased some insulation to go around it but haven't yet attached it but even just with a piece leaning against the side, the tank is staying at the proper temp.


----------



## Chesh

HOORAY FOR SPARKY! I'm so relieved to hear he's doing well! *dances* 

Insulation . . . poor Sparky - the wisdom of all the ages, and forced to live in a garage cuz' he's stuck being a sausage! Hey, whatever works, neh?!

Just. . . so happy he's well again!


----------



## Sakura8

Soon, so very soon, Sparky will be upgraded to a larger, indoor tank! Can't wait. Was thinking about getting a long 200gal tank and dividing it. One side for the Sparkster and the other side for . . . something else. Black Ghost Knifefish or cichlids. 

Ordered Sparky some earthworm pellets from kensfish. He'd better like them, since the shipping almost bankrupted me. Worried about his diet. He needs to eat a variety of foods so he gets all the vitamins and nutrition he needs. But noooo, all he wants are Hikari Massivore Delite pellets. Not the frozen krill or the frozen Ocean Nutrition Formula One or any other fancy foods I got him. Sigh. Sparky, it's like you're eating McDonald's every day.


----------



## Chesh

Duuuuuude, that would be awesome! I hope he eats his new food, I remember how obstinate he was about eating anything else when you first got him. Silly Sparky, you HAVE to eat healthy!


----------



## Sakura8

Where's Sparky?








Sparky thinks he's a snail.


----------



## Destinystar

Great picture...lol I love Sparky !


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sparky has found good camouflage... other fat, log-shaped things!!! :lol:


----------



## Chesh

OMG!! LOOK AT THAT FAT TUMTUM!!! *nomnomnom* Sparky is the CUTEST fish, ever. Cuter than puffers. . . I have no idea how that's even POSSIBLE, but MAN! He's CUTE! Great shots, lol!!!


----------



## Sakura8

Haha, yeah, the second pic sure shows off that gut well. I just love his little pectoral fins. They look like someone just glued them on, the way they stick out on either side.


----------



## Chesh

lol, yes. . . plus they look FAR too tiny to move that girth! Poor Sparkz. How goes the new food? Is he eating it? Looks healthy enough *pokes tum* Dude REALLY needs a bellybutton. I'd swoon if he had one. Seriously. That chubby pink belly of his is just_ BEGGING_ for it! *wonders if Sparky is ticklish*


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Sparky with a belly button would be absolutely amazing. You should really write a children's book about it, and with it would be included a Sparky plush. The most perfect toy for children to scare about the spooks. 

I'm also surprised he can even move with those teeny pecs and that huuuge belly. He's just so awkwardly huggable.


----------



## Sakura8

Well, Sparky was decent and covering it up but his little fishy butt sort of looks like a belly button . . . 

Haha, a Sparky plushie! That would be so adorable. Wonder if I can crochet one. Probably but I wouldn't be able to capture the spots on him. I'm not that good of a crocheter. *goes off to stuff one of my dad's brown socks so it looks like a Sparky sausage*


----------



## Sakura8

I officially have the world's pickiest fish. Sparky's special earthworm pellets came today and I was all excited to feed him. Well, guess who turned up his little whiskers at tonight's special offering! Sigh. So much for a balanced diet. It looks like it's Hikari Massivore nuggets or nothing.


----------



## Chesh

HAHA! You read my mind, I was just about to post about my little friend when I saw this thread come up. Haven't heard anything for a minute 

Somehow. . . I am not in the SLIGHTEST bit surprised that he'd have nothing to do with them, he's always been a super picky eater - surprising considering his. . . ahhhh. . . girth, lol! But it isn't the Massivore nuggets or nothing. . . if I recall, he was MORE than happy to nom on that real LIVE earthworm your dad dug up! LOL! What a silly fishy you have there.

Any more info on the prospective giant not-garage tank? I know the heat waves were a big issue over the summer, do you think that the colder temps will be a problem this season? Don't want any Sparkcicles !!!!


----------



## Sakura8

It was pouring rain and an earthworm tried to crawl in the house. I should've dumped it in the tank. Instead I tossed it back out in the rain. Ooops. Sorry, Sparky! I'll go find it again! *goes hunting earthworms*

I turned the Sparkster's heater up to, I think 84 F. That way, it keeps the water at 78 F. Plus, we put some styrofoam insulation on the back and sides of his tank and that seems to help. I'm not sure he likes it though. He liked being able to look out when I opened the garage door to do his water changes and now all he sees is a big white expanse. As for his giant big tank, hopefully soon! 4-5 months, I'd guess. I also feel bad because when I do water changes, the hose water is cold and drops the temp to 72 F. Thankfully Sparky is hardy! Normally a quick drop in temp like that would shock a fish. Maybe Sparky's personal electrical field wards off the cold? 

Sparky also thinks he wants to handfeed. Now, when I go to drop his food in the tank, he swims up to my hand. I have to move pretty fast to keep him from trying to eat my fingers. Sorry, Spark but uh, I'd like to keep the record at 3 shocks.


----------



## Chesh

Ooooh! That makes me nervous! Do you. . . you don't think he. . . since the pellets come from the hand, do you think he has gottent the impression that YOU are made from pellets? Or, at the very least, a pellet dispenser?!  Maybe he just wants to snuggle? In a not electric way. I imagine it gets lonely being so very wise *nods*


----------



## Sakura8

T_T I know I have short fat fingers but I didn't think they looked like pellets . . . maybe they look like baby swimming sausages to him and he wants to take care of them?

Aw, I wish I COULD snuggle with him. Just something about knowing you can't (or shouldn't) that makes you really want to tickle him.


----------



## Chesh

I haven't seen or heard of Sparky since last YEAR. I need my fix! Hope all is going well over there! SPARKY, I _MISS_ YOU!


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky apologizes for not keeping up with his journal. He's just been so busy bobbing like a log that he lost track of time.  It's mesmerizing, he says. Just bob up and down all day . . .

Well, not all day. Sparky has become much more active at night. He spends a lot of time swimming up near the top of his tank waiting for food and recently has decided he'd like try handfeeding. When I go to feed him there he is, nose right up at the top.  Last night, I thought I'd try at least dropping his pellets directly into his mouth. The tip of my fingers were in the water about 3 inches from his mouth and they _tingled_. Apparently Sparky thinks his pellets need a good zapping before they can be ingested. :shock:


----------



## Chesh

OH YAY!!! SPARKY RETURNS!!! I was really getting nervous, cuz' he was sickish, and seemed to be doing okay, and then. . . NOTHING! :shock:

Sounds like he's really doing well! Did you ever get him an inside tank, or is he still in his original home? LOL! You scare me with putting your fingers into that tank, girl! At least now we know he's a dirty rotten pellet zapper for next time! It's probably one of those things that's just so instinctive to his nature - zap THEN eat. . . wonder if he'll ever reach a point where he becomes tame enough to override that instinct. At least he LIKES you now! I need a video of the floating log trick, for sure  *ahem* sausage. . .

P.S. If you ever get another one, you should name it Bob. . .SPARKLEBOB, of course. . .


----------



## Sakura8

One of these days, I shall take a video of me feeding him with my fingers in the water. He gets so excited about his food. He's gotten very good at catching the pellets before they even hit the bottom of the tank. Consequently, there's not a lot of food for the snails to scavenge on (okay, there's NO food) so some of his snail tankmates died. I'm now supplementing their diet with cucumber.

Sparklebob, I love it!


----------



## Olympia

He's a well-evolved fish, he knows to cook his food first!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

. . .cept that it doesn't need cooking! Wonder how many vitamins and minerals he's destroying in every zap? Poor lil' girly snails! Sparky does like his dinner - and I'm ready for that video, just please don't get zapped for it! When's the next feeding?


----------



## Pearl2011

Oh i forgot about Sparky!!! Do you wear gloves when you feed him??


----------



## Sakura8

Nope, no gloves. It's hard to pick up the pellets wearing those bulky gloves.


----------



## Sakura8

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/?action=view&current=SparkyUpdate2013.mp4

In case you can't hear my voice on the video (new camera has lousy microphone), something's up with Sparky's water. When I put my hand in, take it out, and then try to put it back in, the water is supercharged and I get shocked by the water. :shock: This is the first time this has happened. I wonder if Sparky puts out a low charge at all times? I tried this twice and each time, the water would shock me. My fingers are all tingly.


----------



## Chesh

Either my computer or your link is being wonky - I can't load the video - I'll try again in a few, but from your description - I FEAR FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

Sounds like he's starting to identify YOUR HAND with FOOD SOURCE THAT MUST BE ZAPPED. Sakura? I don't like where this is heading. At all. NAUGHTY Sparky! Wonder what the snails think of all this zapping? If your hand is numb without even being the target, they must sure get the crap zapped out of them, too. Odd..


----------



## Sakura8

Ugh. Accidentally did too big of a water change on Sparky's tank and now I can't get the temp over 72 even with two 100w heaters. I sure hope Sparky can warm himself with his electricity. 

On another note, I was at the fish store where I got the Sparkster and I stopped to look at the tiny compartment where he was kept for so long. No way would our fat friend even begin to fit in there now. You've come a long way, Sparky.


----------



## Olympia

He.
Is.
So.
FAT.
:shock:


----------



## Sakura8

I hope that fat acts like an insulator, like the blubber on seals. 

Whee, I can't stop laughing though when I see him swimming around, those tiny pectoral fins flapping away. Reminds me of an ostrich trying to fly.


----------



## thekoimaiden

I've missed the potato with googly eyes!! He has grown a lot!! :-D


----------



## Sakura8

Some updates on the Sparkster.

Well, the pink ramshorns are barely hanging on but it seems that a pond snail or two laid a clutch. There are tiny baby pond snails ALL OVER THE PLACE. It looks like someone mixed coffee grinds with the sand, that's how many babies there are. :shock: Now I'm starting to wish Sparky ate snails. 

All this despite the fact that I'm still struggling to keep Sparky's water at a reasonable temp. Last Saturday it dipped to 70 F. I had to do an emergency water change using about 10 gals of warm water from inside the house to bring it up to about 74 F. I may have to use part inside water for now on even though the inside water goes through a water softener and is ultra soft while the outside water is moderately hard.

And in light of his growing girth, I decided to increase Sparky's food from 6 pellets to 8. He's a growing boy, after all.


----------



## Olympia

Yay!
You'd think he'd be willing to power another heater himself! 
Stay warm, potato fish.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

I agree... have you checked him for any type of outlet? Poor Sparky. Being the kid in the garage kind of sucks, how are plans to move Sparkster indoors coming along? You could put him in your kitchen. . . he'd fit right in! Potatoes, sausages, Sparky. . .

Do you keep the tank covered at all? I have a tank in my basement, which isn't heated at all. I have the tank covered on three sides at all times with a fleece blanket, and an insulated blanket thing on top. Overnight, I cover the whole thing with the insulated blanket. It's really helped keep temps stable in there, but my basement probably doesn't get quite as chilly as your garage. . .

HUZZAH for snails, lol. I'm guessing the pearly gene didn't come through to the lil' guys? Bummer...


----------



## Sakura8

Hmm, I haven't thought to cover the top of the tank. It's got insulation around it, though.

I wish I could put Sparky in the kitchen. He could power the microwave.


----------



## Sakura8

I keep forgetting that if we run the microwave, my electric teakettle, and my mom's space heater all at one, we blow a fuse. (I tend to start a pot of water for tea while microwaving food, forgetting that my mom has her heater running). Sparky, you could really help us. The fuse box is hard to get to and I can never remember which key undoes the lock. And it always happens at night. 

*plugs Sparky in*


----------



## Laki

Keeping it economical and cheap!


----------



## Chesh

. . . if you get enough electric catfish, do you think you'd be able to go 'off the grid?'


----------



## Destinystar

Thanks for the update on Sparky ..how big is he now ?


----------



## Sakura8

Sparky is about 9 and a half inches now. When I first got him last June, he was around 6. So he's growing, just not very fast.

Now width-wise, that's another matter. The little porker. Few more months and he'll be as wide around the middle as a corgi.


----------



## Olympia

It's funny that you say that your fish don't grow, and then there's Sparky who is exploding! Maybe there is something good in that hose water, eh?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

Maybe that electricity stimulates his growth hormones? My dojo loaches, reputed to reach lengths of 16", are about 6" only. -___-


----------



## Sakura8

Chesherca said:


> . . . if you get enough electric catfish, do you think you'd be able to go 'off the grid?'


Haha, maybe not with electric catfish. Even a full grown one at 39" supposedly only puts out 400 volts. But I bet I could if I had a pond full of electric eels.

Oooh, my next project . . .


----------



## Sakura8

I asked my dad to pick up 10 assassin snails since he and my mom were going to be in the area of the LFS today. He comes home with the required amount but says "Did you know they're $3 a piece?" 

:shock: T_T I just spent more on snails than I did on Sparky himself. 

So I removed the remaining pink pearl ramshorns, all the big ones I could find, and Tiki's trapdoor snai,l and released the assassins. I really hope they take care of all those pond snails. I've hired some very expensive little snaily hitmen.


----------



## Chesh

Oh wow!!!  little hitmen, that's hilarious. I hope they take care of the pond snails AND Sparky doesn't kill 'em!


----------



## Sakura8

Well, the little snaily hitmen have done a great job taking out the pond snails. So much so that I think I may have to toss in some of the excess ramshorns to keep them fed.


----------



## Chesh

Well. . . you paid their price, they'd_ BETTER_ have done a good job! What's the use in expensive ineffective hitmen?! I assume Sparky's zinging hasn't slowed them down? I was a bit worried that he'd zap them. How _IS_ the ol' Sparkinator, anyway? I miss him!


----------



## Olympia

You paid so much for those ramshorns, didn't you? :lol:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

$20 for the original batch, now $30 to get rid of them. -__- Not to mention the one assassin snail that the rat ate out of the container in the bathroom . . . Sparky, please learn to like escargot, it would make my life a lot cheaper.

The Sparkster is doing fabulous! The temp has warmed up considerably so his tank is now a stable 78 F. He doesn't seem to be minding the snails or the assassins that are crawling around. I can't wait until I can upgrade him to a bigger tank. Poor Sparkster is getting too big for his tank and has a hard time turning around because his tunnel and his tree stump are in the way! Hopefully soon but I dunno. It's taking forever for the city to approve the house plans and without the approval, we can't start building the house. But when it's built, he gets a special big tank. 

I wonder if a 200gal or bigger tank is big enough for Sparky to peacefully coexist with some top or midwater swimmers? I do kind of hate the idea of one fish in a 200gal tank.


----------



## Chesh

Oh my. . . you are, like, overpriced snail girl! 

I hear ya about one fish in a giant tank. It kind of seems like a 'waste,' lol. And I LOVE Sparky, don't get me wrong - but he isn't *exactly* the most beautiful fish ever, nor is he especially active. I'd feel the same way about trying a tankmate. Not so sure that'll work out so well, but hopefully everything will come together soonish and we can find out


----------



## Olympia

(sorry I can't get that, on my iPod).

I have the answer to your prayers, lady!
What better solution to your Sparky problem than more CATFISH!
Just google "synodontis immune to electricty." Seems like every species is unaffected by electo cats, according to people's experiences!
I'm not sure how fun it will be to fill a 200 gallon with Synos, but you should try!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

sounds like a TON of fun to ME!!! Catfish. . . and snails!


----------



## Sakura8

Oh my. Yes, last night I was praying "Oh Lord, please send me synodontis. And Hugh Jackman." ;-)

Hmmm. I might try at least one syno Kind of wanted to see if angel fish would work, or a school of congo tetras up above. Hmmm. Oh Sparky, you antisocial sausage you.


----------



## Olympia

Hahaha!

No, I was reading up on it this morning, and basically everyone said, no matter what size the fish the electo cat will kill it, either to eat or they see it as a threat.

One guy was saying that he has a 3.5" electo cat in with 10" pacu fish, and the pacu always stay on the opposite end of the tank as the electo cat, that they seem terrified of him. :shock:
But then someone said their synos will actually snuggle up to the electo cat in their cave. :shock: I'm guessing with synos the electo cats give up once they realize they can't kill them.
Just google "electric catfish tankmates" and it's one of the first links.


----------



## Sakura8

Maybe it's something to do with the syno's physionomy? I do remember in a link someone posted, there was a giraffe syno in a huge tank with an electo cat. 

I wonder, what about mini synos like upside down cats?

EDIT: By the way, who dares to spam Sparky's journal? Feel the wrath of Sparky! *zzzzzzzttttttt* 

Thanks, Taz, for taking care of it.


----------



## MattsBettas

Can we see some pics?


----------



## Sakura8

I'm not sure I have any recent ones but I'll post a few old ones. It's not like he's changed all that much, the sausage.

Sparky Swims! Video by SakuraNeko8 | Photobucket

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff456/SakuraNeko8/Other Fish/Sparky.jpg


----------



## MattsBettas

I can only see the second one and he is kinda cute in a way. How do those things breed without grilling each other?


----------



## Sakura8

Aww, sorry the first one didn't show up. It's a video. :/ Hmm, photobucket videos have been having problems lately.

I honestly don't know. I've read they dig pits and lay the eggs in there but that otherwise, they're solitary creatures.


----------



## Olympia

I think all synos are fine. . . Not sure on that though. I probably wouldn't put a 9" Sparky with a 1" syno though. :lol:
http://www.angelfire.com/nm2/shadowgreybeast3/catfish2.html

Matt, they are immune to their own electricity and the electricity of others. I think it's a special insulating fat, that the synos have too for some strange reason.  I just got a theory in my head about it haha.


----------



## Sakura8

Oh darn, good point. I forgot that upside downs are tiny and Sparky has a mouth like a shovel. :O 

Looks like I may be investing in a lot of synos when I upgrade Sparky's tank. I know one of my LFS has featherfins . . .


----------



## Olympia

Featherfins are good, 9-12". :-D 
Look into schooling, I know many synos are schooling fish. Rarely are they kept this way, as people don't enjoy buying a 5-6 group of $10-15 each fish, but they do prefer company for the most part.


----------



## Sakura8

*flips through fish profile books* I'm a bit surprised some of the armored catfish can't handle electo cats. I'd think a full sized pleco would be sturdy. 

Now I'm curious and want to study why synos are immune to electricity.

EDIT: I wonder if a 200gal or up is big enough for 2 electo cats. I think it would be cool if I could get them to breed. Ah, but I'm dreaming.


----------



## Olympia

Doesn't take much electricity to kill a fish in water. :shock:

My first guess would be that since synos come from a land filled with mormyrids, this would be a defense for them.. Even though a mormyrid can't shock fish, they use weak electricity to see their prey, and I'm guessing if a syno is insulated, the signal gets absorbed and doesn't bounce back? ? That's the only thought I would have. 
Maybe in the wild they follow electric catfish for protection. ;-)

I'm guessing Electric cats also use their electricity to communicate, and if so, I was reading that elephant noses and knives and such can't breed in captivity because the signals bouncing off the tank walls are too hard for the other fish to read, so they can't tell each other they are ready to mate.


----------



## Sakura8

That makes total sense, actually. The synos must have evolved to protect themselves.

Also makes sense that there have never been reports of knives and mormyrids spawning in captivity. Total mixed signals. 

I wonder what would happen if someone did put in a titanium grounding rod? Like this one,

Aquarium Safety: Ultra-Ground Titanium Probe

My uneducated guess is they'd no longer be able to communicate at all and their navigation might be a bit spotty.


----------



## Olympia

I think you are right, all the charge would be pulled towards the rod.


----------



## Chesh

THIS conversation is getting dangerous. . . and interesting! I always KNEW that chub was worth it's weight in gold. Lightning-repellent armor, eh? Love it.


----------



## Sakura8

Think about the potential for scientific research! 

Although, Sparky might not be so thrilled about that.

EDIT: Since Sparky has very poor eyesight, I wonder if he would no longer be able to navigate very well if I used the grounding rod.


----------



## Chesh

If all of the theorizing today holds true, then yes. He'd be a disaster. . . though it *might* just make him more entertaining to have around


----------



## MattsBettas

*builds electric catfish moat* You totally should look in to if two can be kept together. Baby sausages! Now how would you sex them?


----------



## Olympia

With................ a probe. ;-)
Have fun with that Meg.


----------



## Sakura8

Matt, I actually think Sparky might be a she because he's so round. I've read that female sausages are rounder. But for fun, we call him a he.  So if I find a slimmer sausage, there might be a good chance it's a he. Then let the fun begin.

Baby sausages would be so fun. Lil Smokies.

EDIT: Olympia, LOL!

Now that would NOT be a happy Sparky.


----------



## Olympia

Wait.........................

.......

SPARKLES?!


----------



## Sakura8

Sparkles. Princess Sparkles, I think it was, actually. 

Poor gender-confused Sparky.


----------



## MattsBettas

Do not tell her this... But that sausage is about the farthest from a princess as you can get. Just kidding.


----------



## Sakura8

LOL, Matt, I know, right?


----------



## MaisyDawgThirteen

Just read through all of the recent posts. Sparky is the cutest sausage fish I've ever seen!


----------



## Chesh

Dunno why, but I'm suddenly FIENDING for a sweet-potato sausage. How's ol' Sparky doing?


----------



## Sakura8

Giving me guilt trips. He really needs a bigger tank but I can't upgrade him till I move and who knows when that could be at this point. T_T Stupid city of Elk Grove is slow approving house plans. Hang in there, Sparky, hang in there!


----------



## MattsBettas

Just keep up on water changes and he should be fine, right?


----------



## Olympia

Sparky wants more room because.... Sparky wants to DANCE.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Chesh

TAPDANCING WONDERFISH!!! On the plus side, at least he isn't stunted (too much). 

*insert begging for pictures/video here*


----------



## thekoimaiden

Sakura8 said:


> Giving me guilt trips. He really needs a bigger tank but I can't upgrade him till I move and who knows when that could be at this point. T_T Stupid city of Elk Grove is slow approving house plans. Hang in there, Sparky, hang in there!


Maybe you could put him outside in a water trough for the summer. I'm sure he would love to play bug zapper.


----------



## Sakura8

But would he play nice with the koi?

Yeah, water quality isn't an issue despite his 9 million snailmates. He's like quadruple filtered. I just feel so bad because he spends most of his time resting on his tail, propped up against the glass with his nose up. He'd have more room if I took out his mangrove root but then he might hate me. :/

I'll take more pics! Video too, if I can get it to upload properly to photobucket.


----------



## Chesh

That said, this _is _Sparky. He might just do that anyway. To spite you. . . in his 500 gallon tank.


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## thekoimaiden

Er... I dont think he would play nice with them. It might turn into a segregated tank if he did go in there. But he could go in another tub lol!


----------



## Sakura8

How to convince my father to set up another horse trough in the backyard. :shock: 

He was mad at me tonight because I didn't get to feed him until 9:30 PM. Usually I feed him at 7 or so but I had to go out to meet someone who was buying a tank I had on craigslist. The guy said he'd kept electocats with an arowana and oscars. Huh.


----------



## Sakura8

We have a pic update!!!!

Here is a size comparison. That is a 10 1/4 inch ghost knife tunnel that he is next to.








But it's not the length, it's the girth that is alarming.















Sparky senses I'm up to something.








And I was. Time for Tickle Me Sparky!















He is looking alarmed now.








After that, I put his tunnel back in and told him he was a good boy. But I did finally confiscate his pipe as he was barely able to swim through it in his attempt to escape from me.


----------



## MattsBettas

What a cute sausage. Lol.


----------



## Olympia

Hahaha! He does look shocked!
Maybe there's eggs in there!

"zapzapzap why doesn't it work?!"
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sakura8

He's so squishy! Squishy and squishable! I gotta put the gloves on and do this more often.


----------



## Chesh

Oh HOORAY FOR SPARKY!!!! *luffs* He really is a rotund little guy, isn't he?! *grins*

Yes! More often (with the gloves)! I'm already going to demand MORE pictures, since those were so adorable.



> He is looking alarmed now.


*ROFL* Sparky. . .


----------



## Sakura8




----------



## thekoimaiden

Squeee!!!!! 

Have you been feeding our sausage fish ACTUAL sausages?!


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## Sakura8

Johnsonville Lil Smokies, one a day.


----------



## dc2die4

Woah, what a chubs!! I just saw the first picture and looked at the latest picture.. reminds me of my chub pug!!


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> View attachment 100193


PUT IT IN THE PHOTO OF THE MONTH CONTEST!!! *bounces* _PLEASE!!!!?
_


----------



## Sakura8

Hahaha, I guess I could. Should I use the one with the caption or without?


----------



## Chesh

_WITH!!! _ Cuz' that's comedy!


----------



## WolfHhowling

I subscribed to this thread. Hes so cute!!!

I love your fishy to pieces! His story is just a trip to read too. 

Looks like sparky's fanclub got bigger. I am actually going to see if I can't expand his fan club some more. I have a friend who just loves to talk odd fish with me. Hes so cute she will just love to see him.


----------



## Sakura8

Chesh, haha, done and done. ^_^

WolfHowling, Sparky says welcome to the club!


----------



## Chesh

Sparky is my HERO! His influence (and super cute stummy) grows more bountiful by the day!!!

I can't wait. My fingers are ITCHING for voting to open!!! Too bad you don't get cash and fabulous prizes for winning. But how many people will GRIN when they see good Ol' Sparkster on the homepage?


----------



## SpookyTooth

77 pages of sausage-fish action...
1 month since last post...
1 day until I have a hissy fit due to needing an update...

I just... can't find the words... he's... the fish representation of my life! Oohhh Sparky


----------



## Chesh

*nodnod*

Welcome to the Cult of Sparky, Spooks. Glad to have you on-board! ^.^

*DEMANDS MORE SPARKY GOODNESS*


----------



## Pearl2011

Ermagerd I haven't looked at this in ages?!?! How is wee-not-so-little Sparky doing?!


----------



## Saphira101

Sparky is so awesome!!!

He's the most lovable sausage to ever roam the aquarium. ;D


----------



## Sakura8

Well, it's that hateful time of year again: the time when Sparky becomes a boiled catfish. This year, I've been able to keep his temp stable at 82-85 F with every other day water changes (and here we are, in a huge drought!). But today, for some reason, his temp jumped from 85 at 3 in the afternoon to 91 F at 7:30 tonight! Poor Sparky! I was on my way to a fireworks display so all I could do was plop him in a 6 gal Rubbermaid. Originally, I planned to leave him there for the night but he was having trouble breathing with the warm water and no airstone so I did a massive 75% change on his tank at 10:30 PM and got the temp back to 82 F. It's supposed to be several degrees cooler starting tomorrow so hopefully his tank will stay stable. Curse this almost two-week long streak of 100+ temps!

I had so hoped that by this time he would be in a temp-controlled 200gal but alas, the City of Elk Grove conspires against him. 

But seriously, this is one insanely hardy catfish. He shows no distress in temps as low as 65 F and temps as high as 90 F. The only time he showed any distress was when he didn't have proper oxygenation. Then his gills began moving more than usual. 

Sparky, you amaze me as much as you make me feel guilty.


----------



## Chesh

Poor Sparky, and poor YOU!!! *HUGS*

Hang in there, _both_ of you! One of these days, you'll get all the permits and approvals and whatever it is that you need, and Sparky will have his castletank!!! ^.^


----------



## Sakura8

So I have a 29gal free and I'm at the LFS and they show me a little electric catfish just slightly longer than my pointer finger. Pics coming soon but wonder what I should name this baby?


----------



## Sakura8

Pic and video of the new guy.









http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/SakuraNeko8/media/NewECat_zpsaa1236d2.mp4.html


----------



## MattsBettas

So cute!


----------



## dramaqueen

He looks like a pencil. Lol


----------



## Chesh

*SWOOOONS*

I don't believe that Sparky could _POSSIBLY_ have started his life out as such an adorable TINY thing!!!! HE IS SO FRIKKING CUTE!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEE*

You could name him Brownout - cuz' he has just a lil' spark!!! ^.^ I don't believe you POKED HIM!!! You are way too brave for me. 

NOW THERE ARE_ TWO. _Things are getting out of control. . . *giggles*

Congrats on the new lil' woobie, girl. Can't wait to watch him GROW!


----------



## Olympia

He's got those same beautiful blue eyes! :O


----------



## Saphira101

Congrats! He's so cute.


----------



## Sakura8

I'm thinking of naming him Zappy. He spent all day inside his cichlid cave. I had to get a flashlight to make sure he was still in the tank. O.O


----------



## BettaLover1313

Sparky is just too cute! I do agree with the sausage analogy, but I compare him to a seal just with those little fins and chubby body! Your new little cat is just so adorable too! *faints from too much cuteness/staying up late to catch up with the journal*


----------



## Chesh

Sakura8 said:


> I'm thinking of naming him Zappy. He spent all day inside his cichlid cave. I had to get a flashlight to make sure he was still in the tank. O.O


Heeheee, so cute! Where is he living - is he in the same tank as ol' Sparkster? 

I love the name! In my mind I see them as superheros - Sparky and his faithful sidekick Zaps, saving lives and dispensing electrocat justice, making this world a better place, one supervillan (and pellet) at a time ^.^

Does Zappy like the pelletses as much as his big brother does?


----------



## Sakura8

LOL. I'm afraid Sparky might mistake his tiny brother for a pellet so the little Zapster is in the 29 gallon. Big giant tank for a 3" fish and he spends 24/7 in the cichlid cave. :shock: So far I haven't attempted to feed Zap. Waiting for him to get hungry enough to eat the Ocean Nutrition Formula One pellets I'm gonna try on him. Sparky's pellets are too big for now.

Thinking about putting some zebra danios in the 29 to act as dither fish. Even though Zappy can put out a shock, I think he's small enough that they won't get hurt too bad and hopefully their activity will coax him out of hiding.


----------



## SpookyTooth

*Squee* Mini-sausage! So cute! Congratulations :-D


----------



## Destinystar

Zappy is so adorable  x a million !


----------



## dramaqueen

Call him sausage fish. Lol


----------



## Sakura8

I should rename them Hot Dog and Little Links.  

Well, I was a meanie and I removed the cichlid cave so I could keep track of Zappy. So now he stuffs himself into a microscopic hole in the side of his fake decor and I keep thinking he's stuck. BUT, just when I was about to despair, he ate some bloodworms. Phew. I was afraid I was going to have to either return him or get some live blackworms. I told my mom that and she said "Do the worms have to go in the refrigerator?" "Yes." "Take him back."


----------



## Sakura8

So, Zappy got himself up inside his cliff decoration. I looked all over for him and finally I took the decor out snd turned it upside down snd sure enough, the brat is way inside. Daaang. I lost a dojo this way. I hope Zappy comes out. I left it turned on its side do he can come out. Haven't got s clue how he got in there on the first place. I could have sworn that thing was totally flat on the bottom. Oh, and I gate typing on a phone.


----------



## Sakura8

I fed Sparky today and this is all he did:







He was still like this when I left.

In other news, Zappy came out of his decor which was immediately confiscated. Now he's taken to perching, upright, in the leaves of his fake plants, kind of like a slug. He is eating bloodworms although I never see him. I just put some in and they're gone later in the day.


----------



## Chesh

HAHA! That picture of Sparky is priceless... fat ol' thing with a pellet all nommed up in his piehole, lol. . . I was SOOOOO NERVOUS when I read about Zappy getting 'lost'! SO glad that turned out okay! Crazy little thing!!!


----------



## Sakura8

Alas . . . I think I may have to take Zappy back.  He hides all day and since I have no suitable decor for him, he's taken to hiding in weird places where I can't find him. Unfortunately, I'm too broke right now to get all the proper things to make his tank comfortable, like plants and safe fake decor and maybe some dither fish. Hopefully someone else out there can give him the proper home I can't. Poor Zappy, but it was nice fostering you for a week. >.<


----------



## Chesh

Awww, Zappy. . . *ish sad*

You're making the best decision for him, even if it's a hard one. I'm proud of you - I hope he _DOES_ find a good forever home, and doesn't get stuck in that 10g tank like his big brother did! *hugs*


----------



## MaisyDawgThirteen

Am I the only one who thinks sparky kinda looks like a sweet potatoe with fins? XD So cute...


----------



## Chesh

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> Am I the only one who thinks sparky kinda looks like a sweet potatoe with fins? XD So cute...


HAHAHA! Nope! Not at all. . . it's a subject that has been very much discussed throughout this thread. Also, sausage. *giggle* 

SPARKY! WE LOVE YOU!!!


----------



## Pearl2011

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> Am I the only one who thinks sparky kinda looks like a sweet potatoe with fins? XD So cute...


Only you don't fry this potato. This potato fry's you......


----------



## MaisyDawgThirteen

Chesh said:


> HAHAHA! Nope! Not at all. . . it's a subject that has been very much discussed throughout this thread. Also, sausage. *giggle*
> 
> SPARKY! WE LOVE YOU!!!





Pearl2011 said:


> Only you don't fry this potato. This potato fry's you......


These have me a great laugh


----------



## Sakura8

Hello. It's been a long while since I've updated Sparky's log and it is with deepest regreat and sadness that I must report that our beloved giant sweetpotato sausage fish passed away unexpectedly this afternoon. I don't know how or why. 

For all the inspiration, for all the wisdom, for all the conversations starters you've provided, Sparky, we are eternally grateful and we'll miss your cute/ugly little face.

Good bye, my pudgy friend.


----------



## MattsBettas

Aww I'm so sorry. He was a great, entertaining fish.

:-(


----------



## Sakura8

Thanks. He's uh, in the freezer right now. I'd like to have an autopsy done but the lab is closed till Tuesday. Stupid Labor Day holiday here.


----------



## thekoimaiden

I'm so sorry to hear that, Meg. Sparky was a great sausage and will be greatly missed. You did an excellent job giving him a home. I'm sure he enjoyed his time with you much more than that tiny tank at the pet store. *hugs*


----------



## Sakura8

Thanks, Izzy. I have a feeling that the temperature fluctuations he had endure living in the garage did something.  I tried so hard to keep that tank as stable as possible but it can't good for a fish to be at 68 in the winter and then spring up to 90 in the summer.


----------



## Destinystar

I am so very sorry and sad to hear this, he will be missed. He was admired and loved by so many of us. Let me know if you need anything or someone to talk to and many hugs to you and a big bubble kiss to Sparky swimming under the rainbow bridge may he always remember all the care and love you gave him. xoxoxoxoxoxoxox


----------



## Sakura8

Aww, thanks, Sheila. *hugs* I don't think I'll get any more e. cats even though my other LFS has a pair. They get too big and it's too hard because you can't put any other fish with them. 

Big empty 55gal and a box of pellets. *sniff*


----------



## BettaLover1313

I'm so sorry to hear about Sparky! He was a very loved fish by you and everyone you shared his antics with! He will be greatly missed.


----------



## dramaqueen

Sparky was very popular here on the forum. He will be missed by a lot of people as he had a lot of fans.


----------



## Chesh

. . .







. . .
*luffsSparky*
*luffsMeg*
*hugs*


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

NUUUUUUUUUUUU, Sparky. ;A; I'll miss reading about the exciting life and times of the Sparksters.


----------



## Sakura8

Thank you, Teresa, Bettalover, birdie, Jes. 

In other news . . . just last week I started working on a sci-fi story and I decided to use electric catfish as the basis for an alien species. So Sparky will live on . . . as an alien.


----------



## Romad

Not the Sparkster! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! 

This made me so sad  I'm sorry you lost His Zappiness. I feel like he was the unofficial forum mascot. Thanks for sharing your stories and pictures of him. I always looked forward to reading this thread to see what the little sausage was up to.

Hugs (((S)))


----------



## MattsBettas

Sparky= Officialy the most beloved fish on the forum???


----------



## Romad

MattsBettas said:


> Sparky= Officialy the most beloved fish on the forum???


In my opinion - YES!! So sad that he has gone to the big lightning bolt in the sky :-(


----------



## dramaqueen

He had quite a following. Lol


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## Chesh

He still _does_ have a following! Sparky will live on in the hearts and minds of those followers, forever. . . his harem of pink snails lives on - spreading The Word of Spark to the world, one tank at a time (right now, my Kindy tank) The Sparkster will not be forgotten, but he will be_ so _missed. . .

. . . not so sure about the reincarnation as a space alien, but amused nonetheless - writing is so good for the soul. *hugs*

Meg, I'm still too sad about this, Sparky was the greatest, I loved him. . . I am SO happy that you gave him a good home, and took the best care of him that you could. He never did get the giant tank you were working so hard to give him, but he was so much happier with you than he would have been if you'd left him where you found him - temp flux and included. Plus he had his pelletses, which brought him great joy!

He was almost unable to turn around in the shop tank when you found him, I can only imagine the invisible damage those early days in that tiny tank did to him. I wish people understood how important it is to give future 'monster' fish the space they need to grow and develop properly from a young age. 

I'm so happy that you brought him home to love, and shared the experience with all of us. . . I'll miss the sweet sausage and his all-knowing and wise beady little eyes. . . and that adorable tum, stuffed full of pelletssssss. 

*smiles in fondest memory of Sparky*


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## Sakura8

Maybe being smooshed into that tiny shop tank stunted him and that's why he only got wider and not really longer?

Sparky would be truly touched knowing just how much people loved him. He always knew he had a following but I don't think the little sausage realized just how devoted his fans were. I'm glad I was able to have him as a buddy and so happy I was able to introduce him to everyone here on the forum.


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## Chesh

I always see people on here refer to the great fishtank in the sky. . . makes me smile to imagine that it's true.
. . .

The image I get of the Sparkster, all cherubic sausage-tato glowing. . . smiling benevolence down on all his minions. Of course the image isn't complete without feathery wings and a shimmering pink snail-shell halo. . . (and unlimited pelletsessss!)

^.^

I wouldn't be surprised if being kept in cramped conditions for all that time had something to do with it. It almost_ had_ to have. That tiny one you had for a bit shows how small they start life - and how quickly they must grow! I simply can't imagine it NOT having an effect on his lifelong health and growth. . . of course, the Sparkz was wild-caught, right? Not much of a breeding program for electro-cats, lol. So who knows. I'm just happy he was given a loving and clean home away from home while he was here. *hugs* You're such a good fishy momma. . .


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## Sakura8

It was with sorrow that I went to turn off all of the filters and heaters in Sparky's tank today. 

And then I saw this. What the bloody heck is this?!?!?!?! It's all around what I think was some leftover pellets. And I'm not sure but I think the assassin snails are dead. Did it kill them?








Imma pay my dad to clean this tank out. I don't want to touch it. :shock:


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## MaisyDawgThirteen

Sparky! No!  We will all miss the little sweet potato sausage. How do you get a fish autopsy done?


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## Sakura8

Maisy, one of the local universities has a huge and well-known vet program and they would have been willing to perform an autopsy IF A) it hadn't been a 3 day weekend and B) we hadn't put him in the freezer. Apparently freezing is actually the worst thing to do because the cells are destroyed upon thawing. 

So, because we froze him, no autopsy could be performed and he was laid to rest yesterday under the memorial rose bush for my late aunt. I guess I'll never know what killed him. I did find that somehow one of his heaters had broken but everything was contained inside the heater guard and the heater hadn't been plugged in since June.


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