Ameiurus melas Rafinesque,
1820
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he 'Black Bullhead' grows to the same size in the aquarium as
Ameiurus nebulosus, the 'Brown Bullhead'.
In the early days of my fishkeeping they were abundant in coldwater
sections of the aquatic shops, small specimens in amongst Goldfish!
I lost count of the times I was contacted, to be asked if
I would take a large Bullhead which had eaten or was about to
eat their Goldfish, but they are not so common now in the U.K.
shops.
A good fish to house on its own in your fishhouse/room, to
take culled and deformed fishes (but not diseased.) As I recall
I had to house two in the same tank and one killed the other
during the night! ( you live and learn.)
One thing they do have in common with catfish from the Asian
continent is that they possess 4 pairs of barbels ( chin barbels
grey-black or spotted) unlike the catfish forms of South America
who in the whole have three pairs. This can be a good way to
identify your catfish if you are not too sure from where it
originates from.
There is now moves afoot by the U.K. Government through the Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAAF) to impose restrictions
on some coldwater species like the above mentioned Black Bullhead,
due to the dangers of introduction to native waters and the threat
to its occupants through disease and predation. In other words
you could be paying up to £30 for a license to keep them.
In the future due to the exporters having to implement
new guidelines on matters such as health records for each fish,
they could become quite rare in the U.K.
Update: As of November 1998 in the U.K.you must have
a licence to keep the above species. This licence is now issued
free, but does take a few months to process. For more information
log on to the DEFRA
site.
Dorsal 1/6; Anal 17-21; Pectorals; 1/8. Ventrals 8; Hind edge
of pectoral spine rough, but without serrations. Caudal peduncle
short, moderately deep, caudal fin emarginate. Head large, rounded
above; eyes small; mouth terminal, short, wide. Adipose fin present.
Colouration variable:upperside greenish, yellowish, brownish or
slaty-olive, sides lighter, underside bright yellow, yellow or
milk-white. Fins normally conspicuously darker than the adjacent
parts of the body. Anal base pale, distal two-thirds between the
rays black; in young fishes less than 10cm. in length the entire
fins may be black.
The North American ' Black Bullhead' adapts well to aquarium conditions
but do bare in mind that it does grow big along with the capable
size of its mouth! so if housing with other temperate fish you
would be better going for larger stock such as yellow perch or
the larger sunfishes. Putting them in with goldfish is not a good
idea, not for the poor goldfish anyway!. They adapt well to most
aquarium conditions as long as you give them a cave of some sort
and to keep the lighting down to a minimum for viewing purposes.
In its natural habitat in early spring the females lays its eggs
in the substrate and one or both parents guards them, the eggs
can number into the thousands. The resulting fry are protected
by both parents. Difficult to distinguish between sexes but the
female is noticeably fuller in the breeding season.
Adults eat just about everything, pellet food, tablet food, frozen
bloodworm, earthworms, shrimps and prawns.
| Etymology |
Ameiurus:
A reference to the tail.
melas: Black |
| Reference |
Schleser, David M. North American Fishes
for the Home Aquarium
The Audubon Society, Field
guide to North American Fishes, Whales & Dolphins
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| Photo
Credits |
Top picture: 
Bottom picture: David Proudfit
|
