red tail catfish color??

badar7

the color of some red tail catfish from front(lower area) is white(no strip,all white)...n some are gray(making a strip of white color only)..
why is this so?
r these different breeds?
or they belong to diff places?temp diff?

or its due to sex..male female??
or they can change it from white to gray n gray to white?
or any other reason?

pics are attached for reference

Attached Images

	0.jpg (11.8 KB, 33 views)
	CatJen.jpg (23.3 KB, 33 views)
	february2008_0020_red_tail_catfish.jpg (33.1 KB, 34 views)
	Red Tail Catfish thailand.jpg (19.5 KB, 34 views)

badar7

anyy111??

Thoth

I don't have experience with the red tailed cats but I have kept many other cats. Color changes as they age are common. It appears that this variation is an age thing. All of the pictures I can find of large river caught red tailed cats have the white under belly with a variation of some gray. The top left picture is a young cat that has not lost this gray under belly. All of the pictures I have found of them in an aquarium show the gray under belly as they are still small enough to be housed in an aquarium.

badar7

no dear, i have bought another red tail catfish yesterday,its all white from below,and its of same size as my old gray one....both are abt 1 foot...1 is gray n 1 is white from below

Thoth

2 red tailed cats... you do realize that they can grow to more than 4' long, weighing around 100 pounds? if you are keeping these fish in an aquarium... when they out grow your tank, I beg you not to release them into open water.

Christople

yes I recommend either getting thousands of gallons or releasing it in the wild or giving it to a local public aquarium

Thoth

Please do not release this cat into the wild in the US as they survive and could possibly cause environmental damage. They have already been found it Florida, Texas, and several other more northern mid west states. If you are going to release the cat, make sure it is a closed water system. ie a pond with out a creek or stream entering or exiting.

I was just at one of my LFS and they had two that were 4", both with a black under belly.

Christople

I agree don't release any where where it could cause damage