Wild Wednesday: Get to know some of the aquatics animals at the Tulsa Zoo

The Tulsa Zoo is not known as much for its aquatic animals as it is for its elephants, giraffes, and tigers, but there are hundreds of fish that live there, too. Pacu, ripsaw catfish, and Redtail catfish are three of the fish species Edwin Torres takes care of as the Zoological Supervisor of Rainforest. "I love fish," he said. "Not a lot of people see their personalities, but they are really cool animals."

Torres has been in his role at the Tulsa Zoo for six years, and before that, he worked at an aquarium. On this Wild Wednesday, he shared what these three fish eat and what makes each one unique.

Q: What is on the menu today for these fish?

A: We are going to be offering them herring, which is a big fish. We are also going to be offering capelin. This is not all they eat; they also need to have their micronutrients and the complete diet, so we offer things like catfish chow and Koi chow.

Q: How often do you feed these fish?

A: We feed them three times a week and change what they eat every other day because eating the same thing, regardless of how healthy it is, is still not good.

Q: Why do you use tongs to feed these fish?

A: It helps us with doing health checks, so that we can have a really good visual on the animal. We can see its sides, how the scales look, and how the fins look. If they have an appetite, then we know they are healthy because a healthy animal is a hungry animal. Using the tongs also keeps us and the animal safe. Is it going to do something? Probably not, but we have to respect the animal. It is a big animal, it is a strong animal, and we do not want to put ourselves in a situation that we or the animal can get hurt.

Q: What will zoogoers notice about the Pacu?

A: He likes to people-watch. He will come up to the glass every so often and look at people. Pacu also have teeth that are similar to molars that they use to crack nuts, seeds, and fruit. They are part of the piranha family, which has a lot more herbivores than carnivores or omnivores, like some people may think.

Q: What will zoogoers notice about the ripsaw catfish?

A: If you look at his sides, you are going to see what we call scutes, which is a modified fin, but they are going to look like razors. That is where they get their name.

Q: What will zoogoers notice about the Redtail catfish?

A: He mainly hangs in the bottom and is going to be our biggest catfish in here. They roughly weigh about 100 pounds. They do not like to move a lot; they are used to just sitting in one space, and then a fish will come over, and then they will eat it.