Tigrinus Catfish Care: Is it as difficult as people make it seem?

[ColeFishing]

Ive been doing some research lately and I've been pretty intrigued by tigrinus catfish. However, when I read about general care, I see a lot about them being very difficult to keep and I see some about them having a medium care levels. How hard are they to keep healthy? would they be fine in an appropriate sized tank, with adequate parameters and good filtration, or do they need very specific requirements to keep them alive like absolute perfect water parameters, perfect filtration w/ overkill, and power heads/ other special equipment? How do they compare with red tail payers?

[thebiggerthebetter]

IMO the greatest difficulty with them is feeding and making sure they get a good diet and enough food to thrive, not just exist. These probems can be especially excerbated in a community tank. They are fairly adaptable but it appears all Brachys are less robust than your TSNs and RTC. They tend to survive "accidents" with a markedly smaller chance, it would seem. IDK if they take meds equally well as TSNs and an RTC. My tig did very well overall, so I tend to think that in the absence of accidents and desease outbreaks in their tank, they are rather easy to keep once one gets the hang of how to feed them.

I don't think they need anything super special except maybe softer water is better and also they are a rheophilic fish. They can be flighty, especially in too small tanks. Nice clean water with a safety margin (= overfiltered + large frequent WCs) is a must for most or all Amazon fish.

[ColeFishing]

IMO the greatest difficulty with them is feeding and making sure they get a good diet and enough food to thrive, not just exist. These probems can be especially excerbated in a community tank. They are fairly adaptable but it appears all Brachys are less robust than your TSNs and RTC. They tend to survive "accidents" with a markedly smaller chance, it would seem. IDK if they take meds equally well as TSNs and an RTC. My tig did very well overall, so I tend to think that in the absence of accidents and desease outbreaks in their tank, they are rather easy to keep once one gets the hang of how to feed them.

I don't think they need anything super special except maybe softer water is better and also they are a rheophilic fish. They can be flighty, especially in too small tanks. Nice clean water with a safety margin (= overfiltered + large frequent WCs) is a must for most or all Amazon fish.

Awesome thanks. How do you think it would get along with a Florida gar, ornate bichir, red tail payara and peacock bass?


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[lix.ma14]

how big is your tank? I would watch out for the ornate bichir because they tend to be bullies and like to nip at slow moving fish. It might chomp at the whiskers.

[ColeFishing]

how big is your tank? I would watch out for the ornate bichir because they tend to be bullies and like to nip at slow moving fish. It might chomp at the whiskers.

Idk yet. But probably won't be big enough if stuff like that will occur; Although, I've not had it happen yet in my 75 with my ornate and various other cats.


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[thebiggerthebetter]

Awesome thanks. How do you think it would get along with a Florida gar, ornate bichir, red tail payara and peacock bass?

That's a hard question. Heavily depends on the tank size and the fish sizes. I'd say anyway, it is an experiment that may or may not work out. In a large pond, the adults would probably be okay. In a small tank, chances are smaller-to-much-smaller.

[cowboy76]

Agree with all said above. I was concerned when i first gt my tig. Gettng them to eat is the biggest challenge but there are good threads on that. Otherwise enough space, good quality water/ frequent water changes and good filtration and you shouldnt have issues. I house mine with 2 BD rays, a florida gar and an NGT in a 6"x2.5"x2.5 running 5 externals, 2 internals and UV. 25% w/c twice a week.

[ColeFishing]

Ok. My tank is 6' x 2' x 2'. Is that good enough for three years?


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[thebiggerthebetter]

Ok. My tank is 6' x 2' x 2'. Is that good enough for three years?

Sorry, could you specify? For what fish and at what starting sizes?

[ColeFishing]

Sorry, could you specify? For what fish and at what starting sizes?

Florida gar at 14", red tail payara at 6-7 inches and an ornate at 8". Ill probably get the tig at a smaller size to grow out in my 75 by itself so I can learn its ferreting habits. I may introduce some other fish with the tig in grow out to teach it compition for food.


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