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

[cowboy76]

a 6ft x 2ft is ok to house for about 18mths i would say depending on speed of growth. i have seen tigs pushing over 2ft so probably at some stage you would need a wider tank. mine continues to grow extremely fast. got him at 9inch and now 17inch after about 6months. a grow out is prob a good idea if you get a small one. tbh i got mine feeding pretty quick using a tweezers and frozen prawn and smelt. gently rub the food on the whiskers and they will grab. aternatively feed at night as they are nocturnal and very active then. anyways thats my experience and i do not claim to be an expert.. thanks

[ColeFishing]

a 6ft x 2ft is ok to house for about 18mths i would say depending on speed of growth. i have seen tigs pushing over 2ft so probably at some stage you would need a wider tank. mine continues to grow extremely fast. got him at 9inch and now 17inch after about 6months. a grow out is prob a good idea if you get a small one. tbh i got mine feeding pretty quick using a tweezers and frozen prawn and smelt. gently rub the food on the whiskers and they will grab. aternatively feed at night as they are nocturnal and very active then. anyways thats my experience and i do not claim to be an expert.. thanks

ok cool. thanks!

another question I have is what are these general priced at for various sized specimen?

[cowboy76]

Not sure about pricing in the US but they are pricey here in England. Approx £350 for a 8-10 inch...


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[gangster]

Tigs are spendy and hard to find cause they are a seasonal fish. 3" tigs generally run 100-$200. The price ramps up quite fast as they get larger.

[T1KARMANN]

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.

first off you done the right thing by resurching

they are not hard to keep as long as you do a few thing when they are small

good water is obvious
lots of air in the tank

and most of all dont feed sea foods when below 12" no mussel prawn or shrimp as they have problems digesting it

dont feed until you belly is super fat and the tig looks like a rocking horse tigs are not good hunters and wouldnt feed like that in the wild

feed hikari sinking carnivore or massivore when below 12"

once they get past 12" they are as hard as nails

i never spot feed my 24"+ tig he hunts and eats what he can at food time

[itsKRUDD]

Sorry to bump an older thread but figured better than starting another thread.

How are these guys on barebottom tanks? I see plenty of photos of them in tanks without substrate but is it good for them? Looking for something to put in with 2 12 inch peacock bass and saw someone in the cichla forums mention these guys.

[sam_everist]

I only got mine the other day, approx 14" hadn't heard of the no feeding seafood thing so thanks T1 but fingers crossed mine will be ok as he is a bit larger. Mine has no problems finding the food either. Beautiful fish and great fun to watch.

Half my tank is bare bottom and half sand, he seems to be happy enough on either and doesn't seem to show a preference.

Other than that I don't have much experience unfortunately.


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[thebiggerthebetter]

Sorry to bump an older thread but figured better than starting another thread.

How are these guys on barebottom tanks? I see plenty of photos of them in tanks without substrate but is it good for them? Looking for something to put in with 2 12 inch peacock bass and saw someone in the cichla forums mention these guys.

Not much in this thread but a bit of info to answer your question: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...ght=rheophilic

Your post would really belong there not here