Can anyone tell me about Hoplo Catfish?

[FINWIN]

Just from the info I've seen they seem like a nice potential addition to my main tank. There are some albino one's I've got my eye on online. The perfect size and active from what I've heard.

Main thing is that my O can't snack on them...he's had yet another growth spurt.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Unless they're full grown when you get them rather than the 1" or so I see them for sale here...They're going to be snack size for anything but a tiny oscar.

 

[fishhead0103666]

The main size I see them at for sale is around 2 inches. I got mine back at around that size and it took several months for it grow to the 5 inches it is today. I wouldn't consider them as a tankmate for oscars simply because of the difficulty in finding a full grown one. Speaking on that topic I've read that they max out at 6 inches and 8 inches, I'm not quite sure which one is true.

 

[Omrit]

Does O stand for Oscar? Any fish that will fit in it's mouth will be eaten,and these guys definitely will look like food if they are small. Loads of catfish that are typically sold at a larger size that do well with Oscars though if that is what you are looking for.

Anyway the albino hoplo are all "Megalechis thoracata" as far as I know. They grow to about 6 inches and are pretty hardy. They are adapted for low oxygen waters having a modified intestine that allows them to gulp air at the surface, they are also a bubblenester surprisingly enough. Fish with such modifications tend to do poorly in tanks with strong currents,but aside from that they are unfussy as far as I know.

 

[fishhead0103666]

O does stand for oscar. Here is a link to a thread that has quite a lot of acronyms that we fish keepers use, written by our very own Oddball

Abbreviations & Acronyms

Abbreviations & Acronyms OK folks, here's the place to offer your FISH RELATED forum abbreviations and acronyms. To make the growing list useable, I'm going to update the list alphabetically. I'll start it off. Feel free to join in. Your contribution (if used) will help our new members and...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[FINWIN]

Does O stand for Oscar? Any fish that will fit in it's mouth will be eaten,and these guys definitely will look like food if they are small. Loads of catfish that are typically sold at a larger size that do well with Oscars though if that is what you are looking for.

Anyway the albino hoplo are all "Megalechis thoracata" as far as I know. They grow to about 6 inches and are pretty hardy. They are adapted for low oxygen waters having a modified intestine that allows them to gulp air at the surface, they are also a bubblenester surprisingly enough. Fish with such modifications tend to do poorly in tanks with strong currents,but aside from that they are unfussy as far as I know.

Yes, my Oscar. I'm trying to find out from the seller the size of the Hoplos he has but haven't gotten a response yet. It's a challenge finding adult size for most anything it seems. If it came to it I could grow them out in the bath tub downstairs. My O has a typical 'country wide' mouth that he used on my forearm a few days ago. I've seen pics of big chunky Hoplos but how to get one is a challenge. Are they fast growers?

 

[fishhead0103666]

I would say they are not fast growers. Mine has been stuck at 5 inches for a while.

 

[Omrit]

I'm going to say they are probably slow growers,most of these root around in the substrate catfish are. The wetspot has albino's for sale that they say are "1.5 to 2 inches" and I am going to bet the ones from your vendor are the same size.


https://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/current-stock/ this is the wetspots sale page. They have a bunch of catfish you can order at 4+ inches for sale right now under the "other catfish" section. When a fish says "3 to 5 inches" you can ask them for the 5 inch ones they are usually good about that sort of thing.

How big is your tank by the way?

 

[Rocksor]

The main size I see them at for sale is around 2 inches. I got mine back at around that size and it took several months for it grow to the 5 inches it is today. I wouldn't consider them as a tankmate for oscars simply because of the difficulty in finding a full grown one. Speaking on that topic I've read that they max out at 6 inches and 8 inches, I'm not quite sure which one is true.

Depends on the species and whether or not the site is talking about standard length or total length. Planetcatfish gives out SL which does not include the tail. Megalechis thorcata is 6.1" SL without the tail, Megalechis picta is 6.7" SL, Hoplosternum littorale is 8.3" SL.

 

[FINWIN]

I'm going to say they are probably slow growers,most of these root around in the substrate catfish are. The wetspot has albino's for sale that they say are "1.5 to 2 inches" and I am going to bet the ones from your vendor are the same size.


https://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/current-stock/ this is the wetspots sale page. They have a bunch of catfish you can order at 4+ inches for sale right now under the "other catfish" section. When a fish says "3 to 5 inches" you can ask them for the 5 inch ones they are usually good about that sort of thing.

How big is your tank by the way?

A 225 that's sitting on a dolly. Right now I'm waiting on a replacement stand for a wood stand that failed. Thanks for the tip, I will look there. I had 2 synos that were 5 inches at purchase that did ok with my O because of tank size, escape lanes and hideouts. Lost one that had grown to 7 inches during the emergency transport (I think the O got him at night). So anything in the 5-7 ish range should work to start off with. Generally looking at cats that max at about a foot.