Catfish for my 220

[Fish Tank Travis]

I'm looking at three possible choices that I like as single additions. They are the Lima shovelnose, the vulture catfish and the bolt catfish. I am partial to the vulture catfish and the sources I have found say that they most commonly only reach around 16-18" in aquariums. I've found the same size information for the Lima shovelnose as well. Finally, I think that the bolt catfish stays a bit smaller at a size around 12-13".

Can anyone elaborate on these choices?

 

[moe214]

Ornate pims maybe? Linces max size are questionable, theyre said to vary in max size upon catch location, smallest is 24" largest is I believe40" maybe larger, don't remember. They require a large set up because they're so active, they don't stay still practically and swim fast at that. Need a large tank. DB says his, which is under 2' AFAIK, makes his 750 10x4 look small. Vultures don't get larger than 24". I feel like I've seen one posted larger than 20" but can't remember for sure so don't quote me in that, anyway, I wouldn't keep that with the fish you plan on keeping it with because it is said to go into a feeding frenzy at times and tear other fish apart, discus are much to sensitive to deal with it, and fire eels wouldn't fairwell either being sensitive.

I'd say you can go with a small to medium bagrid or pim. As mentioned blochii, ornate, bolt cat if you're interested in the vulture. Sun catfish, Asian USD( be careful with this one, TBTB reports his to be problematic). You can do driftwood cats if you don't mind not seeing it once in a while. I have a jaguar catfish who doesn't stay still sometime into the lightless night. Doesn't mess with no one except the ery who tries to push others around. I like trachy trachy as well but it's possible they get to large and may eat some of it tankmates having a wide mouth, so be careful if that's something that interest you, might have to worry about those eels. That's a lot of discus, but if I were you, I'd go with ornate pims or jaguar catfish, a group of whichever, I'd say do maybe 5.

Limas will only reach a foot unless you get a true Lima, but I think only two true ones have been reported in the u.s. A very rare fish. We get elongatus which only reach 1'. They also like each others company from my understanding.

 

[jclyde13]

View attachment 1230247
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Does anyone know what this type is?

I like the looks of this one a lot.

Those are two different species. I believe the one in the first picture is a vulture catfish (Calophysus macropterus). The one in the second picture is a lince catfish (Platynematichthys notatus).

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Ornate pims maybe? Linces max size are questionable, theyre said to vary in max size upon catch location, smallest is 24" largest is I believe40" maybe larger, don't remember. They require a large set up because they're so active, they don't stay still practically and swim fast at that. Need a large tank. DB says his, which is under 2' AFAIK, makes his 750 10x4 look small. Vultures don't get larger than 24". I feel like I've seen one posted larger than 20" but can't remember for sure so don't quote me in that, anyway, I wouldn't keep that with the fish you plan on keeping it with because it is said to go into a feeding frenzy at times and tear other fish apart, discus are much to sensitive to deal with it, and fire eels wouldn't fairwell either being sensitive.

I'd say you can go with a small to medium bagrid or pim. As mentioned blochii, ornate, bolt cat if you're interested in the vulture. Sun catfish, Asian USD( be careful with this one, TBTB reports his to be problematic). You can do driftwood cats if you don't mind not seeing it once in a while. I have a jaguar catfish who doesn't stay still sometime into the lightless night. Doesn't mess with no one except the ery who tries to push others around. I like trachy trachy as well but it's possible they get to large and may eat some of it tankmates having a wide mouth, so be careful if that's something that interest you, might have to worry about those eels. That's a lot of discus, but if I were you, I'd go with ornate pims or jaguar catfish, a group of whichever, I'd say do maybe 5.

Limas will only reach a foot unless you get a true Lima, but I think only two true ones have been reported in the u.s. A very rare fish. We get elongatus which only reach 1'. They also like each others company from my understanding.

Thank you very much for the help. I have been rethinking the discus at this time. I'm not sure that I have the time to raise them out properly and keep up with their insane water changes.

How do you think a group of Lima catfish would look and how do you think they would get along with my eels?

Or, if I forgo the discus at this time, do you think that there would be enough room for a vulture cat to get along with my fire eels, or is a vulture cat just a bad idea, really?

Also, just want to mention, I currently have two fire eels but if they start having trouble getting along I will be rehoming one of them. At this point, they seem to be doing well together though.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Those are two different species. I believe the one in the first picture is a vulture catfish (Calophysus macropterus). The one in the second picture is a lince catfish (Platynematichthys notatus).

Thanks, I kind of noticed some differences after I posted those. At first, I though they were the same.

 

[moe214]

Thank you very much for the help. I have been rethinking the discus at this time. I'm not sure that I have the time to raise them out properly and keep up with their insane water changes.

How do you think a group of Lima catfish would look and how do you think they would get along with my eels?

Or, if I forgo the discus at this time, do you think that there would be enough room for a vulture cat to get along with my fire eels, or is a vulture cat just a bad idea, really?

Also, just want to mention, I currently have two fire eels but if they start having trouble getting along I will be rehoming one of them. At this point, they seem to be doing well together though.

Personally Lima cats aren't my cup of tea so to speak, but if you like them you'll like a group of them more than a single one and I think the tank is fine as far as size for a small group of them and they'll be fine with the eels as long as the eels are girthy enough to not fit in their mouth. As far as the vulture, I'm sure it can be done with the eels, I'd just worry about the reported feeding frenzy it can go into, the eel is sensitive and likely won't deal with it well, that being said I'd wait for someone with some experience to chime in on that, another thing with them is if it in fact exceeds 20", they're not as flexible as the eels, so that width won't do.

 

[jclyde13]

Limas will only reach a foot unless you get a true Lima, but I think only two true ones have been reported in the u.s. A very rare fish. We get elongatus which only reach 1'. They also like each others company from my understanding.

That's not true. I can't say for certain which species get to which sizes, but I can tell you for certain that there have been plenty of examples of 15-24" lima shovelnose cats in the US. haynchinook334 owns (or at least owned) one of them, if I remember correctly. I've seen plenty of them posted here over the years, and I've even seen one in person in an aquarium at my university that was around 20".

Unfortunately I was never able to grow one up myself. I've had some really bad luck with limas. My first two got mutilated by a pacu, then my next one was presumably eaten by my silver arowana, and my final attempt, with a 9"+ individual that I was sure would do just fine, my ~12" Synodontis frontosa randomly decided to beat it up one day, and it died overnight. I finally gave up after that incident.

 

[jclyde13]

Thank you very much for the help. I have been rethinking the discus at this time. I'm not sure that I have the time to raise them out properly and keep up with their insane water changes.

How do you think a group of Lima catfish would look and how do you think they would get along with my eels?

Or, if I forgo the discus at this time, do you think that there would be enough room for a vulture cat to get along with my fire eels, or is a vulture cat just a bad idea, really?

Also, just want to mention, I currently have two fire eels but if they start having trouble getting along I will be rehoming one of them. At this point, they seem to be doing well together though.

You would eventually end up with a severely overstocked tank with a group of full-grown limas as well as full-grown fire eels.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Ok, I may end up with the advise to not get anything more but I want to check into getting a catfish or a school of catfish for my 220. I only want to go through with it if it will work out for my long term plan.

Long term, I'm planning on keeping my two fire eels in the tank and about 8-12 discus.

So, if you think I can, can you recommend a nice looking catfish that I can keep in my 220 that is a good looking catfish and will be compatible with my plans above.

I have thought about 6-8 pictus cats, and may seriously look into them as I really like the silver and black look. I find the tiger shovelnose to be an amazing looking fish, but they definitely get too large for my setup.

I have also thought about 6-8 cories but I've never been a huge fan of cories and I don't know if I'll end up liking them.

Of course, another option I'm interested in is a catfish that stays solitary and maxes out under 12".

Can you guys let me know what you think?

Discus are very rewarding to keep but are also very high maintenance. The water must be pristine and stable at all times, very warm (no less than 82-84 F), must have under 20 ppm of nitrate and positively zero ammonia and zero nitrite. But with discus one gets what they pay for, that is, invest the labor in.

I like the idea of the Pimelodus pictus. I'd probably get at least a dozen though.

I checked those out. It looks like they get up to about 26".

Albino farm refuse H. nemurus appear to not exceed 1'. They appear peaceful too, active, but IDK how any (cat)fish would be with discus, having never kept them and having not read much about them.

Pimelodus like blochii and ornatus could work.

Vulture and lince will not. 220 gal is too small for them IMHO and IME.

... Are there any catfish that look like the pictus with their silver body and black markings (spots or stripes) but get up to 10-12"?

You can filter the Cat-eLog on Planet Catfish by size and look for your answer.

I'm kind of leaning toward the looks of a shovelnose, if it's possible. Are there any shovelnose species that stay small enough to live in a 220?

I saw a source that said the Lima shovelnose only gets to about 18". It's a little bigger than I originally planned on but I am really liking the shovelnose catfish a lot the more research I do on them.

I'd forget about any TSN. LSN may work. I too would get a dozen or so if your filtration is solid and the sump is large.


I like the Platysilurus suggestion too.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I'm looking at three possible choices that I like as single additions. They are the Lima shovelnose, the vulture catfish and the bolt catfish. I am partial to the vulture catfish and the sources I have found say that they most commonly only reach around 16-18" in aquariums. I've found the same size information for the Lima shovelnose as well. Finally, I think that the bolt catfish stays a bit smaller at a size around 12-13".

Can anyone elaborate on these choices?

LSN and bolt may work. Vulture gets too big and swims to much for 220 gal.

That's not true. I can't say for certain which species get to which sizes, but I can tell you for certain that there have been plenty of examples of 15-24" lima shovelnose cats in the US. haynchinook334 owns (or at least owned) one of them, if I remember correctly. I've seen plenty of them posted here over the years, and I've even seen one in person in an aquarium at my university that was around 20".

Unfortunately I was never able to grow one up myself. I've had some really bad luck with limas. My first two got mutilated by a pacu, then my next one was presumably eaten by my silver arowana, and my final attempt, with a 9"+ individual that I was sure would do just fine, my ~12" Synodontis frontosa randomly decided to beat it up one day, and it died overnight. I finally gave up after that incident.

Me neither. But everyone's experience differs. Mine matches Moe's. What you may be recalling are, at least in part, large LSN from Europe posted on MFK. That'd be true in my readings. Europe tends to get more true lima. In the US, I've not come across more than 1-2 examples of true lima. It doesn't mean there are no more there. It's what I've come across.

I have a humble write-up of my experience and understanding of the lima vs elongatus story, if you are interested. It's been evolving with time. I am always happy to adjust my views upon being presented with compelling evidence. No problem there.

You would eventually end up with a severely overstocked tank with a group of full-grown limas as well as full-grown fire eels.

Here I go again. Sorry, don't mean to be argumentative. I'd naively think with nice filtration, the slim eels and slim LSNs would not overstock the tank but the margin of safety will be small, that I'd agree with.


All of the above are my subjective opinions and may have little or nothing to do with objective truths