I own a gulper catfish (about 3 in.) I tried a few guppies thinking they'd be too small for him to go after, but no dice. So I was wondering if a bichir would grow fast enough/be big enough to survive? But on the other hand I don't want it to eat my gulper... Any help or insight is much appreciated!
Is there any way to keep something with a gulper?
- Thread starter zacha
- Start date
I've read that gulpers can be kept with other gulpers. I would also imagine that fish that are far larger (e.g., triple their size), might be safe, although as with many catfish one can't be too safe.
Hopefully others can chime in, but you can look at this recent thread for some ideas:
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ulper-catfish-tank-mates.683447/#post-7694670
Hopefully others can chime in, but you can look at this recent thread for some ideas:
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ulper-catfish-tank-mates.683447/#post-7694670
Bichirs would never work, they're slender. Boing slender would work. If you want to keep something it'd have to be something that's not predatory or aggressive and that grows much larger. Something like wide bar silver dollars can work, maybe a lemon barb. Things of that nature, they can be nippy but not to aggressive, since they're larger they'll likely be able to bully the gulper easily
Agree with the above. The tank mate should not fit in the gulpers mouth by any stretch of imagination (and this is not about length but about the width / height / circumference of the head end and tail end) and be not predatory to prey on gulpers.
A colony of a dozen gulpers would be interesting too.
A colony of a dozen gulpers would be interesting too.
Maybe some fancy goldfish. They are not slender by any means, they grow large, are not very expensive unless you buy show fish, and are not nippy or carnivorous. I know I will get flak for this, but goldfish do not need cold water. Many of the fancies cannot even handle cold water. Fishbase has carassius auratus, the goldfish's wild ancestor, listed as living in water up to 41*C, or 105.8*F. People who breed them do so at around 78*F. They are fine with the gulper's water, and if you have a gulper, you need massive filtration and a good bit of water movement anyway.
I'd love to do a colony of gulpers but they're just so expensive... I guess goldfish may be an option but I've held off because of the whole cold water thing.
Gulpers just don't really work with tankmates, except other gulpers. They can eat fish over twice their own size, and if you add a tankmate that much bigger than them then you're in danger of the other fish eating the gulper.
Goldfish aren't IMO a good idea for a lot of reasons.
Most of the fancy round bodied varieties max out under 12 inches with many coming in well under that especially those commonly found. For instance Lionheads and the like often max out between 5-8 inches and their growth isn't exactly fast. The Gulper would easily out pace them and a goldfish that's only a little larger then the Gulper would be consumed.
Fancy Goldfish aren't strong swimmers and make easy targets for Gulpers. The weak swimming also makes it almost impossible for the Gold to escape if they are caught.
As for temps, it's true Fancy Golds aren't as tolerant of the cold as their wild counterpart but it's also true that they aren't very tolerant of water that is too warm either. Their typical temperature range being 65 - 72° F (18°- 22° C) with the higher end being good for breeding since they like to breed in the spring. If you wanted to try keeping them higher know they require a lot more oxygen then tropical fish so you'd have to really turn up the gas exchange. Powerheads would strain them due to their poor swimming probably to the point of exhaustion and eventual demise. You'd have to go with lots of air stones and the like as well as create plenty of surface agitation with things such as spray bars. Which is a lot of work for a fish that'll just be the Gulpers meal in the near future.
Tankmates for Gulpers need to be several things IMO. One larger then the Gulper. Two be a faster grower then the Gulper. Three peaceful since Gulpers aren't aggressive and are naked making wounds easier to inflict. Four not predatory. The growing part makes keeping them with juvenile fish highly unlikely. You'd need a semi adult at least. Then considering the Gulpers eventual approx 1 foot adult size and you're talking about a fairly big tank since his tankmates will probably need to be twice his size. Possible tankmates that I think may work would be RipSaw Cats, Maybe a Tinfoil Barb?, Myloplus Schomburakii-Black Barred Silver Dollar since they max out around 16 inches, Myloplus rubripinnis-Red Hook Silver Dollar, Yellow Belly Pacu. But even these may present problems. One issue that might come up is how aggressive the Tetras are when eating. They may not attack the Gulper but may eat the food so fast the Gulper can't get his fair share.
Most of the fancy round bodied varieties max out under 12 inches with many coming in well under that especially those commonly found. For instance Lionheads and the like often max out between 5-8 inches and their growth isn't exactly fast. The Gulper would easily out pace them and a goldfish that's only a little larger then the Gulper would be consumed.
Fancy Goldfish aren't strong swimmers and make easy targets for Gulpers. The weak swimming also makes it almost impossible for the Gold to escape if they are caught.
As for temps, it's true Fancy Golds aren't as tolerant of the cold as their wild counterpart but it's also true that they aren't very tolerant of water that is too warm either. Their typical temperature range being 65 - 72° F (18°- 22° C) with the higher end being good for breeding since they like to breed in the spring. If you wanted to try keeping them higher know they require a lot more oxygen then tropical fish so you'd have to really turn up the gas exchange. Powerheads would strain them due to their poor swimming probably to the point of exhaustion and eventual demise. You'd have to go with lots of air stones and the like as well as create plenty of surface agitation with things such as spray bars. Which is a lot of work for a fish that'll just be the Gulpers meal in the near future.
Tankmates for Gulpers need to be several things IMO. One larger then the Gulper. Two be a faster grower then the Gulper. Three peaceful since Gulpers aren't aggressive and are naked making wounds easier to inflict. Four not predatory. The growing part makes keeping them with juvenile fish highly unlikely. You'd need a semi adult at least. Then considering the Gulpers eventual approx 1 foot adult size and you're talking about a fairly big tank since his tankmates will probably need to be twice his size. Possible tankmates that I think may work would be RipSaw Cats, Maybe a Tinfoil Barb?, Myloplus Schomburakii-Black Barred Silver Dollar since they max out around 16 inches, Myloplus rubripinnis-Red Hook Silver Dollar, Yellow Belly Pacu. But even these may present problems. One issue that might come up is how aggressive the Tetras are when eating. They may not attack the Gulper but may eat the food so fast the Gulper can't get his fair share.
Thanks for the in-depth reply! Unfortunately anything really big is out of the question as I have my little guy in a 75 gallon.
