lima shovelnose tank damage??

[mclb72]

I was thinking of getting a shovelnose lima catfish for my 55 gallon tank... I have heard they can damage tank by ramminng it...is this an urban legend or is there fact to it??? mike c

 

[Wolf3101]

no legand...it's a fact that I've seen personally. (thankfully not on any of my personal tanks.) It usually happens when you combine a strong fish (like the tsn...rtc...lsn....ect.) with a relitivly thin aquarium like those in the 40-55 gallon familly. Not all tanks are created equil mind you but I'm talking standard. A strong impact in the right place can shatter an aquarium and many times the actions of the fish are blamed on poor construction.

 

[bukster]

very true. but the force needed is much harder to produce by a lima than it is by a tsn or rtc or any of the like. although they are very streamline they most of the time lack the mass that the tsn does.

 

[Wolf3101]

True but they also are more likely to be housed in a smaller/thinner aquarium.

 

[necrocanis]

Here's a pic of a 17" lima that is 5 years old, and a pic of my 14" lima with my 14" tsn. The lima is only 10 months old. Got him/her at 3". I wouldn't keep one in a 55gal for more than 6 months personally. I know of one person that has one in a pond that is 12 years old and is right at 23" long, and thick as any tsn the same size. They are much more powerful swimmers than tsn. They don't need the bulk they have the speed.

 

[killerfish]

mostly this is for tiger shovel nose they are bigger and stronger but limas can get big but not that big go with 1/2 inch glass and your good
also how can you tell if limas are stunted because i got mine from mikeskillerfish in denver and he said he had it long enough to double its size (not sure how long he ment ) and know i've had it for about 3-4 mounths and i don't think its grown at all i do good water changes and it eats we'll

 

[estuary]

i lost a 55 g to shovelnose smashing through the side cheap wallmart tank thin glass got spooked through the side it went fsh was 8 inches

 

[necrocanis]

did you get pics? Did the fish make it? Yeah just make sure that you have a good aquarium with nice thick glass with any descent sized catfish. With limas they tend to be stressed in spaces that are too small for them to swim freely. They are not really your typical pimelodid catfish. They are happiest with some grass or roots to swim verticle in. If nothing else they will even swim verticle with a heater. I find they do best in groups of 4 or more. They will actually hunt in packs and seem to eat more and grow faster with others in the tanks than individually.

 

[BichirAddict]

What is the smallest size tank you would recomend for a lima then?

 

[DrZacharyus]

Limas are interesting, I have one thats a beast. He is very very thick and and my other one is thin throughout the body compaired to the bigger one. One has grown from 4" to about 7" in 1.5 months and the other has grown about 1" to his current 6".