Lima Shovelnose

[LBUK]

Hey guys.
Does anyone have any experience with Lima Shovelnoses? I was wondering if it would be suitable for my 420 litre tank with an oscar in. The Oscsar is about 6" and the Catfish on offer would be about 6".

Thanks

 

[Fishman Dave]

Generally a peaceful cat, Oscars can be a little belligerent and brutish. Unless your Oscar sees the tank as his and doesnt want visitors I would not expect too much trouble. Your Oscar will probably max out at 12" whereas the lima more likely 18" although 24" is possible. Not in my opinion a cat to bother an oscar, any issues I would expect to be the other way. The lima will appreciate either plants or wood or branches of sorts to swim/ hover underneath, often at 45 degrees or more.
I have one over 20" in my bigger cat pond with an 18" redtail, 26" giraffes, 12" jaguar cichlids, and two at six inches growing on in a community tank with the likes of clown loaches, plecs and fillament barbs.

 

[LBUK]

Generally a peaceful cat, Oscars can be a little belligerent and brutish. Unless your Oscar sees the tank as his and doesnt want visitors I would not expect too much trouble. Your Oscar will probably max out at 12" whereas the lima more likely 18" although 24" is possible. Not in my opinion a cat to bother an oscar, any issues I would expect to be the other way. The lima will appreciate either plants or wood or branches of sorts to swim/ hover underneath, often at 45 degrees or more.
I have one over 20" in my bigger cat pond with an 18" redtail, 26" giraffes, 12" jaguar cichlids, and two at six inches growing on in a community tank with the likes of clown loaches, plecs and fillament barbs.

Thanks for the reply!

My oscar is usually calm other than a few chases with the few silver dollars we have. If I send a link to the fish I would be looking at ordering would you be able to tell me if you think it would be OK in a 6ft tank as I dont want to order it if I cant house it! The link I have seen is http://www.tropco.co.uk/lima-shovelnose-catfish-15cm-p-2867.html

Thanks again

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Oscar can be a gamble, it might bully the lima. Albeit I'd not expect it to, the chances are not entirely zero, especially when the oscar grows up... the ~120 US gal tank is small enough that the oscar will likely treat it as all his, the big question is whether the catfish would be viewed as something threatening the oscar's authority / territory by the oscar. All in all, it could be tried, especially if you could separate or rehome one or the other if a need arises.

As for the lima shovelnose, these are enigmatic in that it is not quite understood why some grow to 1' while others grow to 2'. If you get the latter kind, your tank would be way too small for it. It could take 3-4 years to become sure which LSN you had gotten. These could be two distinct species - Sorubim lima (2' max) and Sorubim elongatus (1' max).

This catfish becomes skittish if there is no cover and/or its tank is too small. Then it tends to dart, hit glass, and break its snout:

 

[Galantspeedz]

Thanks for the reply!

My oscar is usually calm other than a few chases with the few silver dollars we have. If I send a link to the fish I would be looking at ordering would you be able to tell me if you think it would be OK in a 6ft tank as I dont want to order it if I cant house it! The link I have seen is http://www.tropco.co.uk/lima-shovelnose-catfish-15cm-p-2867.html

Thanks again

6ft tank which is 480l?

is the tank very short or very narrow?

 

[celebrist]

Generally a peaceful cat, Oscars can be a little belligerent and brutish. Unless your Oscar sees the tank as his and doesnt want visitors I would not expect too much trouble. Your Oscar will probably max out at 12" whereas the lima more likely 18" although 24" is possible. Not in my opinion a cat to bother an oscar, any issues I would expect to be the other way. The lima will appreciate either plants or wood or branches of sorts to swim/ hover underneath, often at 45 degrees or more.
I have one over 20" in my bigger cat pond with an 18" redtail, 26" giraffes, 12" jaguar cichlids, and two at six inches growing on in a community tank with the likes of clown loaches, plecs and fillament barbs.

Would they gobble my rose lines if I got a six pack for my 450

One of my favorite cats and I've been afraid to get some because of that possibility/ probability

 

[Fishman Dave]

£20 for a six inch fish is a decent price in the uk, mine were both £20 but 4" . 6" are usually £ 40 so expect it might be either slightly smaller or as some seem to do 6" including the tail which is not how I was ever taught to measure a fish.
As for your tank, uk gallons are also different to us ones so litres is good, but 480 means you don't have a 6*2*2 which if that is the case, your tank will not realistically be big enough. Also, you are now mentioning other fish you have in with the Oscar already?
how many and which?
6*2*2*6.25 = maximum capacity in uk gallons or x A further 4.5 in litres. = 675l
480l would mean 6'*2'*18" ? Approx

 

[LBUK]

£20 for a six inch fish is a decent price in the uk, mine were both £20 but 4" . 6" are usually £ 40 so expect it might be either slightly smaller or as some seem to do 6" including the tail which is not how I was ever taught to measure a fish.
As for your tank, uk gallons are also different to us ones so litres is good, but 480 means you don't have a 6*2*2 which if that is the case, your tank will not realistically be big enough. Also, you are now mentioning other fish you have in with the Oscar already?
how many and which?
6*2*2*6.25 = maximum capacity in uk gallons or x A further 4.5 in litres. = 675l
480l would mean 6'*2'*18" ? Approx

The tank I have is 66"x18"x22" its roughly 420 litres (another member mentioned 480. I mistyped 6ft on phone last night for 5).

Tank currently has a 6" Oscsar and 6 Silver dollars but if the Lima will outgrow it thats no worries I havent ordered anything yet so its not a problem if it cant work out!

Thanks for the info!

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Would they gobble my rose lines if I got a six pack for my 450

One of my favorite cats and I've been afraid to get some because of that possibility/ probability

LSN are predators. If a tank mate fits in their mouth, it is a risk.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Would they gobble my rose lines if I got a six pack for my 450

For fully grown rosy barbs it would require a LSN of size to be a threat of directly eating them, maybe one over 12". However , thats not your problem here initially. As Victor says, these are predators and will spend the night prowling the tank to see what they can find. This spooks the heck out of potential meals who want to be asleep or quiet in the dark. The last thing they want is to be scared every night, frightened they may get bitten or worse. Hence stressed barbs, hence disease, hence threat to your LSN.

And yes before someone mentions it, mine will be moving away from my much bigger barbs as soon as I get them putting on weight and t hey get anywhere near a size for the barbs to even notice they are there.