Looking for oddball that would go with hujeta gars

[M075]

Hello everyone,

I have a 160x50x50cm aquarium, filled to about 75% because i like the look of plants and twigs pointing up out of the water. (400L to brim, probably 300L water now).

It holds 3 hujeta gars at the moment since all my other fish have been moved into their own tank.

That means i got some free space for a bottomdweller or 2.

I was thinking of driftwood catfish, but those are pretty difficult to find and can be very expensive depending on exact species.

Kwikwi catfish are also an option i think, they look pretty cool aswell but might get a little bit big for this tank?

Ive looked into getting a freshwater flounder but i dont think it will work out with the hujeta's.

I saw some Corydoras looking catfish at my lfs, i forgot the name but they should grow to 15cm, only problem is theyre very expensive, especially if u need at least 6, i dont mind paying €100,- for a fish but €300+ is where my wallet ends for sure haha.

Possibly even an eel? Saw rubber eel but im not too sure that would work out well, considering the biggest hujeta was pretty interested in my gymnotus knifefish its tail.

Any suggestions would be great, even if the suggestions would be dont add anything u dont have the room for it.

Thank you guys (and gals)

 

[Ansorgii]

The catfish you are referring to are Brochis (likely Brochis Multiradiatus). Don't let yourself get overprized with them. The high prices are not justified, some store near me tried the same some years ago. If they are wildcaught and you want to bread them its something different, but most of the time they aren't and they just rip you off.

They can reach 15cm, but only in large tanks with excellent feeding and if they are wild caught/from an excellent breeder, as most will be stunted due to them being fed inadequately as fry. (Not throwing shade, its just really difficult/not profitable).

A group of Brochis Splendens, the more common and cheaper varient would look very nice in your tank. They are very active swimmers and shimmer great in the light. I paid for mine 6€/animal at 4cm. For larger animals you should expect 12-20€ but more is a ripoff.

There are still lots of other options of fish you can keep with them, like a Pair of more bottom dwelling cichlids, all sorts of plecos/L-catfish... maybe you can give more information about animals you like. Or tell us more about your tank. Photos are always great.

I would be careful with more predatory cats, even the small ones, as they can disturb your hujetas in the night. I never kept them, but pencil shaped fish tend to rocket if disturbed, even in their sleep. So maybe another fish that is active during the day would be better.

 

[M075]

Maybe youre right and a fish that goes out at night time isnt the best option.

Honestly the hujeta's have been way more relaxed than i wouldve guessed at first, the bleeding heart tetra's would sometimes touch them whilst swimming past or behind them and it wouldnt startle them even a bit, but those fish are about half its length at the moment.

I have thought about pufferfish before too but im too scared the will nibble on the hujeta's or keep bothering them.

Pleco's are cool but thats a sinkhole im willing to explore a bit later on in the hobby (too much choice lol)

The picture is a few weeks old (and at night) when i had more water in the tank and the upper wood in the middle i have taken out to give the fish some more free swimming space.

I got into the hobby because of a friend that had pea puffers and a 125L community tank, ive always like fishing for predatory fish and wanted something pike-like, best choice for me was the hujeta's with my limited tank size (weight issue if id go bigger since i live on the 1st floor) although i wouldve loved to get boullengerella maculata because of its colors, but that gets too big i guess.

If i could add 2 boullengerella maculata i totally would do that + maybe a single pleco but i think they get to 35cm so thats a bit much (hujeta gets around 15-25cm m/f as far as i know)

I love how European catfish look, eel like body with a huge mouth, thats why im pulled towards wood catfish, they look alike but just in way nicer colors, and a size thats manageable.

The brochis look cool aswell, ik only worried that they might not grow big enough to keep with the hujeta's and that their very shiny reflections might give the hujeta a reason to try eat it?

I think the kwikwi catfish look pretty similar to the brochis in some ways but have either dark or albino coloring with some markings making it more suitable, my only worries with those is the size they might grow?

Ps ill try to make some more pics of how the tank looks now when the lights turn off (timer) because the reflections make it impossible to see the inside.

So long story short i basically got just about all the fish i really wanted (hujeta, gymnotus knife and schooling tetra's)

I just want some odd or cool bottom dweller to make the hujeta tank look a tiny little bit less empty (even just knowing if its hiding in its cave or whatever)

it doesnt have to be too crazy special but i do like to have some fish you rarely see in the hobby, or at least i have rarely or not yet seen myself.

I would like the wood catfish because theres so many different colors and patterns, i dont mind them hiding and coming out at night but if it startles the hujeta's then it is an issue since i dont see it going well with the knife fish in the other tank and dont think a 80x40x40cm will be sufficient for them

 

[Conchonius]

The woodcat Trachelyopterus fisheri is common and available at prices as low as 300TL (around €7.5) in Turkey. It can be prone to hiding, but it sounds like the kind of fish you want.

You may want to see if they're available in the Netherlands. A lot of Turkey's ornamental fish are imported from the same sources as the rest of Europe (we even get the rarities from Aquarium Glaser sometimes!), so they're probably out there somewhere. I've seen them marketed as "wood pangasius" or "Colombian wood catfish".

 

[Ansorgii]

I understand where you are comming from. Pred Cats have that certain look to them, and I regret I never kept a Wels before leaving Europe. But pred cats are monsters, ans the big mouth is for their big greed and appetite.

Its hard to see, but it looks like you have a lot of wood in that tank. So perfect for L-Catfish.

Colomesus asellus apparently doesnt nible on fins, but I never kept them so I dont know if it is true.

Trust me, a 7cm Brochis is way to thick and tanky for a hujeta to eat. And they are quick too.

I am glad you like the hujetas, a friend also only told me positives about them. Lots of pike/baracuda shaped fish don't do the best in captivity due to their fast nature. I once kep a boullengerella cuvieri, and that fish was like a live granate. These animals don't belong in a tank, at least not one you can fit into a room.

Kwikwis are calm and peaceful, they might be a decent addition. But they enjoy groups and do get a bit larger. Dianema urostriatum is very similiar but smaller. They just tend to be rare and not that cheap, at least when I saw them. Some online stores in germany have them rn, maybe they send them to the netherlands aswell.