Need some opinions please

[Ardiej]

Setting up my tank , been doing research and I’m thinking about getting a tiger shovel nose and 2 striped Raphael catfish . Just curious if anyone has any info on them together or any thing the internet hasn’t told me about then or them being together.

 

[fishhead0103666]

Absolutely not, the tiger shovel nose will eventually eat the raphael catfish. How even if this tank?

 

[Ardiej]

Absolutely not, the tiger shovel nose will eventually eat the raphael catfish. How even if this tank?

I figured I’d only get them all around 4” so his mouth isn’t as big I know they get big and will eat what they can , right now I just have a 55g I already plan on getting a bigger one especially with a TSN I didn’t plan on buying him more then 5” as of now and grow him out

 

[fishhead0103666]

Get an enclosure big enough for a tsn and *then* get him. Don’t get the fish before you have an enclosure big enough for it. Also, you can’t buy a tank big enough for a tan in *any* pet store and it will literally cost thousands of dollars for just the tank alone.

 

[Rtc/tsn]

I figured I’d only get them all around 4” so his mouth isn’t as big I know they get big and will eat what they can , right now I just have a 55g I already plan on getting a bigger one especially with a TSN I didn’t plan on buying him more then 5” as of now and grow him out

I know from experience, South American catfish grow extremely fast I’ve had bullseye my redtail tiger shovel nose since January and now about 5.5”

 

[Rtc/tsn]

Get an enclosure big enough for a tsn and *then* get him. Don’t get the fish before you have an enclosure big enough for it.

+1 I know from experience lol

 

[Matteus]

Expect the tsn to grow to 2’ roughly. So typically I wouldn’t have it in a tank much less than 8x3’ foot print. You may get away with it for a while but tsn grow fast for first few years.

the Raphael cats can stay in your 55 for life- I would skip the tsn until you can get at least a 300g set up.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Matteus I think TSN catfish get a lot bigger I thought closer to 48"

 

[Matteus]

Matteus I think TSN catfish get a lot bigger I thought closer to 48"

Sure. In the wild they do. But the fish we get in the hobby are culls from Fish farms that hardly ever exceed 24”. Take a look through old threads of viktors not many of them exceed that even in large 4500g tanks.

some people get excited about a name of a fish and say it needs 6000gal min to thrive but it isn’t always true. It scares people away from keeping cool fish that have somewhat decent conditions.

keep your water clean, feed good food, and give a bit more space than the minimum and you can be fine.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

TSN is a genus of multiple species, each with their own max size. The genus seems to be in a taxonomic limbo though, which doesn't help - some scientists state there are 8-9 species, others say 3 or some such.

P. fasciatum seems the most common in the trade and doesn't exceed 3 feet or not by much.

Yes, we usually get junk TSN in our trade, refuse from the farming operation of food TSN and carelessly and cheaply raised ones for ornamental purpose.

Going back to the OP, and average TSN should reach 1.5 feet in the first year. It will far outgrow a 55 gal tank. By the time it reaches a foot or even before that, it will have eaten the raphaels.