Officially a Bichir keeper now

[sevs and sajicas for me]

Thanks for the tip guys. Yes J jaws7777 i do like the Lima shovelnose but I was under the impression they all get very large and much too large for a 75 gallon. Planet catfish has them right at 20 inches. I do like them though.

I'm getting mixed things on the synos. Though the eupterus does sound like an option though I had heard the same thing about aggression

 

[sevs and sajicas for me]

Thanks for the tip guys. Yes J jaws7777 i do like the Lima shovelnose but I was under the impression they all get very large and much too large for a 75 gallon. Planet catfish has them right at 20 inches. I do like them though.

I'm getting mixed things on the synos. Though the eupterus does sound like an option though I had heard the same thing about aggression

 

[jaws7777]

Thanks for the tip guys. Yes J jaws7777 i do like the Lima shovelnose but I was under the impression they all get very large and much too large for a 75 gallon. Planet catfish has them right at 20 inches. I do like them though.

I'm getting mixed things on the synos. Though the eupterus does sound like an option though I had heard the same thing about aggression

Yes that's what drives people away but those are true lima Sorubim. Most of what we get are elongatus and stay smaller.

thebiggerthebetter is the cat guru and can definitely give some valued advice

 

[sevs and sajicas for me]

Ahh just read up on the difference. That makes sense. Should I be concerned about keeping them with ropes? I know the ropes will get long but are thin. Also no experience with them and potential to out compete the polypterids for food

 

[kno4te]

Raphael cats are nice. Hide a lot and have to keep an eye out and make sure it’s eating. I have a striped in my tank and always forget about it.

Lsn will be another nice addition. These guys will hover vertically in group. Interesting for sure. Most those are elongatus since most seen are none bigger than 12inches like jaws mentioned. Manageable size.

 

[Alexkoj]

Raphael cats are nice. Hide a lot and have to keep an eye out and make sure it’s eating. I have a striped in my tank and always forget about it.

Lsn will be another nice addition. These guys will hover vertically in group. Interesting for sure. Most those are elongatus since most seen are none bigger than 12inches like jaws mentioned. Manageable size.

Fellow raphael keeper here, can confirm. They're great cats to keep, if a little inactive - I house a 8 year old raphael with my upper jaws. Not half as inactive as uranoscupuses though..

 

[jaws7777]

Ahh just read up on the difference. That makes sense. Should I be concerned about keeping them with ropes? I know the ropes will get long but are thin. Also no experience with them and potential to out compete the polypterids for food

Imo the outcompeting for food is being over blown. The cats your looking at arent RTC's

 

[sevs and sajicas for me]

hmm. so the leading candidates seem to be lima shovelnose, eupterus, and raphaels.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I think LSN and rope fish will be fine.

I agree that LSN are not ravenous feeders. They can feed well (which is not exceedingly easy to accomplish) but their feeding is limited as they are a thin fish.

Eupterus is usually fine with tank mates but some problems have been reported. Hard to say what the chance of success would be, perhaps 75%.

Raphs are good for a thorough clean up but if I personally can't see a fish, it's not worth keeping. You can arrange their hiding spot so that you see them to alleviate this.

 

[jaws7777]

Me personally I would go for the Lima. Raphaels and wood cats in gerneral have the body type I prefer but Lsn are cool in their own right and I too prefer a fish I can see over one I can't. I had a raph that hid Soo much we forgot we even had one at times. Not exaggerating