I can attest that hoplo catfish are active, mine will be up at the top checking out what everyone's doing while silently plotting to steal their food when they aren't looking.
Schooling catfish?
- Thread starter brent245
- Start date
Lima Shovelnose school but would eventually need more space though it takes them a while to push past 14", max size is around 2ft depending on the species but only a handful have been seen at that size
99% of Lima shovelnose sold are actually elongatus and only get to a foot so a school of them should work
The ornate pictus catfish are now marked down to $100 just incase op was considering them but the price was too much.
One of the standard 240 gal, of which we've got ten, is 8'x2'x2'. 8x2=16 sq ft. 5x2.5=12.5 sq ft. Just a pedantic note that your footprint statement could be mostly a wishful thinking, IMHO.
But I was pleasantly surprised, if not blown away, by the realism you showed in the size of fish you think you can house.
Four line Pims are not a schooling fish, not even what I'd call a shoaling fish. A loose shoal in large tanks of thousands of gallons and no or not much association in smaller tanks 150-300 gal.
School = tight and directional formation. Shoal = loose association.
A shoal of 25+ Pimelodus pictus looks really cool IMHO and IME. The same goes for LSN. Suncats are a gamble. They often squabble but in large tanks may occupy the same territory, still enforcing the hierarchy rather viciously.
I liked the Schilbe suggestion. Ompok can be looked at. So can be great many smaller Bagridae, Heptapteridae, and of course, as stated above, most smaller Pimelodidae.
I like your thinking. I too would rather get more of smaller cats than fewer of larger if the aim is activity.
Thanks for the suggestions.
I have had a lima shovelnose in the past in a 125g. I never thought of putting multiple ones in since I assumed they grown over 15" maxing out at 2'. But if you guys think it would work they that's a very tempting idea.
I like the pictus cats, however they are relatively small. I think we've narrowed it down to several species. I'm still 2-4 weeks away from having the tank, and then I need to cycle it and get it ready for fish. It may be mid November before I actually buy anything.
I have had a lima shovelnose in the past in a 125g. I never thought of putting multiple ones in since I assumed they grown over 15" maxing out at 2'. But if you guys think it would work they that's a very tempting idea.
I like the pictus cats, however they are relatively small. I think we've narrowed it down to several species. I'm still 2-4 weeks away from having the tank, and then I need to cycle it and get it ready for fish. It may be mid November before I actually buy anything.
Statistically we see that 99.9% of "LSN" sold in the states fail to exceed ~1' even when properly kept, which makes me assume they are elongatus, not lima (these are ~impossible to tell apart by external features by a hobbyist). Alternatively, they could be lima mass-produced carelessly and as cheaply as possible at farms. But if this was the case, I think we'd see a LOT of birth deformities, which we don't see at all or almost at all.
Anyhow, I've posted a small write-up on MFK several times on lima versus elongatus topic. Search for "elongatus" and narrow by my screen name and you will find it in the hits, if you wish to know more. Beware, not everyone would agree with me, so process critically. Perhaps Trent
amazonfishman
may offer a different and fresh prospective.
I have 20 lima / elongatus right now in one of our tanks. They look real nice together.
One more caution is that they tend to dart and damage their rather brittle upper jaw by running into walls. There are things one could do to try to minimize this.
That's not at all a bad price. Their range is $25-$85.
Anyhow, I've posted a small write-up on MFK several times on lima versus elongatus topic. Search for "elongatus" and narrow by my screen name and you will find it in the hits, if you wish to know more. Beware, not everyone would agree with me, so process critically. Perhaps Trent
amazonfishman
may offer a different and fresh prospective.I have 20 lima / elongatus right now in one of our tanks. They look real nice together.
One more caution is that they tend to dart and damage their rather brittle upper jaw by running into walls. There are things one could do to try to minimize this.
That's not at all a bad price. Their range is $25-$85.
Wildwoods Enfield has had one a while, not sure if it's sold. They do mail order.
