Should I Buy A Lima Shovelnose?

[pelleeklund]

Just saw these guys at my local store for $12.00. They look pretty cool and I know they don't get too big, just curious as to whether they are a cool fish to keep. Any personal experience with these guys you can share would be appreciated very much, I'd hate to pick one up and find out it's a slug.

 

[greenbud]

Its is all up to how you feed the fish. example my wifes 4 line pims are to least active fish in that tank why cause all they do is sit waiting to be feed and never move. now my tanks on the other hand are always active i vary the feeding location all the time and the type of food .

 

[Stratoquarius]

My lima shovelnose was a great fish, kept him with my breeding pair of oscars. he was a bit of a fussy eater and he got scared once and stabbed his eye out with a peice of slate and well as a one eyed catfish he did really well and was great fun to watch.

when they get annoyed with other fish they shed their skin so like a mucus coating floats in the water to distract the other fish.
all in all I would recomend them to anyone anyday.

 

[pelleeklund]

So they do get around a bit, that's good. How about girth, I know they max out around 20 or so inches, but do they thicken up and get sturdier like other catfish or do they maintain the pencil-like shape for life? Thanks for the replies too.

 

[Stratoquarius]

no problem, I had mine for over a year and he grew from 7" -12" and he kept his slender physique unless he was fed, then he had a bulging belly for a while


just adding, I read that they rarely get over a foot in captivity, HOWEVER if you keep it in a large enough tank I believe it could grow larger than a foot.

 

[pelleeklund]

Thanks buddy, I appreciate your help.