Tiger Shovelnose Catfish 660 gal (YES or NO)

[raubiy]

In 2-3 years i will build 660 gal tank.
I'm thinking abaut TSN all the time.
Can i hause this fish for life in 660 or not.
Some people say it will stay 30'' some say 47''.
I don't know... Plz coment.
I know some of you have serious monsters at home

 

[raubiy]

Tank will be
square 80'' x 80'' Very thick glass.
I'm thinking its too small i don't know.
I saw big species in public aquaria.
What u guys think go for it or not ?

 

[KNH]

Beautiful cat but I agree 660g is too small in the long run. That tank would be great for plenty of other fish though.

 

[Zeke]

Yeah, too small. They tend to swim around more when larger. You could keep it for quite a while in a tank that size though. I have personally seen captive specimens of TSN Catfish that were 48". Very old fish ,but still BIG and active.

 

[raubiy]

What tank size you guys recoment for this species ?

 

[LiamIrons]

I would recommend something the same size as my tank for a pair to fit comfortable for life so around the region of 132" x 75" x 42"

 

[raubiy]

I'm thinking going a litle biger xD
I must think abaut it.
I hear catfish prefer square tank over regular display.
80'' x 80'' is decent size. But too small for MONSTERS i wanted to keep

 

[rodger]

I don't think any fish has a preference for square or rectangle. I think that all fish would like no corners.

 

[raubiy]

Yea but round aquarium is very expensive.
Cost x2

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

TSN is a collective term for Pseudoplatystoma genus http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/genus.php?genus_id=116#778 whose the species have different max sizes.

There is disagreement between the scientists as to how many members are in that genus but definitely more than one. What we get in the pet fish trade 99%+ appear to be Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum and the tiny % is composed of tigrinum and reticulatum. We almost never get punctifer, neither corruscans.

The latter is arguably the biggest of the TSN species:
Spotted Sorubim
Pseudoplatystoma corruscans
FishBase max 166 cm; 100 kg.
Fishing-World-Records 180-250 cm, 86-150 kg.

Barred sorubim
Pseudoplatystoma.fasciatum
FishBase max 104 cm, 70 kg.
Fishing-World-Records 120-170 cm; 20-70 kg.

Tiger sorubim
Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum
FishBase max 130 cm, 17 kg. Matures at 99+ cm.
Fishing-World-Records 150 cm; 40 kg; 18 years.

But in captivity, chances are yours will not exceed 3'. Yet, even at 3', an 80" x 80" means 1-2 tail flaps in any direction and the fish must turn. That's awfully tight.

Many report their sub-adult TSNs are sedentary or rather sedentary. IMHO, this is, in at least 90% of cases, because of a too small tank. My TSNs and others in large accommodations love to swim around. They take rests, sure, but I'd not call them sedentary by any means.