Tiger shovelnose tank?

Tsncatguy!

Feeder Fish
Aug 14, 2019
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So I'm picking up my tiger shovelnose and my red tail cat today! I'm very excited, but would like some further advice. If I were to put them both together and there about 4 inches long now, how big of a tank am I going to need in one year? Will a 150 be sufficient for both or am I dreaming?
 

kno4te

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Believe can both get about 1.5-2 ft in a year. So the bigger the better if ur planning long term.

thebiggerthebetter thebiggerthebetter
 

Backfromthedead

Potamotrygon
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To answer your question, youre dreaming. A 150 will house them as juveniles but they will outgrow the tank within a year. Those are heavy, large fish. Good luck with them though. Hopefully you can upgrade before too long.

Edit: something like an 8'x3' footprint tank should last them a few years.
 

PYRU

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I don't know about the tsn, but i think a 180 would be ok for a rtc for yr maybe a little more. You're going to be in trouble if you don't have a concrete long term plan though
 

ZIPLOCKEDBRZ

Exodon
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Aug 1, 2019
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My TSN grew 3" in one month... they will outgrow that 150 fairly quickly. The TSN and even the RTC will need more of a square footprint rather than a long tank just keep that in mind when purchasing a larger tank.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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So I'm picking up my tiger shovelnose and my red tail cat today! I'm very excited, but would like some further advice. If I were to put them both together and there about 4 inches long now, how big of a tank am I going to need in one year? Will a 150 be sufficient for both or am I dreaming?
Welcome to the MFK and congrats on your lil' monsters in the making! YMMV as they say. 150 gal may last them 4 months or 8 months IMHO. Plus the RTC will outgrow the TSN (on average, again YMMV) and may eat it too at some point.

I'd say you have to go by the RTC as the more demanding, 2x-3x bigger by weight fish. On average they can reach 1.5'-2' in one year. You wouldn't want your RTC to be in anything that's less than 2x as wide as the fish is long and less than 4x as long as the fish is long at a minimum at any point in time.

Your clues will be if they don't swim or move very little. These fish when the room is adequate would take occasional swims during the day. If yours don't or almost don't, this means not enough space.
 
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Tsncatguy!

Feeder Fish
Aug 14, 2019
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28
Thanks everyone for your answers I do appreciate it! I was thinking of maybe building my own tank, pretty good with the construction because of my professional background. So I'm not worried about craftsmanship, but I am a bit concerned on how easy it is to find cell cast acrylic and was wondering if anybody had a dealer I can go through? Also is it true that you feed them the tiger shovelnose and the red tell live crayfish when there are only 6 in Long? I don't see how that's possible, but I have seen River Cats with some pretty big appetites for their size LOL thanks again!
 
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Backfromthedead

Potamotrygon
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Jul 12, 2017
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Thanks everyone for your answers I do appreciate it! I was thinking of maybe building my own tank, pretty good with the construction because of my professional background. So I'm not worried about craftsmanship, but I am a bit concerned on how easy it is to find cell cast acrylic and was wondering if anybody had a dealer I can go through? Also is it true that you feed them the tiger shovelnose and the red tell live crayfish when there are only 6 in Long? I don't see how that's possible, but I have seen River Cats with some pretty big appetites for their size LOL thanks again!
A few weeks ago i tried to order some from living color aquariums. It appears theyre going out of business and liquidating their supply of acrylic. I got in touch with somebody and attempted to place an order but they eventually stopped returning my emails or answering the phone when it came time to finalize the order.

You can try to get in touch with them cause the list of acrylic for sale is still up on their site. See if you have better luck than me with them maybe.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Dec 31, 2009
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Thanks everyone for your answers I do appreciate it! I was thinking of maybe building my own tank, pretty good with the construction because of my professional background. So I'm not worried about craftsmanship, but I am a bit concerned on how easy it is to find cell cast acrylic and was wondering if anybody had a dealer I can go through? Also is it true that you feed them the tiger shovelnose and the red tell live crayfish when there are only 6 in Long? I don't see how that's possible, but I have seen River Cats with some pretty big appetites for their size LOL thanks again!
Cell cast acrylic is a standard and widely available. I usually look through Craigslist because from dealers or manufacturers it is far more expensive. One can check out Ebay too (they have local pick up too because shipping would kill any savings). Not sure about Amazon.

I would never feed live fish or crayfish to TSN and RTC. I would only offer pellets and a frozen-thawed cuisine of aquatic origin. What is the reason to give your fish a live crayfish?
 
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Baywood1

Feeder Fish
Dec 30, 2018
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Lol. Read your post, august @4”. I have a pair one tan and one tsnxrtc one is roughly same age. New to site, but will check out videos & post one myself soon. Cool fish. Thanks
 
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