Tigrinus shovelnose tankmates

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TheEelKing

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Feb 22, 2010
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So, I've decided to restock my 300 gallon aquarium. I am considering a tigrinus shovelnose catfish. Will it work with the fish below?

1) Can a tigrinus shovelnose live with ornate bichirs for life, or will the catfish eventually try and eat the bichir? Just wondering since bichirs look to be the perfect shape for a shovelnose to try and swallow.

2) Can a tigrinus shovelnose nose live with 7"+ clown loaches for life, or will the catfish eventually try to eat them?

3) Tigrinus shovelnose catfish with clown knife? Yea or nay?

4) Tigrinus shovelnose with fat sleeper goby? Yea or nay?

Thanks!
 
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1) Can a tigrinus shovelnose live with ornate bichirs for life, or will the catfish eventually try and eat the bichir? Just wondering since bichirs look to be the perfect shape for a shovelnose to try and swallow.

*****I have had an 8"-10" senegali bichir with half a dozen 12" tigs without any issues. But I am not someone to rely on bichir advice. J jaws7777 moe214 moe214

2) Can a tigrinus shovelnose nose live with 7"+ clown loaches for life, or will the catfish eventually try to eat them?

*****I'd guess it is relatively safe but an attempt could be fatal to both fish, especially after the tig gets up to 2' and bigger. Having not kept the loaches with a tig, I must say IDK.

3) Tigrinus shovelnose catfish with clown knife? Yea or nay?

*****If neither can fit the other in the mouth, yay.

4) Tigrinus shovelnose with fat sleeper goby? Yea or nay?

*****IDK.

That feels pretty worthless.. haha... Sorry, can't give you much food for thought but I think peers with directly relatable experience will chime in.

In my overall experience with tigs, they are not that predatory if well fed. Many of my current 9 tigs could (try to) swallow some of their tank mates but they don't. Juruense is a different matter.
 
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What goby species exactly? Should be alright gobies aren't to territorial in general. As long as they can't eat eachother should be good. Ornates can be a toss up. Mines was shy as can be and a slow grower. Jaws on the other hand had one that liked to pick on certain fish and grew decently. You would want a good grower without an attitude. You would just have to try it and hope you picked the right specimen.
 
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I've never had problems with Tig's and big Clown Loaches. I used to keep a 10" Clown Loach with my 16" Tig for several years without issue. Really big CL's tend to be fairly tall fish overall which is a partial deterrent IMO also their spine under the eye is a more serious deterrent if the Tig did try to eat them.

I've found Tig's to be one of the least aggressive shovelnose as well like Viktor mentioned.
 
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amazonfishman said:
I've never had problems with Tig's and big Clown Loaches. I used to keep a 10" Clown Loach with my 16" Tig for several years without issue. Really big CL's tend to be fairly tall fish overall which is a partial deterrent IMO also their spine under the eye is a more serious deterrent if the Tig did try to eat them.

I've found Tig's to be one of the least aggressive shovelnose as well like Viktor mentioned.
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Hey Trent, would you worry if the size disparity was larger? Say 10" CL and 24" tig? Or 8" CL and 28" tig? For my curiosity. Could it kill the cat?
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
Hey Trent, would you worry if the size disparity was larger? Say 10" CL and 24" tig? Or 8" CL and 28" tig? For my curiosity. Could it kill the cat?
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I'd like to know the answer to this, too, since they would be living together for life meaning the tigrinus will eventually hit that size.
 
moe214 said:
What goby species exactly? Should be alright gobies aren't to territorial in general. As long as they can't eat eachother should be good. Ornates can be a toss up. Mines was shy as can be and a slow grower. Jaws on the other hand had one that liked to pick on certain fish and grew decently. You would want a good grower without an attitude. You would just have to try it and hope you picked the right specimen.
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Either a fat sleeper goby or marbled goby.
 
Marbled gobies can be quite territorial and have a good sized mouth. I'd be careful it doesn't bully the tig. The ones we get in the hobby are usually runts from the farms, so they usually grow slow and nowhere near their potential, so wouldn't worry bout it making a meal of the loaches. I'd say just make sure the tig is bigger.
 
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moe214 said:
Marbled gobies can be quite territorial and have a good sized mouth. I'd be careful it doesn't bully the tig. The ones we get in the hobby are usually runts from the farms, so they usually grow slow and nowhere near their potential, so wouldn't worry bout it making a meal of the loaches. I'd say just make sure the tig is bigger.
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How about the tigrinus shovelnose with fat sleeper gobies/jade gobies? Would that work?
Also, how large would clown loaches need to be to live with a tigrinus shovelnose catfish for life if the catfish got 28" or is that possible?
 
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