TSN: hunting truth to the monster

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snyder810

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2008
759
1
18
Ohio
another thread recently got me interested in this topic( along with a love of this fish) but any way i posted this

has anyone ever actually experienced seeing a 6' plus TSN???? I've recently been to a few public aquariums and a couple had TSN's that were nothing close to this size. in fact the TSN at chattanooga's aquarium, in which i was told was relatively old, was probably no more than 3 feet if that, but very wide for a TSN. just curious if anyone has ever actually come across a behemoth of the size in which everyone on here refers that they can reach(6 plus feet).
( i'm not arguing that they get huge and only the largest of tanks/ponds should house them but just curious if some monster fish keepers here are exaggerating their facts)
the aquarium also had their sign info for the TSN as growing up to 37'' or 39'' can't remember which. either way it's a long shot from 6 feet

well anyway i, and i'm sure many others, would like to know exactly the biggest TSN you've ever seen. Please include where, when, what size tank/pond/or even from the wild, and if possible a picture of the biggest TSN monster you've come across if the info is known. and please no stating you've seen a monster of the 6 plus feet through a picture on the internet. i'd like to know personal experience with seeing the true monsters, and where they are. thank you for your inputs as i'm sure this may truly help many of those "how big does it get" threads and for those like me it will satisfy a truth to what size these monsters attain. thank you as i'm sure this should get interesting
 
I pulled out a couple of books that i know list Tigers in them.

I got 24", 100cm, and 5ft

in order of size.

A Fishkeeper's Guide to South American Catfishes by David Sands

Catfish by Jurgen Schmidt

The Manual of Tank Busters by Gina Sandford and Richard Crow

Largest ive seen in person was about 18" at South
broadway tropicals in colorado.
 
most of the books i have say they range from 3-4ft. i had one for 2 years (tankbuster) which got to about 19in. largest i've seen was at a zoo in okinawa, an it was well over 2ft, maybe even 3!!! an fat as heck! would love to see one at 6ft.
 
there was a member that posted a vid of a 5500 gallon tank with an arapaima..RTC and the HUGEST TSN ive ever seen...looked 5 feet from the vid...im sure others have seen it...the owner of the tanks name starts with cc----- forgot the rest lol.
 
ok, so so far nobody has seen one of these, so why do many on MFK keep saying when people ask that they are well capable of 6 plus feet. like i said i agree they get big but i think that some are just trying to feed into a myth of their size.
 
I remember reading in one of the TFH that there are 4 species that are commonly known at Tiger Shovelnose. Each from different river systems with various sizes ranging from 2' to 4'
 
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