What catfish to get

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Brianj77

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2017
22
1
18
48
Lodi and Belleville New Jersey
I have a 180 gallon fish tank with small 1-1.5 inch wild oscars and a green terra also I have three small clown loaches . When the time comes I want to get a small black Arowanna. I really like the tsn's and the tigrinis catfish, witch catfish would be ok in the 180 . I have no room to upgrade to a bigger fish tank . Thanks for your help .

Brian
 
If you can't upgrade then you won't be able to keep either species for life. TSN's will outgrow it very quickly, usually reaching at least a foot by the time they're 1 year old. I have one that is only 9 months old and is already about 13-14 inches. At that size they're already too big for your tank. I'm less familiar with Zebra Shovelnoses but I do know that they will reach about 18", which is also too big for your tank. I would recommend not getting one of these species with the hope of getting rid of it when it get's too big. It's harder than you think to get rid of large fish, so it's never a safe plan.

You should check out planetcatfish.com. They have a search feature where you can narrow down your results by maximum size of the fish. With a 24" wide tank you should be looking for a catfish that get's 12" at the absolute maximum, but even that is pushing it.

Also keep in mind that most catfish grow fast, and clown loaches grow very slow. Considering most catfish will eat whatever will fit into their mouth, the loaches will probably end up being eaten, which can actually be dangerous for the catfish because CL's have these little spikes near their mouth that can cut up a predator's insides.
 
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I agree with the above that in general a fish's total length should not exceed half of the tank width. This rule of thumb goes to 1/3 of the tank width for actively swimming fish and to 3/4 of the tank width for sedentary fish.

I also agree with getting ideas from filtering Cat-eLog on Planet Catfish keeping in mind not only the size, aesthetics, and compatibility but that the fish should be accessible and affordable.

Overall, you'd need to be acutely aware of predatory capabilities of the fish you will be placing in the community that nobody can eat anybody.

Brianj77 said:
... I have no room to upgrade to a bigger fish tank ...
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In general catfish live 10-30+ years in captivity and some exhibit significant growth for 5-10 years but indeed most grow up sooner... I am merely trying to digest your statement.
 
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You should always plan for life, as they grow close to what they'll be forever in some short years. And I don't see anyone getting serious, don't be sensitive.
 
Brianj77 said:
I was just asking a question , people don't have to get so serious and who keeps there fish for life , I know I won't
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Brianj77 said:
I'm not being sensitive I'm just asking a question bec I'm getting other people's answers that use to have them in a 180 and they were fine
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Yeah you asked a question and we answered, nobody's getting mad or anything.

And yeah I guess you could keep a fish in a tank that's too small for life and they'll live for many years, but it's cruel. It's just not right to keep a 2' tiger shovelnose in a tank that's 2' wide. Yeah people do it all the time, but it's not right. They're very smart fish, so they are aware of how crappy their situation is, and they will also display all sorts of physical symptoms from being cramped. Their 20 year lifespan will be cut in half, and that should be enough to deter you from doing it.
 
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What kind are you interested in, there's so many. Should use the planet catfish search
 
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