New tank mate for brown bullhead?

[Jim3h, posts: 12]

I've had this bullhead for a while he(or she) i about 15 inches long and we've tried to put many different fish in the tank with him. We put a 2 inch albino channel cat and it got eaten right away, currently all we have in the tank is one common pleco(which is not too big) and the bullhead and the pleco gets chased around every once in a while but we've had him in there for a while. Me and my dad really would like another catfish, but we cant seem to find one that will survive with him If you need any more info ill let you guys know, Thank you very much!

[tbinchrist, posts: 15]

I would keep a catfish his size. Bullheads have quite an attitude, and will down anytthing they can. Trouble is that a catfish that is larger than him might possibly outgrow your tank. (Blues, Channels, Flatheads). I know from experience a
blue cat will do well, I have a 7 inch bullead, and a 10 inch blue, and they get along great. With a flathead, the reverse might happen. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ydzXb_t08

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2280]

the rule of thumb is: if a tank mate fits in a catfish's mouth, the catfish will attempt to eat it... even if well fed, one day it will go for it...

even when they cannot swallow their prey, they are often able to swallow a part of their prey's body and start digesting a prey that's still alive (sometimes they will spit the prey out, other times, rarely, the catfish itself may choke to death)...

not every catfish, not all the time but these are rules of thumb...

putting a 2-incher with a 15" bullhead was providing a quick snack

tank parameters are needed to advise further - size, temperature, filtration description, water chemistry, etc.

[Jim3h, posts: 12]

Well, we have a 60 gallon tank, a whisper 110 filter ,and we keep the tank around 65 ferinheight

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2280]

I would not advise to add more bioload to your filter. You may or may not be able to have a couple of foot-or-so-long bullheads in your tank. One has to use highly porous, high-surface-area ceramic rings/cylinders/rocks (not sponge) in your 110 filter and keep a close eye on the ammonia in the water.

But again, I would not risk it. See, another rule of thumb is an inch of fish per 5-10 gal of water. With your one grown bullhead, you are already at the max capacity, if not over, IMHO. Also, another rule of thumb is illustrated by this example: one thing is a foot-long Sorubim lima (plain shovelnose catfish that is skinny and looks like a stick in the water) and another a bulky, robust one-foot bullhead, which weighs about 10-30 times the S. lima.

Now, I have been known to break that rule a lot, but to get away with that, you will need a LOT of other surface area available for the good bacteria to colonize (more/bigger/more efficient filters, like a canister filter, and a lot of furniture, plants, etc.), provide vigorous aeration, and collect and get rid of the excrement efficiently and frequently (having substrate can actually hurt you in this regard).