new fish tank

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

i have recantly moved to Chandler AZ and i had to leave my 40 gallon tank(we have people tanking good care of the fish) and i have in it a two sun catfish and a four line pim i am getting a from 60 gallon tank and i was wondering which catfish would be best in my tank (i would like somthing from hemibagrus and i am not a very big pleco fan but dosnt mean i hate plecos but its up to u )

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2275]

That's a tough one. Standard 55 gal has a footprint of only 4'x1', normally cannot be used (again, humanely) to house a longer than 6" fish. 75 can be still 1' or 1.5' wide. Using the tank footprint info and the rule of thumb 4xL by 2xL by ~2xL, you can browse through the Hemibagrus genus in Cat-eLog and see if there are any smaller ones that can fit the bill.

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

i have always used for every inch of fish u should have 1 gallon of tank plus 10 gallons of swmming room

p.s i edit my first post and i was wonder if i could keep a id shark with them but keeping it under 18 inchies

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

ID sharks are constant swimmers, and a nervous, easily spooked fish and will require a tank bigger then the recommended 4L x 2L minimum usually quoted. These are not a suitable fish for captivity except for tropical ponds or gigantic aquaria

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

so like a 3000 gallon tank and i have hered that they only grow to the size of there tank like goldfish is this true?

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2275]

Growing to the size of the tank, aka stunting, does not always work - in other words it may or may not work... but, regardless... in either case it involves keeping an animal in such tight quarters that are considered by most experts, high-level hobbyists, and aficionados utterly inhumane. It would not be unlike keeping a Mastino neapolitano in a bathroom hoping it stays a poodle size or a Clydesdale in a bedroom hoping it stays a pony size because neither one can move much.

However, there are plenty of followers of the opposing school of thought, typically youngsters who cannot afford an appropriate tank but still wanna keep a large fish... so they invent their own school of thought to justify themselves in their eyes. I honestly do not know if there exist serious experts, ichthyologists, etc. who support this point of view. There maybe are... I just have not come across one yet.

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2275]

An adult captive IDS of modest proportions, say 2' long, would at a minimum need a 6xL by 3xL by 2xL tank, which is 12'x6'x3'-4' which is roughly 7000 liters or 2000 US gal. On the upside, one can easily have a stunning school of 10 adult IDSs in such a tank with appropriate bio-filtration and water changes.

Now IDS can reach 3' in captivity and one can choose to go beyond the minimum debatable (?) requirement. That will easily double the tank volume.

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

if you like the looks and behavior of Pangasius, you could go for Schilbe intermedius

this is a very active cat, but it's not stressed.....it's visible all day, does great in a group of 5 or more, is tough as an old nail and can be kept with a long list of other fish
it also reaches 1 foot max, most of the time 8-9" is already almost grown out

you can keep it in a much smaller tank than needed for the IDS.

if you stick to 40-50G tanks, you could go for the "miniature option
you still have the active shoaling behavior of the IDS, but you can keep 10-15 individuals of -for example- Pareutropius buffei, Pseudeutropius brachypopterus or Neotropius atherinoides


in my opinion THE most beautiful of all the "miniature shark like cats" is Clupisoma prateri

it would make one hell of a stunner in a large 8 foot tank...imagine 12 or so in such a tank

unfortunately it is very rare in the hobby, but it has a lot going for it as a tank beauty

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

i love clupisoma prateri it looks kinda like a paroon shark and its cool as fudge sickles but will my my sun cats rip to peices because i had the schilbe intermedius but the sun cats ate it and could i keep 1 or 2 of the last cat

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

for my my fish tank my mom wants some fish that swim around and i want more catfish so i was wondering which of these would go best with my fish tank

pimelodus ornatus

platystomatichthys sturio

sorubim lima

clupisoma prateri

ompok pabda

[Suckermouth, posts: 1514]

You're probably not gonna find Clupisoma or true Ompok, but the "Ompok catfish", which if I'm not mistaken is actually something like Kryptopterus cryptopterus, is actually a pretty ideal fish if you want a catfish that will swim around. The other fish are not really good choices for a tank as small as a 60 gallon.

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

but do you have to keep them in shoals and will my sun cats rip it to shreads? like what they do with pinky mice

[Suckermouth, posts: 1514]

They do need to be kept in groups. Most of the shark-like catfishes should be kept in groups.

If the sun cats can eat them then they will eat them. However, I've never seen sun cats tear food instead of just swallow it whole, although that is just my experience. If you plan to keep sun cats with fish then you will need a much larger tank, as big sun cats will require space, but any shark-like fish that can keep out of a sun cat's gullet will need even more space for their swimming habits.

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

they only tare there food if its to big and the funny thing is they learnd to take advantage of working in a group of 3 but asoon as they kill the prey the biggest one smudge chases everyone away and drags his prey into his little HQ

[Viktor Jarikov, posts: 2275]

i have recantly moved to Chandler AZ and i had to leave my 40 gallon tank(we have people tanking good care of the fish) and i have in it a three sun catfish and a four line pim i am getting a from 60 gallon tank and i was wondering which catfish would be best in my tank (i would like somthing from hemibagrus and i am not a very big pleco fan but dosnt mean i hate plecos but its up to u )

I am sorry but I lost track of thought in this thread. Now I am trying to re-read the OP and I am struggling again. Hard read. What does the 40 gal and its inhabitants, which are left behind, has to do with the planned 60 gal?

Would it be too much if the OP could re-phrase the question(s) or define the situation again? Is the 60 gal planned to have sun cats?

Also, what is pinky mice?

Sorry.

[Scleropages, posts: 425]

Also, what is pinky mice?

Baby mice that have not yet grown a full coat of hair. At the pet store, one just asks for pinkies.


Also (sorry, couldn't resist): http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pinky+mice

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

the fish are in the 40 gallon and we are going to ship them once i get a 60 or a 75 gallon and iam tring to chose fish to go with and my mom want fish that swim around and i want more catfish so i have some chose some fish and iam asking u guys which fish would be the with my 2 sun cats and a 4 line pimelodus and the fish that i like are

synodintis granulosa

pimelodus ornatus

platystomatichthys sturio

sorubim lima

cluisoma prateri

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

If you plan to keep sun cats with fish then you will need a much larger tank, as big sun cats will require space.

i was told by my local pet store that they reach 18 inches in the wild and they said in an aquairum they would only reach anyware from 8 in. to a foot

[Scleropages, posts: 425]

in an aquairum they would only reach anyware from 8 in. to a foot

For a catfish in the 8-12" TL range, I would think you would want at least a 4' long tank. Not sure of the dimensions of the 60gal you mention, but if it is not at least 4' long, I would recommend the 75gal. 125gal is really a much better option if you have the space and funds. 150gal is where the price steps up considerably. Food for thought.

[CatfishPownage63, posts: 151]

the 60 gallon is 4 feet l by 15 w 20 h