Suitable Tank size for Tandanus Catfish

selena · Post by **selena** » 27 Nov 2007, 10:26

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum.

I am looking for some feedback on my proposed Tandanus tank set up and if it is big enough.

I have two Tandanus catfish. One which is just over a foot long and a baby one I adopted.

I am getting a 4x2x2 tank next week and was hoping to eventually put the two together in the tank, when the baby one grows bigger. Will the tank be big enough to house the two of them?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 27 Nov 2007, 10:31

A one-foot fish is about the biggest you can keep in a 4 x 2 x 2 tank - at least if you go by the minimum size guideline of "4L x 2L x 2L", where L is the lenght of the fish.

If you really have a , then you need a much bigger tank before it's reached it's full size. Something about 12ft x 6ft x 6ft [giver or take a few inches], if we continue to follow the above guidelines. That's not a tank, but an indoor pond or swimming pool.

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Mats

selena · Post by **selena** » 27 Nov 2007, 20:17

Wow! 12FT is out of the question for me. In a few years I may upgrade to a 6FT but that is as big as I can go due to limited space & that fact my house has floor boards.

People who sell these fish should really give more information about them. When I first bought my tandanus I was told a standard 4ft for one tandanus was sufficient.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 27 Nov 2007, 20:47

Unfortunately, not entirely unusual. There are several species of catfish that reach well beyond what most people can handle in captivity. The most famous is probably the Red-Tailed Catfish, which grows to about 1.5m (5ft) in nature, but unfortunately rarely survive to more than about 2ft in captivity - mostly because it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep fish once they reach that size.

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Mats

selena · Post by **selena** » 27 Nov 2007, 23:45

Will my catfish live a humane life in a 4-6ft tank size?

There is no other option for my catfish unless I set them free in their natural habitat, but I will not do that due to the sorts of problems that would cause.

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 28 Nov 2007, 00:46

It will be okay for a while but ultimately it would be good to get it into a larger home. A number of people keep tandanus in ponds, depending on how cold it gets where you live (and how big a garden you have) this may be an option.

btw here is a thread about another fellow with a tandanus that was bought as a wee little fish and has now thoroughly out grown its tank. you may need to be logged in to read it.

selena · Post by **selena** » 28 Nov 2007, 21:10

Thanks Snowball

Maybe when we buy another house and move in a couple of years, I will look into a pond set up at the new place.

We have very cold winters in Ballarat so I will have to investigate in a heated pond set up for the winter time.

Can you heat a pond?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 28 Nov 2007, 22:05

Yes, you can heat a pond, and as long as you don't need to heat it MUCH or for a LONG time, it's not unreasonably complicated or expensive. Obviously, keeping a pond at 25'C + in a climate like in England is a bit more expensive, since our average year-temperature is around 14'C - quite a lot of heating needed there.

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Mats

taksan · Post by **taksan** » 29 Nov 2007, 02:09

A tandanus would survive outside in Ballarat.

selena · Post by **selena** » 30 Nov 2007, 09:28

taksan wrote:A tandanus would survive outside in Ballarat.

Well that is good news. It's something I dont have to worry about for awhile.

When they get too big for the four foot they are going into a 6ftx2x2 and then the pond.

selena · Post by **selena** » 30 Nov 2007, 09:30

Here is a pic of my Boy for those who are curious, and to confirm that he really is a Tandanus Tandanus:

selena · Post by **selena** » 29 Dec 2007, 03:07

How big to tandanus tandanus get in a aquarium environment? I have read and been advised 45cm to 50cm.

Is this true or do they grow more to the size they get to in the wild?

andywoolloo · Post by **andywoolloo** » 29 Dec 2007, 04:37

wow !! he looks very big!! too cute!!

fraggle · Post by **fraggle** » 29 Dec 2007, 05:51

Hi Selena,
I've had a tandanus before outside and I lived in Ballarat, (I live just outside it at Wallace at the moment and i've had one here too in an unheated tank, not in the house but on the back porch and it get's even colder here than Ballarat!) I had a tank set up out in the lean-too off the back shed,and it got flamin cold, big frost and all, you kow what it can be like. He was in with Goldfish etc, he survived fine, he only died when the boys put a cricket ball throught the tank one hot summer and they just picked them up and chucked them in a bucket of tap water! I'm guessing the chlorine and the sudden drop in temp was a bit much!
He'll be fine in a pond.
Cheers!

Suitable Tank size for Tandanus Catfish

Suitable Tank size for Tandanus Catfish

Tandanus Size