shovelnoses

[walshy317]

i want to add a shovelnose to my tank because i like the look of them but i no a lot of them are predatory
so im just wondering if any of you new some nices ones that i can add to my tank with out any bother of my other fish.
thanks
Marc

[sidguppy]

we need to know a lot more, like:

tanksize! most shovelnoses get big

other fish already in that tank

waterparameters of what you use as tankwater

and also: the mouthshape of any 'shovelnose' catfish is an adaptation to eating other fish.
the flat head and pointy nose (when viewed from the side) make acceleration easy (streamline), all shovelnose cats are ambushpredators.
this means they hide and take their prey by a sudden burst of speed.
it also makes the fish hard to see for prey and easy to hide between roots and rocks and it still has a wide gape needed to swallow large prey.

you can safely assume that if you see any catfish with a flat 'ducklike' beak in the store that it's a carnivore and it will eat smaller fish.
this goes for tiny "shovelnoses' like Phyllonemus to huge monsters like Sturisomatichthys and verocious nasty predators like Hemibagrus.

;)

[MatsP]

huge monsters like Sturisomatichthys

Are you sure that's the right genus.

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Mats

[walshy317]

i have a tank size of front 4ft by 12inch by 15inch with a tetra tec 1200 external filter
and i have alot of diffrent catfish my smallest fish is about a 1inch.

[DutchFry]

Sid was probably about to say Sorubimichthys but made a typo

on topic: this tank is too small for shovelnoses. and a catfish at one inch will be nothing more than a little snack for a shovelnose catfish....

[MatsP]

Sid was probably about to say Sorubimichthys but made a typo

That sounds more likely.

on topic: this tank is too small for shovelnoses. and a catfish at one inch will be nothing more than a little snack for a shovelnose catfish....

Yes, far too small.

Sorubim lima

tends to grow to about a foot (30cm) and is one of the smallest shovelnoses, which should be kept in a tank at least 2ft wide, 4ft long, and preferrably 2ft tall as well.

[Edit: I also moved this subject, as to me shovelnoses come from South America]

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Mats

[sidguppy]

yeah, i messed up, should have been Sorubimichthys

man, i'm getting old; brainfunctions are shutting down.

[Edit: I also moved this subject, as to me shovelnoses come from South America]

that's a bit premature, cause I can think of at least 5 African catfishes that qualify as shovelnose and they are in the trade.....

but the tank of the OP isn't suitable indeed.

there are a few smaller shovelnose types that fit in there (no South Americans! ), but even the smallest ones (Phyllonemus) can and do eat 1" tankmembers.

that's the whole idea: shovelnose = piscivore.