Batrochoglanis raninus group

[Catfish_guy123]

Has anyone ever kept a trio/group of batrochoglanis raninus together? I am getting a few imported in 2 weeks time.
Thanks in advance!

[bekateen]

I already shared my answer on Facebook, so I won't repeat it here. @yellowcat is probably among the most experienced keepers of pseudopimelodidae on PlanetCatfish.

Cheers, Eric

[yellowcat]

Not knowing Eric's answer, I do remember he had a group at one point. I've never kept them as a group, only as individuals. In general, pseudopimelodid's tend to not get along well with conspecifics as they grow. As juveniles they can be fine with each other for a while but as they grow become territorial and competitive for food. If given their own hiding spaces in a large enough tank they will often tolerate each other to some degree. They are a very slow growing species so some 2" specimens, the usually imported size, may take years to grow in to 6" adults so there will be time to adjust to their requirements.

[bekateen]

Not knowing Eric's answer, I do remember he had a group at one point.

Thanks for your input yellowcat. I agree with everything you said (although from my interest to try breeding them, I still put multiple in a big tank with lots of hides). I'll share here the interaction we had on Facebook:

• Catfish_guy123: Can I keep B. raninus in a pair, or is solo better?
  • Bekateen: I used to keep four Batrochoglanis in a 75 gal tank. There was a pecking order of attacks. I wouldn't recommend just two fish in the same tank.
• Catfish_guy123: Will use dither fish for distraction
  • Bekateen: They'll chase the dither fish but they won't tolerate each other well once they grow bigger.
• Catfish_guy123: So just solo?
  • Bekateen: I'd get 3 or 4 but solo is okay too.

[Catfish_guy123]

Thank you for all the info I'm most likely going to keep the batrochoglanis raninus solo