Banjo cats in planted tank?

[RoseFishWatcher]

Hello!

I've been daydreaming / planning future tank upgrades (searching for a job, so I'm expecting to be able to afford upgrades by the new year or so). I currently have my banjo catfish in an unplanted sand substrate tank. I was thinking about combining tanks and keeping them with my glass catfish in a planted tank.

My concern is plant roots, and if banjos could be at risk of getting tangled up in them. My thought had been to plant with a sand substrate, so the banjos could still bury themselves, but I'm not sure it's safe. I was planing on including crypts, since I like them, but I've read that their roots can grow so thickly that pulling them out takes all the substrate with them. I'd be really really upset if I lost or hurt my banjos, since they're one of my favorite fish.

Any thoughts on if this is a good or bad idea would be most welcome. Another possibility would be to upgrade both tanks, and just keep them separate.

I'm not sure if I'm just coming up with things to worry about for nothing (which wouldn't be too surprising) or if it should be a genuine concern. Thanks guys!

[Marc van Arc]

I wouldn't worry too much. As long as they have some open/unplanted spots to bury themselves into, there won't be any problems imo. It's then hardly likely they'll get tangled into plant roots and can't release themselves. What is more likely is that they'll probably hide into the plants, which looks very nice.

[Bigpig]

I have some Crypts in my planted tank, and pulling them out does indeed bring some of the substrate with them.I have Tropica substrate under fine gravel.
I have found that if you want rid of them, simply cut them off at the base, leaving the roots to rot away naturally. I have been brushing away the gravel around them, cutting the plant off below the surface, and brushing the gravel back over the hole. This looks much neater than having stems sticking out.
Sometimes the plant will try to grow back, just cut it off again.
For the new tank that I am planning, I am considering using a clay based substrate under gravel in one third, just fine, rounded gravel in one third, and then sand to cover the rest. I would plant up the clay substrate area, and leave the rest as open spaces for the fish to dig about in.

[Richard B]

I wouldn't worry about the fish being tangled in the plant roots - i really doubt this could ever happen - with most natural decor etc if it can get in, it should be able to get out.

It'd be a poor survival strategy if in the wild banjos got tangled in roots & couldn't get out - however this is a sensible question given the artificial environment of an aquarium (no matter how natural we can make it.

Personally I wouldn't have any second thoughts about going ahead - they should be ideal companions for the glass cats.

Keep us posted on developments - some pictures would be good as this could be a great set-up

[RoseFishWatcher]

It'd be a poor survival strategy if in the wild banjos got tangled in roots & couldn't get out

That's what I thought too, until it occurred to me that their natural habitat is leaf litter. If I understand correctly, that means they are unlikely to come across troublesome root systems in the wild, right?

I am planning on trying to add some leaf litter to their current tank (and hopefully this dream tank as well), so I'm hoping that they won't even need to burrow into the sand to be happy and comfortable. I just don't know anywhere to collect that is pesticide free. I have some leaves I collected just today by picking the dried ones off a tree branch. If I decide to use them, I'll test them with ghost shrimp or something first.

To be perfectly honest, my long term goal is to breed them. Even if that never happens though, I won't be disappointed in them. I do want them to be as happy as I can make them though : )

[bronzefry]

I tried to keep them in a planted tank at first, but it was quite comical. There's one male and one female. The female has quite a sizable belly. She accidentally uproots at will. Actually, she sometimes rearranges the driftwood, too. I replaced their larger driftwood with multiple smaller pieces. She's also quite adept at tossing the substrate so that she can completely bury herself. So, this tank has many floating plants that were once planted. They're doing quite well(the ones that were supposed to be planted). Strong fishies, these Banjos.
Amanda
(found some pics)