an intro and a question....

[flukekiller]

Hello all,,
i am looking to add a catfish to my tank. i came here since well , this is
planet catfish of course....lol anyways i would really like to hear some
info/tips/suggestions if any at all possible. i have kept fish for 20+ years
off and on. i am thinking about a lima shovelnose to my tank but i am
unsure if it will be compatible with my other fish.
current fish : 2 x 7-8in marbled motoro stingrays and 8 x 4-6in discus.

i never really had any type catfish before except some corys and banjo cats
a long while back. So i am looking for a cat that i can keep with my discus
and rays if any at all...

on to the fun stuff, tank dimensions and pics.. any help would be greatly appreciated

tank is 5'l x 4'w x 30" tall.
(2) 55 gal barrels K1 moving bed filter.
temp 83f
auto drip of about 60gpd of freshwater

[Martin S]

Firstly, welcome to PlanetCatfish!
Great size tank!
You can search and set the temperature range to allow you to show fish that are found within your tank's temperature range - go to the search page and set the min and max temp (I used 80 to 85F) to show the first 50 (can be extended to 100, but there are only 63 fish found). Lots of 'plecos' but the shovelnose (

Sorubim lima

) does come up. It's a good choice but can be easily spooked - I'd suggest a group of three in that size tank, but you will need to add some tall plants/branches to give them a place to hide/hover. The slightly smaller

Sorubim elongatus

is also a possibility - it does not have a temp range but i'd expect it to be similar to S.lima.
Thanks
Martin

[Viktor Jarikov]

Welcome to the Planet! Good to see you here too.

An eye candy of a tank. Beautiful and unusual.

Too many catfish can be thought of. The cat-eLog can be filtered by fish max size too - I'd use this feature to come up with a shorter list of cats I like and can find and afford. I'd limit the max size to 1', maybe 1.5' at the very most unless a catfish is sedentary.

As for the LSN, that should work out, except I don't know much about rays and their appetites and capacities. LSN look and do the best in large groups of 6+. A dozen is good. They are slim and their bioload is relatively small. IME, you'd need not to worry about them reaching 2'. What we get in the states is Sorubim elongatus (max 1') sold by the lima name. I am yet to come across a single lima for sale in the US. Europe seems to get lima more often but overall seems still seldom too.

I have a humble write-up on lima versus elongatus. If you're interested, I can paste here.

[Jools]

I'd go for

Scobinancistrus aureatus

.

Jools

[stuby]

I'd go for

Scobinancistrus aureatus

.

Jools

You will need some hiding places.... wood, caves, ect. but you will not find a more stunning fish.... and they are peaceful so you don't have to worry about them attacking other fish in the tank. At least mine are..... I have 3 that are 11", 12" and 14" with a bunch of common BN's and a pair of L190's and have never had a problem.

Chuck

[flukekiller]

sweet looking plecos but id rather not take the chance of
them sucking on the rays

[flukekiller]

just saw this guy today by chance, too bad im not ready
for him