Megalechis thoracata husbandry

[Phyllonemus]

Hello all,
I am going to set up a tank for

Megalechis thoracata

.
This tank is 100cm x 40cm x 50cm (180liters), will this tank be suitable for 4 of this species ?
I want to set up the tank in that way that they have also the possibility to breed.
Want kind of furniture do suit best for this catfish ?
I've heard that floating plants are very suitable, is that right ?

Greets,

[MatsP]

Your overall plan sounds good - that sort of tank size should be fine.

You want to keep the water movement "low", so the male can build a bubble nest.

--
Mats

[Bas Pels]

I do hope the 4 fishes you have in mind are 1 male and 3 females? I'm afraid 2 males might fight - perhaps so much they would not even have time to build a nest

From reading I think I remember the territory is a few meters. However, the fishes I had were 3 males, which kept their lifes (12 or 13 years) peacefull - but no women were involved

[Phyllonemus]

Bas,
I don't have the cats yet !

[Richard B]

There is a really cool video somewhere (probably YouTube) showing a male "hoplo" adding leaves & bits of plants to a bubblenest - worth searching out

[Phyllonemus]

Richard, thanks , i've already seen that movie !

[Phyllonemus]

I'm a little confused,
In the CatElog of

Megalechis thoracata

and the CatElog of

Megalechis picta

are both the same synonym " Hoplosternum thoracathum" mentioned.

The ones I am going to buy are called in the LFS : Hoplosternum thoracathum Kwikwi.

Are the M thoracata & M picta local variants of the same specie ?

[MatsP]

Yes and no. M. thoracata is not the same species as M. picta in modern literature, but at one point in the past, it seems they were.

So we probably need to fix up the synonym list...

--
Mats

[Taratron]

Is breeding this fish possible when you use only sponge filters?

And damn my hoplos, they devour every floating plant I put in...or shred the hornwort to pieces! Any ideas?

[Bas Pels]

Is breeding this fish possible when you use only sponge filters?

I would not know why not. I got a 1200 liter - say 300 gallon - tank filtered with only sponges, for 4 years now. It's doing fine, and if all kinds of cich lids breed in it, I fail to see why hoplos would not breed in it.

Hoplos are not among the most sensitive fishes, after all

[Richard B]

You could add dry beech leaves which have been used in bubblenests before or if you have any old silk plants you could cut the leaves off & see of these are suitable.

In the end the hoplos will do whatever they want though

[Cory_lover]

i've bred M. thoracatum in a tank with a simple corner filter, so i'm guessing your sponge filters will be alright, the important point here being that no matter what filter you use, ensure that the water surface isn't too disturbed, otherwise the hoplos will find it hard to build their nest.

In my breeding setup, i use a plastic floating lid (one of those rectangular chinese takeaway boxes are best because they're transparent, hence allowing you to detect the presence of any eggs in the nest) where the hoplos deposit their eggs. Adjacent to this lid, most of the water surface is covered with floating plants that help reduce any water surface movement created by the filter, as well as help anchor the plastic lid in place.

hope this helps!

[Phyllonemus]

Guys, thanks all for the info.

I have some questions left !
The CatElog says that this specie has fully grown a length of 124mm. other places on the internet are saying that this fish will get a lenghth of 180mm or so, what's true ?

Is it possible to combine them with a small schooling fish like neons or Nannostomus or so ?

[MatsP]

124mm SL -> at least 150mm TL. I've had three (females) of mine for a few years, an they are about 10cm TL (guestimating), but I'm sure they are still growing. When I bought them, they were about 1.5", but quickly grew to double the size.

I would say that keeping them with small fish is fine - they do not have large mouth in relation to their own size - but they will eat ANYTHING that fits in their mouth (according to some post in the past, even "fish vomit").

--
Mats

[Cory_lover]

Correct me if i'm wrong (fellow members), but I think 18cm for this species would be very optimistic, and normal aquarium-kept specimens will only usually attain a length of 15cm.

M. thoracata are generally peaceful, except feeding times when they get boisterous, especially males that are in breeding conditions, and in the presence of other Megalechis. I keep my breeding pair together in the same tank, and whenever both are in close enough proximity, the male will use his pectoral spine to abruptly 'flick' the female away. Thankfully the female usually knows how close is too close, and has a body full of armour for protection anyway.

So short answer, yes, they can be kept with neons, as they don't eat them, and they're usually too small to bother the Hoplos, but be careful of adding other catfish into the same tank as a sexually mature male:)

[MatsP]

I should add that the size matches Fishbase, which in turn comes from Ricardo Reis' revision of the Hoplosternum group in 1997 - so the 124mm SL is the largest preserved specimen seen during the revision... That's not NECESSARILY meaning that they aren't growing bigger, but it's unlikely they get MUCH bigger in captivity, I'd say.

--
Mats

[Phyllonemus]

So short answer, yes, they can be kept with neons, as they don't eat them, and they're usually too small to bother the Hoplos, but be careful of adding other catfish into the same tank as a sexually mature male:)

I was'nt planning to combine them with other catfish.
But what if a put a single docile specie is combined before the Hoplo's are sexualy mature ?

[Richard B]

So short answer, yes, they can be kept with neons, as they don't eat them, and they're usually too small to bother the Hoplos, but be careful of adding other catfish into the same tank as a sexually mature male:)

I was'nt planning to combine them with other catfish.
But what if I put a single docile specie before the Hoplo's are sexualy mature ?

I think this depends on the species you had in mind...some plecs or doradids should be ok

[Phyllonemus]

Richard I was thinking about doradids indeed, wich doradid would be a good candidate to combine with, in this tanksize ?

[Richard B]

Richard I was thinking about doradids indeed, wich doradid would be a good candidate to combine with, in this tanksize ?

Hmmm, obviously not the biggies....

It obviously depends on what is available but i would say avoid...

Doras Punctatus,
Hassar,
Trachydoras,
Rhynchodoras

And choose from

Rhinodoras,
Platydoras,
Orinocodoras,
Amblydoras,
Agamyxis,
Acanthodoras,
Anadoras.

[Phyllonemus]

I can buy some wildcaughts with a size of 2,5", is it possible to see the gender at this size ?
And how can I see the difference between males and females (fully grown) ?

I'm doubting of buying these 2,5" Wildcaughts or bred ones with a size of 1" .
My water has a pH=7,5 and KH=3.

[MatsP]

If they are "large"[1] 2.5" then it's probably possible to at least GUESS the sex with some degree of confidence - not saying it will be entirely obvious, but not impossible to tell a difference, perhaps....

[1] I've been ordering fish via the shop that are supposed to be X length, and when they arrive in the shop, they are really not quite as large as the list said.... But sometimes they are actually a bit larger too, so you never quite know.

--
Mats

[Richard B]

Males have thickened pectoral spines (which may appear a bit orange -ish) - see pics of "hoplos" & callichthys in cat-e-log