new fish tank

[Richard B]

so a synodontis granulosa is like 200 dollars ...holy s**t

If they are exactly the same price but they could be more or less than 200 dollars & it depends on size. We are lucky we can get f1 over here but even they retail at £120!!!

[CatfishPownage63]

so could i keep my 2 sun cats and my 4 line pim with 3 pimelodus ornatus a fire eel and a striped peacock eel or instead of a peacock eel could i possibly keep an oscar

[Scleropages]

No oscars with that group in that tank. The tank will get too small in a hurry, otherwise.

[CatfishPownage63]

what about instead of a peacock eel could a african brown knife fish?

[Suckermouth]

p.s sorry for my terrible grammer its not my best subject obviously. and i'm not to good at spelling ether but i'm only 12 (almost 13)

I was 12 or 13 when I first started visiting aquarium forums. Personally, I do not think that your age is a valid reason for poor grammar. No matter what your goals are in life, effectively communicating through writing is important.

However, your age does explain your big fish fever, as I definitely had that when I was younger. I would implore you to think about the size of the fish tank and to try to fit fish into it. Ideally you shouldn't get fish that grow larger than 6-8" for inactive types of fish, and not greater than 4" for active types of fish. Although fish can be stunted by the small size of an aquarium, this is not healthy for the fish and in extreme cases can result in deformities.

I'll admit I have a luxury in having multiple tanks; when some fish get too aggressive I just separate the fish. This isn't the case if you only have one large tank, so if your Horabagrus are being aggressive then it can be hard to determine other fish that will be able to handle themselves.

BTW, if you can swing it, try to get the 75 gallon. Bigger is better!

I'd go for the Peacock Eel instead of the African Brown Knife. Peacock eels are very cryptic (they hide a lot) and they don't need a lot of room. The fire eel would be pushing it though, they get quite large indeed.

[CatfishPownage63]

i'll try to convince my mom to get the 75 gallon yes i know the fire eel can get like 24 to 36 in. and possibly 40 in.,but other than that would all the other fish be ok,and i think my other sun cat is ok and can stand up to smudge (my biggest sun cat)because he has before.

[CatfishPownage63]

i want to ask you guys if i could keep 3 of pimelodus ornatus in 65 gallon with 2 sun cats and a 4 line pim or something else that might work better in my fish tank

[Viktor Jarikov]

I think you could for a long time, several years. I doubt you will be able to keep them in a 65 gal for life. P. ornatus reach ~1 foot. Suns too, if not 1.5'. And we are talking SL. TL is longer.

[CatfishPownage63]

so what would go best with my catfish and that i can keep for life because i was thinking something like an tachysurus fulvidraco so what would you recommend and i thought you said that the biggest sun cat you've ever seen was 11 inches and i was told that they get 8 to 12 inches and that in the wild they get 18 inches,but your the catfish expert not me

[Viktor Jarikov]

C: so what would go best with my catfish and that i can keep for life because i was thinking something like an tachysurus fulvidraco so what would you recommend
VJ: I am sorry but it feels like we are going in circles. Again, what I'd do is start with the physical footprint of your 65 gal. The final fish's length, let it even be SL but really should be TL, should not exceed 1/4 of your tank's length and 1/2 of your tank's width. Then pick a group of candidates based on two things 1. what's available and affordable to you and 2. filter the Cat-eLog by size and find out what you like in the right size group.

Once you have your list of candidates, the experts will tell you about compatibilities, etc., and other finer points.

Tachysurus fulvidraco

is a 14" SL/ 18" TL fish. I am dubious it will satisfy the criteria above.


C: and i thought you said that the biggest sun cat you've ever seen was 11 inches and i was told that they get 8 to 12 inches and that in the wild they get 18 inches,
VJ: Not any one person's experience should be relied on, but that of the community. I said I've never seen one more than a foot LIVE. I said I did see 18"-ers on photos and you have participated in the forum where final sizes have been discussed very recently http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =9&t=36290.

C: but your the catfish expert not me
VJ: I am a low-level hobbyist.

[CatfishPownage63]

well what i meant i look up to you and you know a lot more than i do and sorry for the repeated:do my fish go with this fish and over and over again but thanks for the replying to my repeating question

p.s what is SL and TL and how do you filter the search?

[Viktor Jarikov]

No problem. I guess in one way, I was hinting at the lack of clarity: for starters, we don't even know the dimensions of your 65 gal, which is the first thing to know before advising any one on the types of catfish. One can guess but 65 is not a standard/common size. I was trying to point out a simple algorithm, a series of steps.

One has to be careful who they trust more and who they trust less (note that it is almost never 100% trust or 0% trust). People one could definitely trust more are the mods and experts here.

SL stands for Standard Length, crudely speaking excluding the tail. TL is Total Length.

Go to any datasheet in Cat-eLog. Look at the Size row. Next to the "so and so inches" are the purple links: show near, nearer, same size. Try them - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Jools]

p.s what is SL and TL and how do you filter the search?

Have a read of this: http://www.planetcatfish.com/general/ge ... cle_id=439

Jools

[Scleropages]

VJ: I am a low-level hobbyist.

Understatement of the year!

[CatfishPownage63]

thanks guys and viktor can you post a picture of an 18 inch sun cat

[CatfishPownage63]

and the demotions are 48''long by 16'' wide by 20'' tall

[Viktor Jarikov]

Ok, now you can do a simple math and see that the size-limiting factor is the width. 16" will allow you to humanely house an 8" TL fish.

Humane keeping in general (some fish swim more, others less) means 4xL by 2xL by 2xL rule of thumb for a MINIMUM size tank. 2xL for the depth could be an overkill for a large fish but 4xL by 2xL footprint is a must, IMO. This is what's recommended by high-level, serious hobbyists (who can afford to house fish properly), aficionados, experts, and ichthyologists.

There is an opposing school of thought (especially evident on MFK) that the tank width can be the same as the fish's length. I have not seen this supported by the kinds of serious folks listed above. I fear it is mostly the ideas of youngsters who cannot afford to house the fishes as the experts advise the fishes should be housed but still choose to keep a large fish. I may be wrong but such is my impression.

Pick your poison.

Anyway, once you decide on the largest fish size, you are ready for the next two steps as I suggested - availability/affordability plus the Cat-eLog filtering.

[CatfishPownage63]

so these are the fish i have chosen and my maximum length is ten inches

ageneiosus magoi

liosomadoras oncinus

trachelyopterus galeatus

mystus aff. gulio

mystus falcarius

mystus multiradiatus

horbagirus nigricollaries (if i'am lucky)

exallodontus aguanai

pimelodus argenteus

clupisoma prateri (probably my favorite catfish and i'll do anything to get this fish and could not leave it out and i'am hopeful to get this cat)

so which few or one would work the best please reply

[Dave Rinaldo]

I only have ever kept (still have)

Liosomadoras oncinus

and

Trachelyopterus galeatus

.

Except for maybe

Ageneiosus magoi

and

Horabagrus nigricollaris

, I don't think I have ever noticed any of the others available.

PS. I noticed you have listed yourself as 'a keeper' of all the fish you listed above.
I don't believe the list was created to use as a 'wish list'.

[CatfishPownage63]

well i kinda use it as a quicklink to the cat e log page and i know thats not what its for and whare have you seen horabagrus nigricollararis i have never found one

[Dave Rinaldo]

I don't recall.

You need to keep fish that are available to you locally.

I found this club in Phoenix.

Dry Wash Aquarium Society

They also have a Forum.

[CatfishPownage63]

sweet thanks

[Viktor Jarikov]

You need to keep fish that are available to you locally.

Dave, is this an individualized advice or general? I tend to agree with you but wonder what your objection, if any, is to mail-order?

thanks guys and viktor can you post a picture of an 18 inch sun cat

I don't own any such fish, neither photos. I only saw the photos. Read this please: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... f=9&t=1073 and see the photos and linked videos on the second page.

[CatfishPownage63]

holy crap that last one looks huge, thanks for the pictures

[Dave Rinaldo]

You need to keep fish that are available to you locally.

Dave, is this an individualized advice or general? I tend to agree with you but wonder what your objection, if any, is to mail-order?

As CatfishPownage63 is 12 years old, my thought was he should work with what is available locally. Maybe he has an open ended money supply, but some of the fish he is looking for (plus shipping) aren't cheap.

Nothing against online purchases, but it is more than I'm use to paying ;)

[CatfishPownage63]

to start off i'am NOT trying to start more repetitive questions. so would 3 kryptopterus cryptopterus and a liosomadoras oncinus go with my 2 sun cats and a 4 line pim and fit in my 65 gallon tank

[Viktor Jarikov]

I don't see a repetition. I see a logical progression.

Kryptopterus cryptopterus - I don't know, some one with knowledge/experience will have to chime in.

As for Liosomadoras oncinus, I think it is a nice choice, except, as I wrote to you in a pm, you will barely ever see it unless you choose to go with an (almost) bare tank.

[CatfishPownage63]

well i have hiding spots ware you can see the fish but i'll get more hiding spots yeah and at least the kryptopterus cryptopterus swims around

[CatfishPownage63]

well guys i got my tank its 83 gallons and is stocked with 2 sun catfish,peacock eel,jack dempsey,green terror my 4 line pim died from shipping (hole in the bag) and i'am still trying to figrue out some more fish to fit the dementions are 48''L 16''W 25'' T .what are your recamendations

[Viktor Jarikov]

Great news! There were fish mentioned above and strategies suggested how to do an initial search and refine the results by size, availability, and affordability. So, I think we should wait for you to produce a list of candidates with which we can help you. You already have a list above for the right tank footprint, I think. So use that or start there?

I have almost no experience with cichlids, so I cannot relly start suggesting compatible fish off the top of my head. Plus one'd need to know the current and adult sizes of the current tank mates, I imagine, before advising.