Marbled Pim? (need advice for 250gallon tank)

featherback · Post by **featherback** » 28 Jun 2005, 19:39

Hello,
As mr. medaka and sidguppy did such a good job at helping me decide on inmates for "250 gallon tank #1" I thought I'd ask the forums advice as I am planning "250 gallon tank #2".
I am tempted to go for a strict South-American biotope in this one since "250 gallon tank #1" will be Asian. And I am very found of pimelodids. (I should probably break the cycle or else I'll end up with a 3rd tank for Arican fish

)

I think (though still undecided) I want to keep like 5-6 oscars, 3-4 plecos (gibbiceps and the "common") + a pimelodid of some sort.I really like the Marbled Pim (Leiarius longibarbis), I know it's a large cat

but how would it do in such a setup? What size could we expect?

Like the first tank, here's the specs: Lenght: 80", Width: 31" ,Height: 23".

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 28 Jun 2005, 22:11

Leiarus is big, but it should fit in there, alright.

but I'd make sure to buy a small leiarus and halfgrown tankmates, or it might get inspiration and take a few 'snacks'.

About Oscars; sometimes they're really docile as adults and a perfect match for catfish; but not always....keep a close watch, if the Oscars decide for the agressive approach you need to ditch them.

it's less likely in a big tank, but it can happen!

Post by **medaka** » 28 Jun 2005, 22:14

Hi

Tricky one this, and I will tell you why?
I once looked after 6 large Oscar,that were kept in a 6'x2'x2' tank, no matter what catfish were put in with them
(of resonable size and nothing huge) including some large pims, a gibby or two was also tried these Oscars, all ended up the same; dead! Yet I did meet a guy and saw quite happily in a 5'x2'x2' set up 4 large oscars and around half a dozen P pictus and a couple of gibbys co inhabiting peacefully, the guy said they had been kept together from young, and that he had seen no aggresive behaviour from the Oscars to the other tank mates.? So basically Iam saying
Sorry,

for not being much help on this one.
However

+ a pimelodid of some sort.I really like the Marbled Pim (Leiarius longibarbis), I know it's a large cat but how would it do in such a setup? What size could we expect?

I would say that the length on your propsed tank would be a bit on the smalll size for one of these, also have you read the sticky at the top of this forum
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=10494

featherback · Post by **featherback** » 29 Jun 2005, 12:53

Thanks for fast replies.

Yes, I have read the sticky, and I do agree with it. That said, there are species of fish that grow in such a way that it is not necessarily concidered morally wrong to keep them in tanks that won't allow them to reach the world record. Off the top of my head, lets say bala sharks, spiny eels or even more so, clown loaches...

I was hoping that the max size for marbled pims were based something that someone dragged out of the river once, and not the size one would see in captivity.

I do not want to keep a fish that cannot be happy over time. I am guilty of once taking a "homeless" redtail into my care, with no success off course. I don't want to do that again.

I see that you have different opinion on this one. The oscars are expendable, so _if_ I would for a marbled pim (I am far from decided) what tankmates would be suitable? Can one keep more than one marbled pim? I am a fan of keeping few species and several individuals more then a "mess" of species as it effectively gives the tank more "style" (just my opinion)

Thaks

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 Jun 2005, 13:18

I think it's morally WRONG to keep ANY fish under conditions where it can not thrive. That includes many fish that are commonly sold in the aquarium trade, such as the clown loaches, spiny eels and bala sharks that you mention.

I'm not saying that we should all aim to grow our fish to "world record size", but certainly giving them the conditions where they can grow to the size that has been programmed into their genetics would be the base of any aquarist with a working brain (or heart).

Also, the Marbled Pim can certainly reach a decent size in an aquarium. This thread is about one that 23" long at the time of posting, which was late last year. That is certainly too big for your proposed tank.

If you read the above thread, you'll find that keeping this type of fish and the tank required for it, requires lots of both effort and monetary resource.

--
Mats

featherback · Post by **featherback** » 29 Jun 2005, 14:19

I will not go into a debate on morals, as the one defending his own high morals will always win in his own eyes.

Just like my view that it's wrong to hit children won't change if someone tells me it's a-ok.

I do feel we have a moral responsibility to care for our pets in such a way that we do our best for their welfare, I do support things like the Five Freedoms.

Though it is _not_ my opinion that someone who keeps a group of clown loaches in a tank less than, say 200 gallon(keep in mind the max size of over 12"), for any other reason than ignorance is a bad person and has lower moral standards than I. If I did, I would then just prove to myself through my own set of rules that I am in fact a better person than most people. HURRAY

As for the marbled pim, it probably is too big for my tank, and I will probably not get one. But being in the business of fish-keeping in the first place proves that my "morals" are pretty thin in some peoples eyes. As are yours

(nothing personal)

thanks again

catfishcrazy · Post by **catfishcrazy** » 29 Jun 2005, 16:19

It all depends on the dimensions of the 250 gallon tank, IMO with these sedentry long barbeled ambush specialists width is a more important factor than tank length. I currently have a two thirds grown Liearius pictus which is coming on for 20" long in a 6x2x2.5' (LxHxD) which is roughly 220 gallons and this appears perfectly adequate for the time being, the catfish is not the most active of fishes preffering to spend the majority of its time sitting under a log waiting to be fed. In time i would like to move the Liearius to a larger tank with a 8x3' footprint but if this shouldnt happen for whatever reason i wouldnt feel bad letting it live out its life in what is still a fairly large tank, the Liearius species are not like other large cats such as RTC, TSN etc that need swimming pool sized tanks for them to be able to cruise about in.