PlanetCatfish.com

OK I am planning a 700 gal tank 144in long / 24in wide / 48in high. I currently have two Mirror Carp and a common Pleco. I am thinking of getting at least one (maybe two) more Carp to raise to full maturity. I would like to have some large catfish in the tank as well.

My question is what types of cat fish would be recomended and how many can I add to a tank this size without overcrowding. I'm not looking for the maximum number of fish but would rather like to have several large specimens that can be comfortable in the tank. I may also concider some Bluegill or other Sunfish.

I am partial to the channel cats but am concerned with wether or not there is enough room for even one of them to be comfortable.

I may concider a 144in / 36in / 48in tank. I have the room for it but I'm afriad my fish will hide out in the back all the time if I do.

The tank will be a steel tank with a large viewing window across the front.

Sorry for the long post. Any recomendations on types of cat fish to include?

First of all, I'd say it's more important for the fish to have WIDTH than HEIGHT. Primarily, this is because the height will just add water, but width adds surface area which is important for the gas-exchange with the air [to gain oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide].

The next factor is of course that the fish needs enough space to move around freely. If your tank is 24" wide, that's what limits the size of fish (to roughly a foot if you go by the 4L x 2L x 2L minimum size).

A 36" tank would allow fish up to 18" by the same rule. I've certainly seen carp much larger than 18" - but it's probably going to take some years for them to grow that big...

So, what sort of catfish are you after? There's about 2500 species to choose from, and we can probably rule out a whole lot of them (either becuase they are too small [will be eaten by the carp] or too large), but it still leaves a whole lot of choice.

Other factors that will decide what you can keep and can't would be the temperature you can keep in the tank. You'll probably be best off heating the room where the tank is, so whatever your room temperature is set to would be the tank temperature - give or take a couple of degrees based on evaporation chilling and pumps etc heating the water.

The carps can be a bit boisterous too, so you do want something that can stand up for itself.

Without knowing what the answers to the questions above, it's hard to say.

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Mats

Scotter,
I'll second what Mats says. How do you intend to get the fast-flowing water they require(please read Fishbase description-I tried to do a link, but it wouldn't accept it. It describes uprooting of plants, etc.)? I have a Chaetostoma, which also requires cold, fast-flowing water. He's only 3" total length at the moment. It's quite a task keeping the high water flow in summer, without overheating the tank. I hope, as Mats has suggested, you have budgeted for cooling the room. But also, for external pumps. The question is, what other species will accept these conditions? I don't know.
Amanda

The room the tank is going into is a new family room addition and is super insulated with walls 1'2" thick. It will be both heated and air conditioned, air temp will typicly be between 68-74 F.

Sounds like a 36" wide tank would be better in the long run for the Carp, so I will plan on a 144" X 36" X 42" instead.

I plan on using a large sump on my tank. as to specific size - water flow - and filtration requirements I haven't done much research on it yet as I figured I would size it according to the needs of the fish I decided to keep.

I also like the looks of the river tanks I've seen and how active the fish are when swimming "upstream" so a tank with a good cross current is definatly what I have in mind. Since the tank will be large it shouldn't be much of a problem to provide some "holes" for my fish to rest in.

As far as fish go I am partial to what most people concider big ugly fish, I love the looks of the mature Channel cats for instance.

Still looking for recomendations for large Catfish.

Thanks for the Fishbase recomendation, I have found two types that really have my attention.

Pelteobagrus Fulvidraco

Brachyplatystoma Juruense

Does anyone have experiance with these ?

I have no experience with either of those fish, but I would recommend the because it's a smaller fish and would suit your tank-size better.

The is growing to about 2 feet, which is a bit big for your tank.

However, one thing you should consider: The availability of the fish. Pelteobagrus may not be easy to get hold of, and as it may survive in the local environment may also be import-restricted.

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Mats