PlanetCatfish.com

So I ordered some Hoplosternum littorale the other day, and all six have come through well. However, the seller, for once, underestimated their size; these guys (and girls too, I hope) are 8 inches already, and could grow a bit more. Next time I'll ask for clarification when the seller says they're "big." The last time I ordered a "big" hoplo (4 Megalechis thoracata), they were 3 inches each. Size is subjective, remember that, guys!

I'm thinking I should sell some of the new cats, though. The tank is 90 gallon, a South American cat tank, with some clown and bristlenose plecos, a small royal, and cories, plus the hoplos. I think there's some banjo cats in there still as well, and some bamboo shrimp who don't fit the tank, but they've been in there for years, even when it was a Lake Tang tank, so they stay.

I've never had such 'large' cats in my tank before, so should I look into selling 2 or 3 of them?

I'd wait for a pair to form up first.

I wouldn't worry about it. Most of your other fish will stay pretty small, so overcrowding shouldn't be an issue.

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Matt

All right, looks interesting! Now how do I sex em?

The littorale are not shy when it comes to eating so you should watch the others to make sure they are all getting enough.

Birger

So far one of the larger lits' pect spines have turned orange-red, and I'm more inclined to think it's a result of being shipped in near black, foul-smelling water, and is a bacterial infection rather than a gender indicator. The others are a bit scraped from the driftwood in the tank but look fine otherwise. Nearly all of them take food from my hand, which impresses even my mom (who finally has her own cats, banjos and panda cories, and thinks the lits are rather ugly).