URGENT please - can this go in withmy oscars.

[brittone05]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0652122023

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 500wt_1156

It is not overly huge at present and would live alone with 2 adult oscars in a 125g tank? Only has a few hours on it though so urgent advise welcomed xx

[ColumbianChocolate]

I have kept an oscar with similar sized predatory catfish in a 150g tank and they just kept out of each others way. The oscar stayed near the top parts of the tank and the catfish guarded the bottom of the tank. I do not know what species of catfish it is though, it may grow huge, maybe too big for a 125g?
Hopefully someone else can tell you!
Strange patches on it head are they natural or something else?

[Silurus]

I do not know what species of catfish it is though

It's a

Trachycorystes trachycorystes

. Someone else with more experience with this species may be able to advise the TS.

[ColumbianChocolate]

Wow thats going to be a whopper! Huge mouth, in some pictures it even looks like a sock puppet...lol. Great dorsal fin like a shark!

Did you buy it in the end brittone05? Think you might need a bigger tank

[brittone05]

Hi

Thanks so much for the replies so far

i haven't bought the cat no Choc - the people have text m to say the eBay buyer backed out due to " not knowing it was a tropical catfish"??

I have told them that i will happily take it ( for a small fee on my part ) but for nowhere near what they would like to get for it as I will needto get a whopper tank for him/her along with all things needed to house it correctly etc.

Waiting to see if they get back to me.

As a 9" specimen right now, would a 125g tank be suitable for it as a temporary measure?

[apistomaster]

I don't see any reason why a 9 inch Trachycorystes trachycorystes wouldn't be fine in a 125 gal until it gets over 12 inches. At that size, I would be thinking about a more spacious aquarium.

You wrote "Oscars" so more than one.
Oscars are among the most agreeable large Cichlids but if you happen to get a pair the dynamics will change because Oscars excavate spawning and fry pits in the substrate. During their reproductive phase they do become very territorial of the bottom real estate and they become fearless about guarding their territory which will be large. They will drive away and harass all bottom fish and every other fish in their tank. You may not be planning to breed your Oscars but even if all you have are two of them you still have a chance of getting a mated pair. When I went through my big Cichlid phase I had 4 mated pairs of them and they were a fun species to breed. I frequently had my pairs each produced about 1000 fry a month. I used most of the fry as live food for other fish.
I had an 8 inch Undulated Triggerfish which I kept alone which ate a lot of my small Oscars and 2 to 4 inch Crayish I would collect from local streams.
I would probably chose a Platydoras species such as

Platydoras armatulus

.
These are well armored and covered with defensive spines but never use their weapons unless being attacked. They are attractive, get large but not excessively so and are a very handsome species. They are generally very reclusive and nocturnal but that is not unusual for a great many of the medium to large sized South American catfish species. I have never noticed them being aggressive towards other fish except sometimes with another catfish with similar habits which is vying for the same preferred hiding spot. Even then, I have never seen any damage done to the other fish.
Trachycorystes trachycorystes is a big catfish with a wide mouth. They are more expensive and need a larger tank than Platydoras armatulus. There are other Doradid catfish closely related to P. armatulus which may appeal to you more. It is just one of the Doradids I think embodies a nice balance between size, aggression, good looks and protection which is easier to find in shops than some of the others. They are rarely very expensive.

[brittone05]

I apologise fir the short reply, I will reply more comprehensively when I am on laptop and not phone.

Can I ask what the expected price I would be looking at fir a 9"specimen

[apistomaster]

Hi britton,
If you are referring to the Platydoras I don't think they normally reach 9 inches. I have seen many which were about 6 inches; usually something a customer brought in to the shop to trade. but 6 to 8 inches sizes are not imported and it could take 4 to 7 years for an aquarium specimen to reach it's maximum size.
Most are between 2 and 4 inches in shops. Over here, a 3 inch specimen is likely no more than US$10 each. But Tracos are very expensive. I think they can run between US$60 to $125 and possibly much more. There are some spectacular Pimilodid catfish which may be purchased at about 6 inches for much less than Tracos that are capable of reaching 24 to 36 inches.
I had my big fish phase decades ago so I don't pay much attention to their listed prices. I only remember they seemed awfully expensive for a fish which looks too much like a black Channel Catfish to me and if I wanted one of those I would just go fishing for them. They are commonly caught between 20 and 34 inches from the Snake River which runs through town and weigh 3-1/2 to 8 lb.s.