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Hi all! I'm kind of new to this forum and have some questions re: my two shovelnose catfish.

At the moment I have a 2 year old shovelnose and a 8 month old shovelnose in a 30 gallon tank (I know this is too small! - I'm waiting to move out when I'm done school next year and I have a 90 gallon ready for them). My question is that my older guy seemed to have scratched his eye which has now turned slightly cloudy. I immediately started treatment with Melafix, but I was wondering if he will get his sight back?

Also, is it normal for them not to be active during the day? My tank has lots of live plants and driftwood for them to hide amongst, but they always lay around. I have noticed that they pick up alot during the night.

And is it normal for them to cough up this white-clear membranous stuff? The bigger one gets feeder goldfish (usually 1-2/week) as a supplement to bloodworms, brine shrimp and guppies. He thrashes around, coughs this stuff up, and then turns around and eats it again! It's actually quite gross. Could this be "remains" from the goldfish he just ate?

Any input would be appreciated!!! Thanks so much, Michelle

Also, is it normal for them not to be active during the day?

Yes. Like almost all catfishes, shovelnoses are nocturnal.

And is it normal for them to cough up this white-clear membranous stuff?

No, puking is usually a sign that there is something wrong with your water, as in this thread. I suspect the cloudy eye might be related to bad water also.

I really don't think it's my water quality because I test it weekly and ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are always zero. My pH is at 7.4 and this is straight from the tap. I add no other chemicals into the water. I have an emporer filter that is double the size normally recommended for the size of tank (because from previous experience I found that catfish can be dirty). They also get 40-50% water changes weekly. Is this too much too often?

The cloudy eye wasn't there last night, I just noticed it around lunch today.

Is there anything else I could be doing besides treating with Melafix?

Is there anything else I could be doing besides treating with Melafix?

No, sounds like that might be all you can do. The catfish might be stressed from being in too small a tank, which may be another rason for the puking if not your water (unless there are tankmates we didn't know about).

Well, actually there is a pleco. But other than that, none. I hope they can just hold on for a bit more. They will really like that 90 gal. Is that big enough for two? The biggest is only 7" and the little one is about 5". The older one is quite wide though.

The "puking" thing is quite common for S.lima though im not actually certain that it is "puke" as some sources say that it is a slime coating that they shed. However i have 3 S.lima's 2 of which are in a 200g tank (66"x30"x24" LxWxH) and one in a 40g (is too small to add to the main tank yet) and all 3 of them do the puking/shedding thing and then either they or the other fish in the tanks eat it

How long do these catfish live for? I haven't been able to find a lot of information on them - are they best in pairs or more than 2?

I just love mine! They are so neat! The big one lets the little one lay down it's back imitating it. They are hopefully buddies. Oh, and another question, have they ever been bred in captivity or do they all come from the wild?

The "puking" is definitely not normal. Given good conditions, they will hardly ever do it, but when stressed it is quite common. I would take a closer look at your water and husbandry to pin point the problem.

Oh, and another question, have they ever been bred in captivity or do they all come from the wild?

I don't think there have been any captive spawnings.

Rusty

They will really like that 90 gal. Is that big enough for two? The biggest is only 7" and the little one is about 5". The older one is quite wide though.

How long do you intend to keep them in the 90g? Are you aware of the adult size of TSNs?

Magnum, she's probably got regular Shovelnoses; Sorubims.

a 90G will be fine for two S Lima's......

I know that they can get really big... I didn't know there were two kinds! I got mine from my lfs a while ago and they didn't know really much about them. They were definetly an impulse buy and I'm learning as I go. I've looked up a bunch of info on them and I'm trying to incorporate it all. I'm just tight for space right now and until I'm done school I won't have any room for that 90. They seem to be doing well in the 30 - I keep it very clean and there's lots of swimming room. They don't appear cramped, but again, I'm still learning about these ones.

Thanks for all your input! If you have any other pointers, that would be awesome!.

One thing though, my pH from my tap is 7.4. I used to play around with the pH with my angels but it had drastic effects. So I've quit doing that b/c of the pH bounce. Is this pH alright for my shovelnose?

michelle can you tell us which species of shovelnoses you have? the two names mentioned are in the cat-elog.

A pH of 7.4 is ok and i would not adjust if you've had problems in the past.

michelle7 wrote:I really don't think it's my water quality because I test it weekly and ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are always zero. My pH is at 7.4 and this is straight from the tap. I add no other chemicals into the water.

Michelle,

I wonder if the hardness, phosphate levels, or perhaps temperature could be a problem? Could your filter media (carbon, etc.) be spent? and since your at college, this possibility sickens me Are there other people of little moral character adding strange things to your aquarium? Alcohol can kill aquatic life forms. Any organic chemical can be harmful to their delicate bio-tank.

I hope this helps and maybe trigers some responses from the experts out there!

Good Luck!

Michelle, wich one?

Sorubim lima aka Common Shovelnose.
these can reach 60 cm (2 feet), most often a bit smaller. There's a very similar species that stops growing at about 30 cm or so.


Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum aka TigerShovelnose (often called "Tiger" or TSN) . These beasties get whopping huge!
1 meter to 1,20 meter (4 feet) is recorded.....There's a very similar species with slightly different pattern that pops up as well (P tigrinum). It reaches the same size.

Lima's can be kept in roomy tanks, but TSN's are more suitable for a zoo, or someone with an indoor pond, and a large one at that......

My catfish are identical to the top picture. As for roomates, I'm still living at home so there's nothing being done to or near the tank that I don't know of (I've got my family trained! ) I keep them at 78-80 degrees.. is this too cold? too warm?

And I've been thinking about that puking thing. If it was due to stress, would they not both do it and do that on a regular basis? I've only ever seen him do that after ingesting a fish (1-2 hrs after). I just keep thinking it can't be due to stress purely b/c it doesn't happen all the time.

My catfish are identical to the top picture.

Good, had to be sure.

I keep them at 78-80 degrees.. is this too cold? too warm?

They can be kept from 75-82 degrees, so you are on the upper end of the scale.

Thank god i kept reading your replies, I have a tsn now for about 9 months and he is already in a 150 gallon tank. He's about 22 inches long right about now. I'm trying to find fish that would be compatible to his size at least, well that will growto his size. Can anyone tell me where i can buy a variety of catfish online, Im looking for a prehistoric cat and a south american red tail cat. Im also looking for info on how to build a pond. if any one can help me with this i would appreciate it.

You've posted nearly the same thing three times now, not to mention all the PMs you've sent asking the same exact thing. Watch it... double posting is against the rules here.

Rusty

double or triple posting is bad but atleast he's putting in the effort to take care of his fishes, i give him propz for that. Anyway where are you from prehistoric??? maybe i can help you out with the pond building give me a PM.

S Lima does like company. Don't want to get in a quarrel with anyone, but the "puking" behavior is so commonly reported with this species that I'm not sure you should be too alarmed. You seem to have your water under control. Just stay alert.

your temprature and ph are fine for sorubim lima, i have 2 in a 80gal for 2 years now with temp and ph the same as yours and they're doing great!

mine did the mucus thing you talk of when i first got them but once settled they've not done it for months??

they can get quite big with adequete feeding and good water quality,and a nice roomy tank.

my lfs has a sorubim lima at nearly 18" in a display tank,i've been trying to get them to sell it me for months now but they're not having any of it!!