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I have heard that shovelnose species will break out of a tank if their whiskers are always touching both sides of a tank. Is this true? I was just curious, is all.

By "break out" do you mean that they will jump out? I don't see any reason why this would be true (unless the tank was too small). Where did you hear that anyway?

Yes, I've heard stories to this effect, and there is some substance to it, though not quite in the form stated. Constantly stimulating a fish's barbels could be likened to having someone constantly scratching/tickling the soles of your feet. In general, fish like large Pims should be kept in tanks that are large enough for their barbels not to always scrape against the tank walls.

Dinyar

Fascinating - on a topic unrelated except by pun, I have heard a cat's whiskers are only exactly as wide as the hole the cat can get through, and if his whiskers come in contact with the edge of the hole he knows he can't get through . . .

Silurus wrote:By "break out" do you mean that they will jump out? I don't see any reason why this would be true (unless the tank was too small). Where did you hear that anyway?

I heard it a while back. I don't remember where.

Does anyone else have input? Experience with this happening? Or perhaps someone has something to disprove this?

I've heard about this, and I've seen some species where I have a strong suspicion it's true, but others seem to do fine, long whiskers or no.

AFAIK
Sorubim lima, Pseudoplatystoma, Leiarus, Pimelodus etc don't get stressed easily
whereas Platystomatichthys, Perrunichthys and perhaps a few more definitely get uneasy in a tank less wide than their outhstretched barbels (mind, I'm stricktly talking tankwidth here, NOT tanklength...)

Platystomatichthys sturio has a notorious reputation on this particular phenomena.

I don't know much about them jumping from too small a tank, but they are very good jumpers those limas! One of mine got stressed out when I was cleaning the tank a while back and decided he wanted to jump out onto the floor! That took me by suprise b/c man! Can they jump! He's never jumped since... but I could see them jumping if they don't like where they are.