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Hey all - I just have a question about my year old lima shovelnose.

"Furgee" is about 9" long and lives by himself in a 30 gal long aquarium. It's a bit tight, but he has to wait for one more year till I'm done university and can afford to buy him the 95 gal I've been checking out at the lfs and then maybe he could have a friend. (if he doesn' eat him).

Furgee used to live with your average, run-of-the-mill pleco who died about 6 months ago. Since then, I bought him a pair of BN plecos to keep him company. Both were about 5" long. He ate them both after a month of them being in the tank. Is this normal??? I try to keep him as well fed as possible. He used to get live feeders up until about 6 months ago when they intro. ich into the tank and after which I never fed him b/c of that exact problem.

I purchased a gibby recently who's only about 3" long. This pleco is now growing up in one of my angelfish tanks. Does anyone have a recommended size that this pleco should be so he won't get eaten???

Thanks!

Oh - almost forgot. Would such a catfish eat fresh beefheart if it was cut into sm. chunks? Would this be a good food for him to add to his diet or should I stay away from this type of thing?

Given your previous experience with the bristlenose, I think you should let the pleco reach at least 7" before putting it in the tank.

As for beefheart, I think it's better to stay off it.

Hi!

I have to admit that i highly doubt that your 23 cm S.lima ate the 12 cm Ancistrus...i kept limas for over a year and my big one was 28 cm. A 12 cm bn would have at least a "wingsspan" of 7 cm and with locked dorsal 5-6 cm in hight, which would give him the swallow size of a small coffee cup...either the Ancistrus was dead before being eaten or the lima would have died trying to swallow a fish more than half its size.
I kept mine with 5-6 cm Corydoras ssp and never lost any might have been luck but i always noticed that cats werent on their menu.

This shovelnose eats everything and anything - I'm not kidding you guys about the BN's. His belly was so fat I thought he wsn't going to make it thru the digestion part of it. I was completely dumbstruck. When I first got him I had kept him in a tank with full-grown angels and some cories and he ate those too - spines and all. I'm suprised that the spines don't puncture his stomach when he eats them.

I'll take the advice on the beefheart - thanks!

Hi!

He ate the Pterophyllum? Are you sure its a Sorubim?

LOL - oh no, he didn't eat any angels. He was actually quite docile. But the cories fell prey to him. It has been nothing but suprises re: this fish from the beginning.

He is definetly a sorubium... I'm at work at the moment, I can attach a pic later when I get home.

Another question though - how long do these suckers live for?

5+ years if you give them a good life. I have mine in a 120 gallon with 3 oscars and a pleco. He is the smallest in the tank at 12" i doubt hes happy being in a 30 gallon tank at 9"

Hi:
If this help, some of my limas used to eat small corys specially when they are recently introduced in the tanks...I also found in a group one of 12 cm that died trying to eat anotherone of 7 cm appx. Anyway is extrange that this thing happens, more with an ancystrus.
About the food i think that now yours is big, but usually you can feed limas with floating or thinking pellets of good quality.
Good luck
Ag

pectoral fins are only an obstacle if the fish is swallowed caudal fin first... it wouldn't be hard to slide a pleco down head first,... burgess mentions a few pims with fin spines in their stomachs I do believe.

as to nutrition, live foods are totally unneccesary... as is beefheart. I suggest cut pieces of fish, shrimp, scallops, clams, squid or a combo, even earthworms perhaps. Accompanied by a good pellet food, to keep the vitamin balance proper.

Velocity Wrote:

5+ years if you give them a good life.

Try more like 15+ years or more. I have had Apistogramma live for five years!

Thanks everyone for the replies - sorry I haven't been able to get back till now!

So good news! I've got my hands on a 70 gal custom tank (48"x18"x18") which will be Furgee's new home. I did purchase a gibby which I'm growing out in another tank so he'll have a tank mate. But here's another question re: tankmates:

Can a sorubium be kept with large cichlids?? I saw this (what I believe to be an African cichlid) at a lfs who I'm assuming is pretty close to full size as it's about 6" long. Would my shovelnose get picked on by this guy? Or should I just stick to him and the gibby or him and another shovelnose?

Ok.. I was going to attach a pic but I can't figure out how!

I have a couple of S Limas in a 55, though not as large as yours. Have had no problems with tankmates so far, though things can change, and judgement is often more important than theory. Mine really like freeze-dried krill. They'll come to the top and compete when some of these are dropped in. Have to say they're not picky eaters at all. Also big fans of the occasional guppy or minnow treat. The cichlid scene is more unpredictable. Had an Oscar in with them till he got big enough to move in with the big boys, and no problems encountered. Have a TSN in the big tank, and my two severums will chase him out of the "food drop" area, whereas the Oscars haven't showed any hostility.