Bullhead Catfish suitable for a 55 gallon or 75 gallon Tank? and tankmates?

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CichlidFan779

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2011
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Wisconsin
Hello! i am wondering if there is a bullhead species native to wisconsin that will fit in a 55 or 75 gallon tank, i am also wondering what other fish are compatible with a bullhead, thank you! i have some other questions as well

what gravel should i have in the tank? color/size
do bullheads need plants in an aquarium?
what should i feed a bullhead? BTW i cannot feed bullhead any feeder fish
what hiding spots should be provided for a bullhead?
can a bullhead live in an aquarium with a heater?
what should the temperature of the tank be?

Thanks again!
 
The Black Bullhead would is the smallest native bullhead to Wisconsin with a typical size between 5 to 12 inches. That being said a 75 gallon tank would be the best fit a bullhead. Just about anything can be kept with a bullhead as long as it can't fit in it's mouth.

Gravel-What ever size and color you prefer.
Bullhead do not need plants
They will eat anything,I have fed them pellets,flakes, worms,shrimp(live and frozen)
Whatever kind of hiding spot you like(logs,rocks,clay pots, whatever you prefer)
They can live with a heater but prefer cooler temps(70 to 75)

Your Welcome!
 
The Black Bullhead would is the smallest native bullhead to Wisconsin with a typical size between 5 to 12 inches. That being said a 75 gallon tank would be the best fit a bullhead. Just about anything can be kept with a bullhead as long as it can't fit in it's mouth.

Gravel-What ever size and color you prefer.
Bullhead do not need plants
They will eat anything,I have fed them pellets,flakes, worms,shrimp(live and frozen)
Whatever kind of hiding spot you like(logs,rocks,clay pots, whatever you prefer)
They can live with a heater but prefer cooler temps(70 to 75)

Your Welcome!

thank you so much! it sounds like black bullhead is the fish i want, i'm curious to know the size length/width of the yellow bullhead catfish also, and do they live in wisconsin? another question i have about a black bullhead is if they hibernate in an aquarium, thanks!
 
14 to 16"


That really depends. In colder northern waters they would rarely get that size. Wild specimans by me, in MA, normally top out at about 9-10". That said, growing up in the controled environment of an aquarium would add a little bit onto that, but I doubt you would find a northern breed bullhead reach that length, and if it did, it would take a very long time to get there.
 
You better be very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very over filtered to keep a bullhead.
 
in cold water, the black bullhead get about 12'' but in warmer water they can get quite big, I've seen one about 18-20'' and the Texas record is 20.25''!
 
I have had brown bullhead that i catch myself here in Yonkers, and i never saw them get bigger then 6 inches, Ive never caught one bigger then that and i have kept 12 of them for over a year and very warm water and they never got much bigger, hah maybe i have this weird type of dwarf brown bullhead. but i have yet to see one grow as big as they say or catch one anywhere near 8-14 inches.

I used to have a overstocked tank full of them, one thing i have to say over filtered isn't even the word for it, just like "Sancha" said mega super over filter, they are worse then goldfish in my opinion, and very dirty fish, you need a ton of filtration, i would even go ahead and put a pound of duckweed in there to keep the nitrates down and even that wouldn't help sometimes.

Get duckweed, they hate light and duckweed will make the water quality better.

Also they are impossible to kill, literately. I had them in my biology class in school, and this class has no windows it was in the middle of the building, it was a naturally very warm class, one time the janitor turned on the heat in our class by accident and well when my teacher got back in the morning he felt the door knob and it scared him, it was so hot that it was uncomfortable to touch. He called me, because well i was the fish guy. Got inside over 100 degrees, all the fish and animals dead, except for the catfish of coarse. i was stunned they where doing fine, literately the water was in the high 90s if not more and the oxygen must of been next to non with an already over stocked tank, and they all lived fine, they're a cold water species too. Everything else died, or was in shock and then died. True story, after that day we closed the vent permanently. Moral of the story Bullhead are Monsters.
 
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