Tigrinus catfish care?

[14crazychris]

Hi everyone,

Just working through all of my research for the different species I’d like to keep. Just wondered if anyone’s had any personal experience keeping tigrinus catfish? Ive got a few questions below. Thanks

1. How active would you say your tigrinus is? Is it quite lazy? Only comes up for Food etc
2. Any aggression with other bottom dwellers such as stingrays?
3. Do you keep it in a bare tank?
4. Do you think a hardscape with a big piece of drift wood and some stones would be more beneficial to the longevity of the fish?
5. Do they hide a lot if cover is given?
6. are there any species you wouldn’t keep with tigrinus? Apart from small fish that are bite size of course!
7. Any tips or tricks you’d offer

thank you

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I have never kept tiger shovelnose of any kind, but I would like to give my take on numbers 3 and 4: hardscape and natural decor, for any fish, is something I wholeheartedly recommend.
Provides good enrichment for the fish, helps them feel more at home if it resembles their natural habitat, and looks very nice.
There was even a study (that I'll have to find) that dealt with giving zebrafish the choice between bare and aquascaped tanks, in which they chose the aquascaping every time.
So good hardscaping/aquascaping/decor will be very beneficial.

 

[14crazychris]

I have never kept tiger shovelnose of any kind, but I would like to give my take on numbers 3 and 4: hardscape and natural decor, for any fish, is something I wholeheartedly recommend.
Provides good enrichment for the fish, helps them feel more at home if it resembles their natural habitat, and looks very nice.
There was even a study (that I'll have to find) that dealt with giving zebrafish the choice between bare and aquascaped tanks, in which they chose the aquascaping every time.
So good hardscaping/aquascaping/decor will be very beneficial.

Thats good to know and totally makes sense! Think I’m definitely going to go the hardscape route then. Nice and simple but aesthetically pleasing and as you say, comforting for the fish.
thanks

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

1. How active would you say your tigrinus is? Is it quite lazy? Only comes up for Food etc
Quite lazy. Yes, active at feeding times. Other than that, may take laps every now and then and just sit in one spot in between... and that is in our very large tanks like 4500 gal and 1800 gal. Many members characterize theirs as "pretty logs".

2. Any aggression with other bottom dwellers such as stingrays?
They usually only exhibit aggression to kin and maybe cousins in the genus. Rays stabbing catfish is something I see as more risk.

3. Do you keep it in a bare tank?
Some yes, some no. Past 6" and if not bullied, they don't seem to care for any furniture.

4. Do you think a hardscape with a big piece of drift wood and some stones would be more beneficial to the longevity of the fish?
I think so but I'd place this factor somewhere in the back of the list, like at number 20. Having pristine water, right water, stable pH, high DO, good balanced diet, friendly or neutral tank mates, pathogen control, equipment backup, etc. etc. etc. is far more important. If you have tank mates that can stab your tig to death sooner or later, it may be questionable to worry about the effect of furniture on tig longevity

5. Do they hide a lot if cover is given?
See above.

6. are there any species you wouldn’t keep with tigrinus? Apart from small fish that are bite size of course!
The species to who tig is a bite size. Comparable-to-large piraiba tend to eat and spit tigs. See my thread for more. I'd not keep it with pacu, Distichodus, Labeo species.

7. Any tips or tricks you’d offer
Can be found throughout our thread on tigs: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/posts/7681583

 

[14crazychris]

1. How active would you say your tigrinus is? Is it quite lazy? Only comes up for Food etc
Quite lazy. Yes, active at feeding times. Other than that, may take laps every now and then and just sit in one spot in between... and that is in our very large tanks like 4500 gal and 1800 gal. Many members characterize theirs as "pretty logs".

2. Any aggression with other bottom dwellers such as stingrays?
They usually only exhibit aggression to kin and maybe cousins in the genus. Rays stabbing catfish is something I see as more risk.

3. Do you keep it in a bare tank?
Some yes, some no. Past 6" and if not bullied, they don't seem to care for any furniture.

4. Do you think a hardscape with a big piece of drift wood and some stones would be more beneficial to the longevity of the fish?
I think so but I'd place this factor somewhere in the back of the list, like at number 20. Having pristine water, right water, stable pH, high DO, good balanced diet, friendly or neutral tank mates, pathogen control, equipment backup, etc. etc. etc. is far more important. If you have tank mates that can stab your tig to death sooner or later, it may be questionable to worry about the effect of furniture on tig longevity

5. Do they hide a lot if cover is given?
See above.

6. are there any species you wouldn’t keep with tigrinus? Apart from small fish that are bite size of course!
The species to who tig is a bite size. Comparable-to-large piraiba tend to eat and spit tigs. See my thread for more. I'd not keep it with pacu, Distichodus, Labeo species.

7. Any tips or tricks you’d offer
Can be found throughout our thread on tigs: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/posts/7681583

Awesome thank you ? will have a look through that post. Interesting answers, need to be careful with the ray basically and really take that into consideration.
thanks

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I am not a ray keeper, too wussy plus rays are not my cup of tea. So don't listen to me much, you need to hear from ray keepers who also keep tigs. I've seen many photos from keepers keeping both in the same tank.

My take is, if you are diligent in removing rays' barbs that constantly regrow, your chances may be good. Still, I remember several cases reported of rays stabbing catfish bad. Ohio Fish Rescue for instance reported one where Josh sealed a ray-made hole in the side of a large black devil catfish with nothing else but silicon and it worked, IDK if the fish thrived long term though.

I cannot fathom now many cases are not reported per each reported. People are afraid to let other people learn from their experience and errors and that's just too bad and IMHumO needs a correction badly.

 

[14crazychris]

I am not a ray keeper, too wussy plus rays are not my cup of tea. So don't listen to me much, you need to hear from ray keepers who also keep tigs. I've seen many photos from keepers keeping both in the same tank.

My take is, if you are diligent in removing rays' barbs that constantly regrow, your chances may be good. Still, I remember several cases reported of rays stabbing catfish bad. Ohio Fish Rescue for instance reported one where Josh sealed a ray-made hole in the side of a large black devil catfish with nothing else but silicon and it worked, IDK if the fish thrived long term though.

I cannot fathom now many cases are not reported per each reported. People are afraid to let other people learn from their experience and errors and that's just too bad and IMHumO needs a correction badly.

that’s really interesting to know and I will take on board. I will see how it goes and start my new build thread when I’m ready to set the tank up. Many considerations to make first. Highly appreciate your advice. Thank you