kind of cat that will be good in a 200 gallon

StreetKiller · Post by **StreetKiller** » 15 Aug 2003, 01:29

i have a 200 gallon tank. and i was hopeing you guys can tell me some good catfish that wont grow bigger than 2ft. his tankmate would be a arownana.
thanks

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 15 Aug 2003, 03:45

Are you talking about a pleco or something "free swimming"?

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 15 Aug 2003, 11:57

Sorubim lima.

And they do well in small groups and are very, very peaceful.

If you can keep your Arowana in good health, keeping lima's won't be hard. They eat the same food (the bigger freezefoods and small fish) and they're so easygoing, they're not likely to spook the Arowana.

Others might include Hemisorubim platyrhynchos (wich is rare), Platystomatichthys sturio, Goeldiella eques, Lophiosilurus alexandri and the expensive Merodontotus tigrinus.

All these are easygoing, if not downright shy, and unlike Phractocephalus, Leiarus or Pseudoplatystoma wich get way too big or are too boisterous; won't outgrow your 200G. Wouldn't stack up on them though.

But I know for sure that Hemisorubim and Sorubim combine very well, perhaps Goeldiella too, but I never saw that one alive.

Maybe a bigger Dorad like Megalodoras? Peaceful too, but it needs a bit more furniture. What's in the tank? sand, bogwood, rocks?

StreetKiller · Post by **StreetKiller** » 18 Aug 2003, 06:11

freeswiming. i was looking for something like a redtail cat, but they get way to big. somethink nicer lookin than a pleco. the bottem has gravel. few small plants. no rocks or wood.

would a tsn catfish try to eat a turtle? i also have a 3500 gallon pond with a few turtles and goldfish/koi.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 18 Aug 2003, 06:45

there are some really nice looking big plecos out there though... The pseudacanthicus species are especially colorful, and most get larger, some to a foot and a half, apparently. take a look in the cat-e-log for others, but I can link you to a pic of my scarlet pleco. The orange has reddened, but he's become quite fond of hiding, so I can't get a new picture of him looking better...
http://scott.aaquaria.com/images/cats/big/26.jpg

There is also an argument about merodontotus tigrinus max size, some swear it's over 2 feet, but some say it's less... My guess is a 24 inch specimen is large for an adult, but I can't say I have all the info, just back and forth between a few sources. It's interesting to note that burgess doesn't list a max size, in his catfish book. Axelrod's mini atlas places it at 60cm, but he lists syno decorus as 20cm's, and I've seen one that had to be nearly 1.5 times that size... so, who knows, a magnificent fish, like the pims mentioned above, shier than red tails, and not a free swimmer, although if you turn the lights on sometimes you can catch mine mid level.

and, on the non-catfish side... ;) might I suggest a stingray or 2? their suitability is more a function of dimensions than gallons though, if your 200 is long and tall but short front to back, they're not good. what dimensions are you working with?

The last 2 are common with arows, the former I can't imagine a reason it wouldn't work out...

StreetKiller · Post by **StreetKiller** » 18 Aug 2003, 10:33

i was thinking about a ray but i dont know where to get one. id like a ray better than a catfish. know any places on the net? like the motoro or other starter ray, cuz i only know the basics on rays.

you got a nice pleco there. whats the price on thos?

the tank is 96L by 24 W by 20 high.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 18 Aug 2003, 19:45

yeah, finding them locally is a pain...

http://www.frybabies.com

and

http://www.wilddiscus.com

both have good fish, my rays are from wild discus, that catfish pictured is from frybabies. Both have good quarentine and acclimation procedures, and frybabies has a wonderful supply of plecos and catfish as well as rays.

For information on rays I suggest the aqualog book entitled freshwater rays of south america, or something close to that, good info. For internet references I can't think of too many places. There's a lot of good info on this thread about needs, keeping, what to expect and that sort of stuff. http://www.forum.planetcatfish.com/view ... ght=motoro heh, that was from a search, so motoro will be highlighted every time it's in there, but... and there's also bud's stingray page. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Mead ... 0/ray.html

My scarlet pleco was $135 or so, and came in at about 10 inches. I poked lampy from frybabies on ICQ just now, they've got a couple 3 inch ones of the same species for $65.

StreetKiller · Post by **StreetKiller** » 19 Aug 2003, 07:23

how did you get your ray from wilddiscs?

Allan · Post by **Allan** » 19 Aug 2003, 10:47

I guess if you are gonna keep rays, you'll have to change your gravel substrate to sand.

Always watch out for those flake-sharp gravel - Also goes for a lot of cats mentioned a possible citizen in your tank.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 19 Aug 2003, 23:29

well, I e-mailed david, he e-mailed me back, I gave him a call, talked about an interesting article he wrote about wild discus collecting that's on discus page holland(I think you don't have to do that step

, set up a money order, shipped it certified(he didn't take credit cards or paypal at that time, not sure if he doesn now, that was my only gripe about biz with him) and as soon as he gets it he sets up a shipping date, and sends them via air cargo. mine came delta dash, although I think he works with another company or 2... for the 3 rays shipping was about $90. If you go with frybabies you can use paypal and they also ship airborne express, directly to your door, which is kinda nice too. And motoros are good beginner rays for both hardieness and price, but my boys, the leopoldis, are just as easy as I can imagine, probably not different than motoro.

latest pic with the merodontotus tigrinus