Which 100 gallon for pictus catfish?

[dani_starr]

We are moving soon, which means that afterwards, we'll be on ground level, in a bigger house, so I can get a 100 gallon!

After lots of thinking, I've decided I want to have a large school of pictus catfish (since pretty much all other shark catfish that I want grow to be at least a foot).

Which would be the best dimensions for a large school of pictus cats?
1. 48 long, 24 wide, 24 high
2. 60 long, 18 wide, 21 high
3. 72 long, 18 wide, 18 high

Also, how many could I have if I do an all pictus tank?

If I choose to add 1 or 2 centerpiece fish, what would be a fairly low bio load fish that would work? I was thinking a pair of opaline gouramis possibly

I'm super excited for this tank, so I'm gonna take my time to make sure it is absolutely perfect.

 

[excuzzzeme]

I have a 72 x 18 x18 and I like it but for the length I would go 125. I would also get a RR tank and use a wet/dry. That's just me though.

 

[RNeiswander]

Why not a 125? Unless you're ordering it brand new, your more likely to find a 72x18x20something. I would do the 125


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[dani_starr]

Hmmm okedokes, I'll go with a 125 gallon then, they are easier to find anyways. So okay for a 125 gallon, how many pictus catfish? I want to have a large school, I was thinking like 15 or so? (I was messing around on AQ and with 15 I was at like 80% stock or something) What would be a good centerpiece fish/s?

 

[smitty]

I am partial towards length especially for those type of fish that like to swim for miles and miles in the wild.

 

[excuzzzeme]

I am partial towards length especially for those type of fish that like to swim for miles and miles in the wild.

Me too. I keep Silver Dollars in mine (6) because they are a long swimming fish and do best with ample swimming room.

90 and 100 gallon tanks are not high-demand tanks which mean they are more expensive than larger common sized tanks.I can't help on qty because I don't know the adult size of them.I did find this info on palnetcatfish:

Avg size 4.7 inches

[TD="class: tablerow1"]Peaceful, but will soon eat smaller fish, such as neon tetras, but otherwise harmless. It is considered good to keep these fish in a group of at least five fish. When kept alone, they do not appear quite as happy and active as when kept in a group. [/TD]

[TD="class: tablerowtitle2"]Suggested tankmates
[/TD]
[TD="class: tablerow2"]Larger active fish such as tetras and gouramis. Most barbs are no good company as they tend to nip fins and barbels. They should be kept in (small) groups. Most singly kept specimens will pine away eventually. Angelfish and other ''graceful'' fishes may be bothered by this species' barbels particularly during lights-out.
[/TD]

 

[allaboutfish]

id get a cichlid or two for a centerpiece

 

[RisiganL.]

Why not severums as a centerpiece? And as for the school size, 10-15 should be fine. I have heard of them growing more like 6"-8" than 4.7".

 

[excuzzzeme]

I was just going by what I found on planetcatfsih and wasn't looking at a particular strain.

 

[dani_starr]

Why not severums as a centerpiece? And as for the school size, 10-15 should be fine. I have heard of them growing more like 6"-8" than 4.7".

As for the difference is size, I do know it depends on the species (at least from what I've read). There are two different species, the ones from the Amazon river basin (Brazil, Peru) and Rio Orinoco basin (Columbia, Venezuela). If I recall correctly, the Peruvian, smaller spotted ones stay smaller.

I found this from MFK when searching

The large and small ones you talk about are the Peruvian and Columbian varieties. From what I know the Columbian is only rumored to get "slightly" bigger. Picture to the left is columbian. Right is Peruvian.​

Attached Images

I plan on getting the smaller, peruvian ones (I like the looks of them better too). I've never thought about getting into cichlids, I'll look into severums though

And I know for sure that the 4 lined pims

get to be HUGE, like a foot, definately staying away from them!