Urchin the Hoplo

CassCats · Jun 26, 2020

my son named him Urchin haha he is a hoplosternum punctatum, one of the smaller hoplo cats and I'm so in love with how cute he is, and he's so photogenic

Does anyone else keep any of the hoplo catfish species? Doesn't seem like they're openly popular. Don't know why, they're like the awkward big brother to cories.

JuiceBox52 · Jun 26, 2020

I want him

PhantomCarp · Jun 26, 2020

I always thought hoplos were cool.(in fact I think all types of catfish are cool) it’s awesome he won’t get as big as other hoplos. How big of a tank does that species need? Urchin is a 10/10 name

CassCats · Jun 26, 2020

PhantomCarp said:
I always thought hoplos were cool.(in fact I think all types of catfish are cool) it’s awesome he won’t get as big as other hoplos. How big of a tank does that species need? Urchin is a 10/10 name

I was told a 4-5 foot minimum for the larger hoplos.

This guy only gets 3 inches instead of 6-10 inches like his larger cousins... a 3 inch fish but still really active. I think a 40g would be good minimum for even these guys with the activity level. But 40g would be too small for the larger ones.

WhistlingBadger · Jun 26, 2020

I had a couple of spotted hoplos in my 150g. They were outrageously cool. And they pretty much trashed the tank with their digging (it has sand-over-soil substrate, so they really made a mess). I was so relieved when I was finally able to catch and rehome them. But other than the earth-moving tendencies, they are really, really fun fish.

Colin_T · Jun 27, 2020

Hoplos like company, can you get a few more?

CassCats · Jun 27, 2020

Colin_T said:
Hoplos like company, can you

Theres been a lot of conflicting information on that aspect of them. Most sources don't say anything about it at all. Some say shoaling, others say don't even care.

And even less basic information on this particular species at that.

That said, I added 2 more in my "cart", hopefully the husband doesn't mind a wee bit more spending

CassCats · Jun 27, 2020

Colin_T said:
Hoplos like company, can you get a few more?

Order placed. I'll hear about it later haha

WhistlingBadger · Jun 27, 2020

The ones I had never seemed to pay the slightest attention to each other. Cories and brochis, on the other hand, definitely prefer to hang out together.

CassCats · Jun 27, 2020

WhistlingBadger said:
The ones I had never seemed to pay the slightest attention to each other. Cories and brochis, on the other hand, definitely prefer to hang out together.

Exactly why I'm lost.

I ordered 2 more anyways. I have space to fit them, so guess even if they don't care to hang out, just means I got 3 to like hahaha

WhistlingBadger · Jun 27, 2020

NCaquatics said:
Exactly why I'm lost.

I ordered 2 more anyways. I have space to fit them, so guess even if they don't care to hang out, just means I got 3 to like hahaha

I understand. ha ha

It seems like the common wisdom is that most fish (though certainly not all!) do better in groups. I used to keep anchor cats, and even seriouslyfish, my go-to for solid information, says they're happier in a group. Mine never paid the slightest mind to each other, and I think one would be perfectly fine solo. I've had a similar experience with ottos: A lot of sights say that they need to live in groups, but I have never observed any social behavior among mine. They just do their thing.

But unless there are intraspecies aggression issues, it's probably better to get a group. I've never kept your species of hoplo, so they might benefit from some buddies.

CassCats · Jun 27, 2020

WhistlingBadger said:
I understand. ha ha

It seems like the common wisdom is that most fish (though certainly not all!) do better in groups. I used to keep anchor cats, and even seriouslyfish, my go-to for solid information, says they're happier in a group. Mine never paid the slightest mind to each other, and I think one would be perfectly fine solo. I've had a similar experience with ottos: A lot of sights say that they need to live in groups, but I have never observed any social behavior among mine. They just do their thing.

But unless there are intraspecies aggression issues, it's probably better to get a group. I've never kept your species of hoplo, so they might benefit from some buddies.

And there's like NO info on the species. Planet catfish has some info. But its very limited. Just collection area, size, and thats pretty much it.

Retired Viking · Jun 27, 2020

nice looking fish, :fish:

FishFinatic77 · Jun 27, 2020

Urchin is super cute! (I love the name BTW.) I've never kept any fish in the catfish family, but I really want to. I just don't have a tank big enough for any right now...

CassCats · Jun 27, 2020

FishFinatic77 said:
Urchin is super cute! (I love the name BTW.) I've never kept any fish in the catfish family, but I really want to. I just don't have a tank big enough for any right now...

whats your tank size and current stocking?

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Urchin the Hoplo

CassCats

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JuiceBox52

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PhantomCarp

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CassCats

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WhistlingBadger

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Colin_T

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CassCats

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CassCats

Fish Aficionado

WhistlingBadger

Professional Cat Herder

CassCats

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WhistlingBadger

Professional Cat Herder

CassCats

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Retired Viking

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FishFinatic77

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CassCats

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