Lone Catfish Needed For Small Tank.

[anvil63]

I really like Khuli's and have kept them in the past with much success - Only problem is that it's now recommended that they too be kept in groups. 6 or more. I'm seeing an interesting trend these days. At least, it seems to be the Internet trend. Do all fish need to be in groups now? Obvious exceptions aside (Bettas, etc...).

In the past, I was able to keep a single Khuli, one or two corys, etc... not the "shoals" that now seeem to be the trend. My Khuli was around for quite a while, as were my corys. Now, it seems everything should be in groups of 6 or more.

I guess I'll go back to my old methods of choosing tank mates - Common sense.

I agree with you that people may be going overboard a bit with the expanding list of fish that must be kept in shoals. I have also kept lone corys and kuhlis and they seemed to do just fine. But, one thing that I will say is that while it may not be necessary to group them it is way more interesting. I now have two distinctly seperate shoals of six Corys each patrolling my 150gal. This has made them much more fun to watch. I would be willing to bet that similar behavioral differences have been noted in these other species that "have" to be kept in groups.

Carl

 

[Teelie]

Perhaps the reason more and more fish are being recommended in groups is more and more people are understanding how the fish should be kept. People used to keep goldfish in a bowl. That was always fine, wasn't it? Only now we know that's a load of crap. Similarly, people are now realizing some fish need to be kept in groups to be more secure and active. Some fish are obviously not shoalers or schoolers while others are.

Before the internet and mass communication like this, it wasn't so easy to share information or experiences on keeping fish so most people just assumed what they were told was right, not knowing that newer, more accurate information was found. Now that's coming to an end as we learn more about the behavior of fish and how they are supposed to behave.

 

[finz]

I agree that it's more interesting to see a group of similar fish as opposed to only one. And lets not kid ourselves - 99.9% of the common fish found in LFS are many generations removed from their wild ancestors. Once you remove something from the wild and begin selective breeding in captivity, like it or not, you begin changing or modifying the behavior of it. At least, that's my theory.

Perhaps the reason more and more fish are being recommended in groups is more and more people are understanding how the fish should be kept. People used to keep goldfish in a bowl. That was always fine, wasn't it? Only now we know that's a load of crap. Similarly, people are now realizing some fish need to be kept in groups to be more secure and active. Some fish are obviously not shoalers or schoolers while others are.

Before the internet and mass communication like this, it wasn't so easy to share information or experiences on keeping fish so most people just assumed what they were told was right, not knowing that newer, more accurate information was found. Now that's coming to an end as we learn more about the behavior of fish and how they are supposed to behave.

Or maybe the manufacturers of fish tanks, equipment, fish food, etc... as well as fish breeders just want us to buy bigger tanks, more equipment for them, 10 different types of food and lots of fish

Anyhow... thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

 

[Teelie]

If anything, the LFS', companies and etc. are not doing that where they should. They aren't that crafty, they just want you to buy their products, the number of fish doesn't really factor into it. If you don't believe me by now though, then there's not much point trying to convince you otherwise. Someone else can try.

 

[finz]

It's not that I do or don't believe you (or anyone else for that matter), just trying to point out that there are many varying opinions out there. I wish there were one definitive answer to these and other questions, but there isn't. I take the chit-chat at the various LFS's with a grain of salt - Every now and then, I'll run across someone who does know a thing or two or at least has done some research or is into the hobby, as opposed to someone just waiting on their paycheck.

Obviously, I want what's best for my fish. I have no desire to spend money on something only to watch it die or to live unhappily. It's a fascinating hobby which is part of the reason I'm involved in it.

Your goldfish/bowl analogy is excellent. I feel the same way about Bettas/bowls.

So in the end, it looks like snails are best suited for the task at hand.

 

[ccg]

I use to keep 1 apple snail in all my fry tanks and they would eat all left over food. Just remember though that snails still create a lot of waste.

edit: I just found it easier cleaning up snail waste rather then all the fine fry food that would be around otherwise.

 

[finz]

Well I guess we'll find out - I have a very cool looking brownish with a gold stripe snail in the tank now.

Interesting... Teelie notes that

They have a lower bio-load on the system

But CSG says

snails still create a lot of waste.

LOL!!! Here we go again!!

Thanks folks for all the info.

 

[Teelie]

It depends on the snail species, but in my experience, their load is much less to an equivalent sized fish or other animal in the tank. Obviously, the bigger the snail, the bigger the bioload and Apple Snails can grow to the size of an apple but the bridgesii aren't too bad. The Calincuta (something or other) are the ones to avoid. They will eat plants and grow quite large.

 

[finz]

This appears to be an Apple snail, from what I can tell - maybe 1" around. The store had them advertised as Black Mystery snails (along with some gold mystery snails). Interesting little things. It sat in my tank for hours appearing to be dead, but once the light went out... he was zipping all over (well, zipping for a snail I guess).

We'll see how he likes it in there.

 

[Teelie]

There are several species of Apple snails though it's impossible to tell them by color or even body shape. Have to go by shell shape which can be hard. http/applesnail.net is a great place to find out though.

 

[finz]

Thanks for the link teelie - I stumbled across it myself when I googled apple snails.

The snail was chugging around last night. cool little critter.