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What Fish To Put With Hoplo Cats?

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friendlyfishy777

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When my tank is fully cycled I'd like to get 2 or 3 hoplo catfish for my 200l tank. I'd like some fish that prefer swimming higher up in the tank too, but I haven't quite decided what as yet. I'm told Hoplo's are always on the go and can sometimes be boisterous at feeding time so slow or very timid fish should be avoided. As even though the Hoplos won't intentionally hurt them, they will cause stress with there contestant activity.


I was thinking of four Giant Danios or some minnows, but I've not been that taken by the White Clouds I've seen in the shops recently and I've never seen Giant Danios in person as yet. I'm rather taken by some of the Gourami's I've seen at Pets At Home lately, but I'm guessing they won't be suitable (they look rather slow).

Has anyone got any suitable suggestions to go in with three hoplos?
 
Well Giant Giant Danios need a minimum temperature of 22C, plus they are very active fish in th right setup (like my Barilius), they could easily use a whole 5-footer or longer.

Blind Cave Tetra or Odessa Barbs could fit the bill well, as could Zebra Danios or Rosy Barbs... To name but a few.

I'd be very surprised if you don't enjoy Hoplos, I'm loving my four 5cm youngsters bought a few weeks ago! One of the deal clinchers for me was discovering they are found in water as cool as 18C, making them a pretty good match for my Asian temperate fish.
 
Unless the tank is 120 cm / 4 ft long, I would say hoplo cats are a no no because they grow quite large.

Danios and minnows are schooling fish, which means they should be kept in groups of at least 6 and ideally 10-15+. Since this is a new tank without any stock, there is no excuse for you to keep schooling fish in numbers less than 10. I keep giant danios (there are four species, by the way) and I can say that they should never be kept in a tank which is under 120 cm long. They are great fish and I can strongly recommend them. As with zebra danios, they are mental, they never stay still but don't bother other fish either.

Again, if the tank is 120 cm long, 1m 2f (of one species) lace or three spot gouramis (any colour morph) would fit, but may be too peaceful for hoplos and danios.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! :)

N0body Of The Goat, I fell in love with the Hoplos on a recent visit to Maidenhead Aquatics and decided they were for me. They seem so full of personality and interested in everything, including people. What fish do you have with your Hoplos?
 
My four only have a few tankmates right now, a young Synodontis congica (missold as a a S. notata) and a couple of Brochis multiradiatus (that I am trying to rehome with someone local who already has a group).

When they are a little bigger, perhaps around Xmas, I will introduce them to my 5x2x2 in the middle of its winter cooling period. Until spring, they will share that tank with 9 Barilius (mix of canarensis; dogarsinghi; hukaungensis); 6 Redline Torpedo Barbs; 1 Panda Garra; 1 Indian redtail Squirrel Loach.

Edit: As KittyKat has written, 120cm is a minimum length for Danios like Giants and Zebras. Having seen your tank is 100cm, that might be borderline for Blind Cave Tetra, but Odessa Barbs should be fine with that as would Rosy Barbs (who often only reach ~7cm, despite reaching ~15cm in the wild).
 
I don't know that much about hoplo cats, but don't they need a longer tank as they can reach 15-20 cm in length?

100 cm is definitely too small for giant danios, but it is within what I would consider minimum for zebra danios (although ideally they would have a larger tank). Barbs or rasboras might be a better option.
 
I've asked tons of places (as I'm extremely careful by nature), and all said 200L was perfectly fine (long term) for 2 to 3 hoplo catfish (thoracata) which is why I choose the tank size I have. There is a larger more active variety which requires a lot more space called Hoplosternum littorale (the Brown Hoplo), but I'm getting Hoplo Megalechis thoracata (refereed to as spotted hoplo). They often get mixed up. If all the information I got is actully wrong, I will happily save up for a bigger tank, though that's rather frustrating. :crazy: I have a year or so, I suppose. :)

http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fish/Spotted_Hoplo
 
Again, I don't know much about hoplos, but if yours will be M. thoracata and they do need to be treated like Corys, then the tank should be fine. :good: I thought you were referring to the larger species and that I pointed out that I was talking about 6-8" hoplos, ooops! :blush:
 
 
I have two hoplos a male and a female and they are great catfish always on the go and easy to feed etc. Never a sign of agression only problem I had with them is they eat too much of the discus food when in with them
 
Aww, they sound lovely. :)

I'm still debating what I want in with mine. I was wondering if a shoal of Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigriventris) would be okay? As I hear they swim mid-water.
 
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