Tiger shovelnose catfish

Care at a glance

Overview

The tiger shovelnose catfish is a large, fast-growing predator for a very big freshwater tank. It is a monster fish, and only experienced keepers should take one on.

Caring for the tiger shovelnose catfish

A tiger shovelnose catfish outgrows almost every home setup, so plan on at least 300 gal (1,135 L) for an adult. Footprint matters more than volume, and a tank around 8 feet long lets the fish turn. Give it a smooth sand bottom, plenty of open swimming space and rounded decor under a tight cover. A startled fish will bolt, and it can scrape its snout or tear off barbels on hard edges or an open rim.

Keep the water soft to neutral, at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. It is a freshwater fish, not a brackish one. Run oversized filtration with strong oxygenation to handle its heavy bioload.

Feed varied meaty foods such as fish fillet, prawns, mussels, squid and carnivore pellets. Skip feeder fish for both disease and nutrition reasons.

The tiger shovelnose is an aggressive, solitary, nocturnal predator that rests on the bottom by day and hunts at night. It will eat any tank mate small enough to fit in its mouth. Keep it alone, or only with similarly large, fast, non-aggressive fish it cannot swallow.

It is not bred in home aquaria. Never release one into the wild, and check your local rules, since large catfish are restricted in some regions.

Good to know

The tiger shovelnose catfish is Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, a large predatory catfish in the family Pimelodidae. In captivity it sometimes nears a meter, and it grows larger still in the wild. Commercial stock is pond raised. Many fish sold as tiger shovelnose are actually hybrids crossed with Phractocephalus or Sorubim, though a pure fish needs the same care.

In the wild

Tiger shovelnose catfish come from the big rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco basins in tropical South America. In those rivers they patrol the open channels and roam the bottom.

Common questions

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