Absolute beginner question

[Allix]

lol - Sorry if this sounds dumb!!!

We currently have a 90/100 litre tank (im not 100% sure thou exactly how much it hold ) )

We have 3 mollies and 5 tetra (2 died see Richie_Lucas's thread)

I'd really like some small crabs in the tank, we've been to various fish shops who all give varying opinions, some say not to have crabs as they will eat the fish and attack them etc etc, whereas some say crabs are fine, the fish learn not to swim too close ... so im really confused as to what to do!

Am i right in thinking that the crabs should be fine? We are also thinking about getting a catfish too, but i take it cat fish and crabs dont go well together?

Help!!!

btw - im new (if you haven't already gathered!!!) and im from south wales

 

[CFC]

Crabs should not be mixed with fish, they are oppertunist predators that will eat any fish they can catch. The same goes for any crayfish or freshwater lobsters.

Catfish is a very broad term which could mean anything from a tiny 1 inch Otocinclus to a 10 foot predatory monster, be very carefull of what you buy until you are sure of which species you are looking at.

 

[Allix]

Crabs should not be mixed with fish, they are oppertunist predators that will eat any fish they can catch. The same goes for any crayfish or freshwater lobsters.

Catfish is a very broad term which could mean anything from a tiny 1 inch Otocinclus to a 10 foot predatory monster, be very carefull of what you buy until you are sure of which species you are looking at.

I didnt think you could get a 10 foot catfish?!?!

 

[CFC]

Some catfish are contenders for being the largest freshwater fish in the world

be carefull what you buy

 

[pica_nuttalli]

just in case its not clear or you've never seen one, the above fish is a knife fish. there are several varieties of knife fish available for purchase at most LFS. you see them in the store at 4~10 inches.

as you can see, those are baby knife fish in the stores.

Mod edit: The above fish is not a knife fish, see post below. CFC

 

[yvez9]

right, some catfish are verysmall and cute and cheap but become real monsters.

I've seen a red-tail catfish for sale for about 9$. It was maybe 4 inches long. Soon enough, it will be 2 feet long and eat anything that fits in its mouth including plastic plants, wood, cell phones, etc...

Of course there was no warning on the tank they were kept in and honestly, unless you ahve a 2000 gallon species tank, you can't really keep them.

all this to say, catfish can be very dangerous fish to buy, make sure you know what you're buying!

 

[CFC]

just in case its not clear or you've never seen one, the above fish is a knife fish. there are several varieties of knife fish available for purchase at most LFS. you see them in the store at 4~10 inches.

as you can see, those are baby knife fish in the stores.

im afraid you couldnt be more wrong, the fish above is a Wels catfish (Siluris glanis) one of the largest fish in the world, no knife fish even comes close to the full grown size of these which have been recorded at up to 600 pound in weight.

 

[Allix]

So what breed of catfish should i buy to keep my tank clean? Or what other types of fish could i get?

 

[Paul_MTS]

crabs are best kept to the species tank. get a relatively small tank, 10-20gallon, half fill it then with rocks and wood make a few areas out of the water, add 2-3 crabs and they'll be happy.

you can also make it a brackish set up by using some marine salt, some say the crabs prefer it. when i did decide to put some pregnant platies in my crabs tank for them to give birth they crabs decided they would feast and made wuite a mess of them.

so best to keep crabs to them selfs.

that was quite funny about the knife/catfish. I remeber a "no going back" show about a english family that moved to france to make a fishing break kind of thing. but before they stocked the lake they had to drain it and remove a huge Wels catfish that was eating all the stock in the lake.

The more common big "catfish" sold in shops are- red tail catfish, tiger shovel nose catfish, ID shark/pangassuis catfish, common plec, sailfin plec/red gibbicep i think there the most likely ones you might be tempted to buy.

 

[jimbooo]

as to what to buy bristle nose and gold nugget plecs are nice small catfish that wont turn into monsters.

as to the crabs i have 2 red claw crabs in a community tank and they've been fine with the fishies, they spend most of their time in the filter (internal) or just above the water surface on my background tiles.

however if a slow unaware fish was to get too close they would probably get eaten. ) my community is more "natural" than most. they also eat my plants which is a huge pain but still adds to the "natural" feel.

up to you on that one. if you want to avoid problems dont bother with the crabs.

red claw crab

 

[pica_nuttalli]

bloody thing sure as heck looks like a knife fish! well, i do know some of the knife fish get to be pretty big anyways... still much bigger than what they look in the LFS.



grumblegrumblegrumble...learnsomethingneweveryday...grumblegrumblegrumble

 

[Richie Lucas]

it is a red claw crab that she wants, so do people advise against it?

 

[Paul_MTS]

Yes!!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

in my mind anyways...

• for crabs, a small community tank = lunch buffet.
• for big fish, crabs = adventures in dining.

perhaps just a me-thing. (nasty thing still just looks like a giant knife fish...)

 

[Paul_MTS]

well put pica.

the biggest knife fish is the clown knife i think that can grow to 4ft in the wild.