Channel cats and gar?

[bowjo]

My son has a new aquarium.We are getting ready to start over because the fish got ich and died.He definitely wants channel catfish.He also wants a gar.Will these fish be all right together since they are both predators?What other fish might be alright with these?One more question should I get a test fish first to see if I have got rid of the Ich?I've treated the tank twice since the fish kill.......Thank you Joe

[astroguy]

A gar?? 80 How large is the tank? My suspicion is that it is not very large. A gar seems way out of question, it grows to several feet! The same applies to a channel catfish who grows up to 12"!

Could you provide the specs of the tank? We can then recommend the kind of fishes that will fit in it. I understand that you would like to make your son happy, but you have to be strong if the fishes do not fit into the tank. I mean, try putting a cat into a mouse's house!

For ich: how did you treat?

Hope I was not too rude

[RogerMcAllen]

12" is a channel cat after a year, 2 tops. Think more like 28". Try researching some synodos cats, you should be able to find something that will get an acceptable size. www.planetcatfish.com is always a great site for catfish info.

[astroguy]

yes, indeed, sorry. I misread the website that mentioned 12". It is a size when they reach maturity, but they can grow larger as Roger mentions.

[bowjo]

The tank is 30 gallons.I treated the Ich with Nox-Ich given to me at the aquarium shop.I don't know if the Ich or the treatment killed the fish.

[astroguy]

With 30 gallons you can put a certain amount of fishes. It is up 2 you to decide if you want a community tank (e.g., corys, tetras, zebra loaches), or a species tank (e.g., all cichlid, all brackish, etc). The gar and channel catfish do not fit into the tank. Maybe you can get them as babies, but what are you going to do when they grow large? It's like for a dog: you cannot give them back when they are not puppies anymore.

I am not familiar with Nox-Ich. If you want to make sure that ich is gone in your tank, put the heater at 86-87 deg F for 2 weeks.

If you have no fish anymore in the tank, you may need to cycle it again, unless you had kept up with giving nutrients or still have fishes.

Good luck

[bowjo]

I don't have any fish in the tank.I have the temp up to 83.There are a couple live plants in it.

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees*

Unless you are willing to purchase a 500g tank (and have a place to put it [acronym:7a940dee8e="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:7a940dee8e]) forget the gar and the channel cat; those puppies need a LOT of room. Channel cats top out around 50 inches (over 4 feet long) and almost 60 lbs; depending on the type of gar, you may get a fish that tops out at 50 lbs and 79 inches (over 6 feet long). A 30g just isn't appropriate.

Also, if you go for the right size tank, those will be the only 2 fish in it; they will both eat anything that will fit into their mouths, especially tankmates.

[AdamsZoological]

Exactly, a 30 [acronym:13da783bc9="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:13da783bc9] isnt anywhere near on the same level of what those fish need, both of them, as Allivymar said, get absolutely enormous. They're both examples of fish that your average [acronym:13da783bc9="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:13da783bc9] should not be selling, because very very few people have the accomidations required for either of those fish. The closest I've ever seen to someone having them in a suitable tank, was a tank in someone's basement, which was I believe 650 gallons, with two adult Blue Channels in there, and they were pretty cramped, even in that size of a tank, I think you should start looking at some smaller catfish for that 30 [acronym:13da783bc9="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:13da783bc9].

[evman333]

good luck with your tank i know ick is no fun