Can I keep an adult giant bumblebee catfish with an adult oscar?

[CaptainS]

Hey guys I was wondering if I can keep a adult giant bumblebee catfish/pseudopimelodus bufonius with a adult tiger oscar together and if so what aquarium size would I need im thinking of buying a big sized aquarium off craigslist?

 

[mikem691]

A 10 inch cat with a 12+ inch Oscar. I would guess you would need a 150 min.

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[CaptainS]

Hmm im probably going to get a bigger aquarium than that because I found some complete setups with larger aquariums for good prices like a 320 gallon,a 425 gallon,and a 500 gallon aquarium so do you think I could also add a adult ompok bimaculatus and a giant gourami or red tail giant gourami to add since these are bigger setups I would like to get?

 

[mikem691]

Hmm im probably going to get a bigger aquarium than that because I found some complete setups with larger aquariums for good prices like a 320 gallon,a 425 gallon,and a 500 gallon aquarium so do you think I could also add a adult ompok bimaculatus and a giant gourami or red tail giant gourami to add since these are bigger setups I would like to get?

You are getting out of my knowledgeable area with those fish and tank size. I would suggest posting in the cichlid section.

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[PassengerTN]

You'll need atleast a 500 for giant gouramis. Butter Catfish (ompok) stay small around 18". You could do an Oscar and bumblebee cat in a 120 just fine. If you're looking to get a massive tank as a 500g I would suggest some big new world cichlids. Umbee, Dovii, Festae, Uaru, Jags and the like. Or Pacus, gars, peacock bass etc.


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[CaptainS]

Ya I was originally thinking pacus but dont they need a 1000 gallon aquarium or more but ya I think I will get a 500 gallon aquarium and get a giant gourami,butter catfish,giant bumblebee catfish, and tiger oscar all adults one day I want a huge aquarium with these fish plus a sailfin pleco,ornate pimelodus catfish,brown bullhead catfish, and a vulture catfish but for now I will get a 500 gallon aquarium.

 

[sinibotia]

I recommend the site "monster fishkeepers".... am I allowed to do that? Forgive me mods!

Seriously though it's a whole forum dedicated to gigantic fish, so I bet nearly everyone will be able to help you. You'd probably get much more concentrated and experienced advice there. (No offense to those here with monster fish experience)

 

[CaptainS]

I actually have been a member for awhile but alot of members are kind of mean and dont want to give their help to me for some reason and if you ask to many questions they ignore you.

 

[mikem691]

I recommend the site "monster fishkeepers".... am I allowed to do that? Forgive me mods!

Seriously though it's a whole forum dedicated to gigantic fish, so I bet nearly everyone will be able to help you. You'd probably get much more concentrated and experienced advice there. (No offense to those here with monster fish experience)

I agree on MFK I hang there quite a bit lately.

 

[sinibotia]

I agree on MFK I hang there quite a bit lately.

I was on a lot there way back when I was on my freshwater stingray kick. So glad I decided against getting them It's a great forum, pretty active, I just don't have anything close to a "monster" tank so I haven't been on since I set up my 150 way back.

 

[CaptainS]

Ya its a pretty cool forum but do you guys think I could make a giant gourami,ompok catfish,giant bumblebee catfish and tiger oscar work in a 500 gallon aquarium?

 

[CaptainS]

Oh do you guys think a brown bullhead catfish would be a good replacement for the ompok catfish for the 500 gallon aquarium and what size aquarium do brown bullheads need?

 

[PassengerTN]

Brown bullheads don't get much larger than the butters. 21" give or take. Any catfish that size really needs LENGTH to swim and WIDTH to comfortably turn in the tank. Where as Giant G's need depth along with the aforementioned. People house big Oscars and Giant G's together, but some don't recommend it, as they can and likely will fight. I noticed you said something about Ornate Pim's too. They're smallish around 10". Vulture cats can rip chunks of meat off a fish if it can't swallow it whole, and can shred fish if it wants to.

My suggestion is to first acquire a monster tank, then pick your showcase fish (giant gourami or whatever you pick) and then pick a bottom feeder or two afterwards. PlanetCatfish has any and all information you'll need for different catfish species.

Since you seem to like predatory cats, and I do too, here's my newest acquisition. 3.5" baby Pseudoplatystoma Tigrinum

 

[CaptainS]

Thanks hensleyjk I really do like predatory catfish so ive been thinking and I want to know can I keep a brown bullhead and gg in a 500 gallon aquarium if so thats what ill keep in that size and I would like to keep a tiger oscar,giant bumblebee catfish,and ompok catfish in a seperate 300 gallon aquarium do you think this will work?

 

[PassengerTN]

You could probably keep the oscar and other two cats in a 150 or 180. Tank size is isn't my exact specialty so to speak. People keep single adult O's in 75s without issue. 125 for pairs


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[CaptainS]

Thanks but what about the 500 gallon with the giant gourami and bullhead catfish can you make an esitimate if thats big enough or to small?

 

[Gillie]

They say 200 gallons is the bare minimum for 1 adult O. goramy IME with interacting with a 30" adult they should be in something much larger, like 500 gallons minimum.

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[CaptainS]

Ok thanks but what tank size would I need if I add a adult brown bullhead with the giant gourami could that still work with a 500 gallon aquarium or would I need something like a 600 gallon aquarium?

 

[PassengerTN]

Actually they say a 55g is minimum size for a single adult O and 75 for an adult pair minimum. I personally recommend 75 for singles and a six foot 125 for pairs. Not so much because of space (which is also important) but more because of the amount of water held. Oscars are notoriously messy, so the more water volume, the less issues you'll have with nitrates/nitrites.

As far as giant gourami go, you could cram one into a 7 foot tank (200g) if you wanted to but a 25-28" Giant G would occupy nearly half that space given little room to swim. I personally would never keep giant gouramis unless I could provide AT LEAST a 10 foot long tank that's 4 foot wide or better. This would be giving a 25" gourami 4 times the lengths of its body to swim, and just under 2 times it's length to turn. So let's say you do a 120" long, 36" tall, 48" wide aquarium. That's just under 900 gallons which is a phenomenal size. 10x4x3ft. Exact gallons for a fish this size isn't the issue, it's the swim space that it really needs. Life long keeping of a giant gourami isn't for someone without deep pockets IMO.


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[CaptainS]

Thanks hensleyjk I just discovered a catfish species that a website said could be kept giant gouramis its called the wide head catfish/clarotes laticeps and I was just wondering what size they get in captivity,can they really be kept with giant gouramis, and could I keep them in a 900-1000 gallon aquarium?