shovelnose catfish

[Sly]

i currently have a shovelnose catfish with a black arowana and royal pleco in a 300 gallon in wall tank i was wondering does the shovel nose need brackish water

[andyroo]

300 Gal- now that's more like it for your other fish (sharks etc...) too. There are several types sometimes called shovel-nose, most are pure fresh water, maybe a bit on the acidic side (which you'll need for the black aro anyway).
Keep an eye on the shovel- depending on the species it will try to eat anything less then 2/3ds its length, even the surface-living aro (which is an easy-swallowing shape).
Might not be a terrible idea to forward a photo. I love black arowana -had a beauty in Uni- so would love to see it anyway.

How are your sharks and knives doing? Did you get a chance to re-decorate?
A

[Sly]

yes andyroo everything is perfect the knives are in a 75g with the sharks which are now an impressive 8in long the knives are about 7in and i have them with a bushy nose pleco and i recently sold my "blue eyed panaque" pleco thats how i afforded to pay for the 300g tank i will get pics up soon the pet store i work at allows me to purchase personal fish right off the wholesalers thats how i got the black arowana and tiger shovel nose and royal pleco im currently searching for the red/pink arowana they are unbelievably gorgeous the hi fin shark i have is in his own 55g

[andyroo]

I say pop the sharks into the 300 and put the high-fin(s) in the 75. The sharks are pretty low-drama if they've got enough space.
Concentrate on keeping the black aro going (alive) before you go into asians (pink). Neither of these are easy fish to keep. The massive tank will make this easier, but it's still not simple. Both prefer aged-water/tank/system conditions. In theory the tank should be running (with cheep starter fish) for a couple of months before introduction.

For the 75 with hi-fins (though they will out-grow it) think about a little current and some weather loaches. There are a number of interesting choices in cooler-water animals.

A

[Sly]

i traded my iredescent sharks for two african butterfly fish they look god with tha hi fins the black aro is in aged water i got by the buckets from my cousin down the street with his 500g aquarium he is closing his down and using it for and savana monitor in a couple of months and i knew my best bet was to take his already cycled water where he kept a silver aro with some huge plecos and a lima shovel nose ...currently im am going to get new fish in the store since im only 19 and got promoted to supervisor of the fish room im am going to keep the arowana and tiger shovelnose together since the shovelnose is bottom and black aro is top but if i get the chance to trade my black for a pink i will most definetly do it and i am going to try and get more exotics

[andyroo]

Very cool. I'd try to get me a monster tank but the restricted fish list around here keeps me from access to the stuff i'd want to fill it with. Have fun,
A