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Most Important things when keeping Bullheads?

Started by Guest_AttackandDestroy_* , Jan 21 2008 07:29 PM

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22 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_AttackandDestroy_*

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Posted 21 January 2008 - 07:29 PM

Hey Everybody!

Just joined and Im setting up a bullhead catfish tank and pretty much have everything planned out. (75G, Eheim Professional 2 filter, Lots of driftwood and fake plants). I just wanted to ask the people on here that have long time experience keeping bullheads what the most important things to do, and remember when keeping these awesome cats! Thanks alot! Attack&Destroy. :twisted:

#2 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 21 January 2008 - 07:35 PM

Don't keep them with anything you do not want to become food....

#3 Guest_truf_*

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Posted 21 January 2008 - 07:40 PM

Welcome A&D!
Please add your location information to your profile....Everyone likes to see who's new in the neighborhood.
-Thom

#4 Guest_butch_*

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Posted 21 January 2008 - 09:29 PM

Don't mixed yellow bullheads with other bullheads. Keep all bullheads with same size or else you will find your fat biggest bullhead and no smaller bullheads in morning. Then that's it. They are not picky eaters.

#5 Guest_sandtiger_*

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Posted 21 January 2008 - 09:53 PM

You'll only be able to stock a couple, or a few depending on the species. Even the smallest bullheads can still reach 10" so in a 75g it will be difficult to maintain decent water quality and space for multiple bullheads. They can also be territorial and fight with eatchother so make sure you have plenty of places to hide. Other then that there isen't much to em, easy fish to keep. They'll eat just about anything. Dim lighting would be a good idea if you want them to be active during the day.

#6 Guest_viridari_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 06:16 AM

Also plan on weighing down the lid to their tank. They tend to be very tactile explorers and sometimes that means they check out the lid to their tank. It's not that they're trying to escape or anything but I have seen over the years a couple of big catfish get severely lacerated when they bring the glass canopy down into the tank with them (thankfully none of my own but at the LFS that I used to work at).

#7 Guest_BullHeadsrdfish_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 11:24 AM

Welcome to the Forum AttackandDestory!

It is nice to see someone else interested in Bullheads. I keep Bullheads and they are my fav. fish.
Filtration for the tank sounds good, the Bullhead will love the driftwood. One thing about the fake plants, the Bullhead will root around and disturb them all, I have never succeded in keeping fake plants "planted" for more than a few days with Bullheads.
A 75gal is on the small side for a Bullhead, but as long as you keep up with water changes I think it would work.
What species of Bullhead do you want? How many Bullheads are you planning on getting?
Are you planning on having other fish in the tank?

#8 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 01:02 PM

Black, brown, and yellow bullheads get to 20"+ so a 75 might get crowded. Don't overstock unless you are willing to cull the herd. If you can get them, spotted bullheads tend to be smaller. In my experience (keeping blacks mostly), once they reach a certain size, some individuals tend to get mean and territorial, to the point of not tolerating any tankmates. I always attribute this to males reaching sexual maturity.

#9 Guest_AttackandDestroy_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 07:40 PM

Wow! Thanks alot for all the feedback guys. Im 99% sure that they will be brown bullheads. And I wanted to have 4 or 5 babies in the tank and take some out as they get bigger. I have no problem having one healthy, fully grown bullhead in the end. I think that would be really cool. I think I will only grab 2 or 3 and just let them have lots of space and not have to worry that they will destroy my water. Also, Im not entirely sure what to do with all the media in my Eheim. It was last used on my red-belly piranha tank where towards the end the water quality was less than perfect and some died. Do I get all new media? or just rinse it in dechlorinated, safe water and let it run for the cylce? Any help is greatly appreciated! you guys are the best, Attack&Destroy.

Oh and I dont plan to keep them with anyother fish, cept rosy reds. :twisted:

#10 Guest_BullHeadsrdfish_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 10:00 PM

I think that as long as you can adequately clean the filter media and maybe set it out in the sun for a day, that it would be fine. You didnt have any parasites problems with the piranhas did you? A single Brown Bullhead will be very happy in a 75gal, especially with Rosy Reds!

#11 Guest_sandtiger_*

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 10:24 PM

If the pirahna died from an illness or you think they did then I would clean the equipment and re-cycle the tank. Brown bullheads are nice but they do grow fast, make sure you have a place for the others to go when they get larger. Don't release them back into the wild.

#12 Guest_AttackandDestroy_*

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Posted 23 January 2008 - 06:38 PM

No, I dont think they had any disease. I just couldent keep up with the water changes when I started working fulltime and started using shortcuts like those drop-in dissolving tablets that get rid of ammonia. I think those killed them. So its ok to wash the media under a tap? :neutral:

#13 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 23 January 2008 - 06:42 PM

No, I dont think they had any disease. I just couldent keep up with the water changes when I started working fulltime and started using shortcuts like those drop-in dissolving tablets that get rid of ammonia. I think those killed them. So its ok to wash the media under a tap?

If there is any beneficial bacteria still alive in the filter, washing it under tapwater will finish it off. Better to wash in dechlorinated water.

#14 Guest_ChannelCat2008_*

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Posted 23 March 2008 - 12:51 PM

I just got a 9 inch Brown Bullhead, and my Channel Cat isn't taking it to well that there is a newcomer in the tank. The Channel Cat is a lot skinnier than the Bullhead in girth and the Channel Cat is following him everywhere and giving him body butts and head butts and the Bullhead just swims around.

Is this normal?? Most people told me that the Bullhead might beat up the Channel, but it seems like the other way around.

Are Channel Cats known for aggression???

The Channel Cat has his own hiding spot, and the Bullhead is not violating that territory....

Hmm....

Edited by ChannelCat2008, 23 March 2008 - 12:54 PM.

#15 Guest_ChannelCat2008_*

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Posted 24 March 2008 - 08:39 AM

I just got a 9 inch Brown Bullhead, and my Channel Cat isn't taking it to well that there is a newcomer in the tank. The Channel Cat is a lot skinnier than the Bullhead in girth and the Channel Cat is following him everywhere and giving him body butts and head butts and the Bullhead just swims around.

Is this normal?? Most people told me that the Bullhead might beat up the Channel, but it seems like the other way around.

Are Channel Cats known for aggression???

The Channel Cat has his own hiding spot, and the Bullhead is not violating that territory....

Hmm....

Well in any case they are getting along now.....Im not sure what happened over night but they made some sort of compromise.

#16 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 24 March 2008 - 09:58 AM

Sometimes fish just like to figure out what the newcomer will do. Catfish curiosity can be rough.

I'm glad to hear that they are getting along now!

#17 Guest_ChannelCat2008_*

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Posted 24 March 2008 - 02:55 PM

Sometimes fish just like to figure out what the newcomer will do. Catfish curiosity can be rough.

I'm glad to hear that they are getting along now!

I spoke to soon, the Channel Cat started to pound him in the sides with his strong mouth and the Bullhead would run away frantically. I gave up the Bullhead to a friend with a bigger tank. Thankfully he took him

I dont know.....My Channel Cat is greedy. He wants to be the only cat in the tank.

I punished him by buying a crayfish who now occupies his hiding spot inside a log. Everytime he goes near it the crayfish spooks him out. lol

#18 Guest_redfinpickerel_*

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 01:36 PM

since this forum has lots of experianced bullhead raisers, has anyone ever got them to reproduce in captivity?And if you have, how did you get them to, and how did the fry do?

#19 Guest_redfinpickerel_*

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 01:44 PM

What size of tank should a person get for a few small brown bullheads and what other fish should i raise them with?

#20 Guest_amarinello489_*

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 03:08 PM

I'm new and stumbled upon this thread while looking up how to keep bullheads. What do you guys think of keeping a brown bullhead with an american eel?