The Australian native Tandanus catfish is a fun little fish you can keep in your pond or aquarium, and with relative ease since they’re fairly beginner-friendly. Here are a few tips on how to care for Australian native Tandanus catfish:
Quick Rundown of the Australian Tandanus Catfish
The Australian Tandanus catfish is indeed native to Australia, particularly the eastern river system of the Murray and Darling rivers. This makes them a freshwater species, one that’s adept at swimming in slow-moving currents and streams, and they prefer to stay at the bottom.
We don’t know exactly what their name means, but it is known that Tandan is originally an Australian Aboriginal word. It’s commonly called a tandan or an eel-tailed catfish, thanks to its long, flowing tail that is fairly similar to that of an eel’s.
Their colours range from olive-green to black, brown, or even a purple colour, but they’re often white on the underside.They tend to grow up to around 50-60cm, although they may grow even larger (80cm, but this is quite rare). Small Tandanus catfish are usually around 7-9cm, whereas large Tandanus catfish are around 25-30cm.
The Tandanus catfish is unfortunately nearly extinct in many areas of New South Wales today, and their numbers have dropped significantly since the 1980s, so caring for a few of these lovely little fish is a great thing to do.
They like to live in waters that are fairly stable, ideally around 18–24°C. Try to make sure the tank is reasonably clean and that the waters are kept fairly stable. These big boys are pretty tough, but they won’t like instability very much!
How to Care for Australian Native Tandanus Catfish
Raising tandans is not particularly hard, compared to many other species. It’s a reasonable fish for beginners to purchase and raise, although please make sure that your aquarium or pond is reasonably large enough for them.
A 500 L aquarium tank or large pond should be plenty enough to raise a few of these colourful lads. Make sure you use a little bit of vegetation and shelter at the bottom where they dwell, and try to stick to fine rather than coarse base layers like sand so that they don’t hurt themselves.
One big thing to keep in mind with tandans is that they eat quite a bit. They’re carnivorous and will feast on just about anything, including pellets, live food, frozen food, and more. In their natural habitat they’ll feast on shrimp and insects, basically whatever floats down to the bottom will be their next meal.
This also means that they excrete a significant amount of waste, and since they’re almost always slinking around at the bottom you’ll have to keep the tank well-filtered and clean.
In terms of flatmates, they tend to get along quite well with other catfish but they do like a little bit of privacy and living space to themselves. They don’t do well with more aggressive species, however, so be mindful about mixing and matching with fighting fish.
When handling tandans, be extra careful because their fins are quite sharp and can cause bleeding. They’re tough and rugged, so handle them with care.
Zen Aquarium
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