Freshwater Fish Profile: Lima Shovelnose Catfish (Sorubim Lima)

[AquaAlex1993]

This week’s freshwater fish profile is on a catfish that I really enjoy and love!! It’s a catfish that is in a family that typically has giant monster sized catfish such as Red Tail Catfish, Tiger Shovelnose catfish and other large growing catfish from South America. The Lima Shovelnose is one of my favorite South American catfish, nice body shape that resembles a hockey stick and they grow to a decent manageable size. I will talk about their manageable sizes and their family of other South American Catfish Pimelodidae.
Looking for a catfish that can live in your large community aquarium? Looking for an oddball type catfish? Want an active catfish with a unique shape to swim in your aquarium? Consider the Lima Shovelnose catfish! Now, let me discuss the Lima Shovelnose with all of you.


Lima Shovelnose Catfish (Sorubim Lima)
Common Names: Lima Shovelnose, Duckbill Catfish, Duck-beak catfish, Common Shovelnose catfish, Shovelnose catfish
Scientific Name: Sorubim Lima
Family: Pimelodidae , Lima Shovelnose catfish are in the same family as other common aquarium pim catfish such as Red Tailed Catfish, tiger shovel nose catfish, pictus catfish, and four lined pictus among others.
Genus: Sorubim
Natural Habitat: Lima Shovel nose catfish live all over the Amazon. They are found in Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Orinoco and more! They have been collected from both open, flowing sections of rivers/tributaries and quieter habitats such as floodplain lakes and oxbows but mostly inhabits cloudy turbid white water rivers. Juveniles often form aggregations around thickets of grasses and reeds or among submerged woody structures such as tree roots.
Full Grown Size: Lima shovel nose have a size range of 12-18’’ in the aquarium hobby. In the wild, some can reach 20’’ but the average size in the aquarium hobby is anywhere from 12-18’’. They are more manageable than the Tiger Shovel nose which can reach several feet.
Tank Size: Unlike the Tiger Shovel Nose, a Lima Shovel Nose does not require a 500 to a 1,000 gallon aquarium although they’d love the space!!!!

With them growing to over 1’, I personally recommend 90 gallons and up. Ideally, a 6’ 125 to 220 gallon aquarium would be perfect for 1 or 2.
Maintenance: Lima Shovel nose catfish by nature are nocturnal which means they are the most active at night. You will need to provide your Lima Shovel Nose catfish plenty of hiding spaces in order for it to feel secure. You can use driftwood caves, rock formation caves, or even plastic plants or real plants. Just to give them something to hide in in case they get stressed out. Over filtration is recommended for any fish that grows over a foot. Provide oxygen in the water with the help of a wave maker or airstone (in my personal opinion, ditch the air stones and save them for a small aquarium, wave makers are the way to go in a large aquarium). While Lima shovel nose catfish are quite hardy, they need clean water. I recommend doing 2 water changes a week,
Water Conditions: Temperature 74-86 DEGREES F, P.H. 6.0-7.5
Diet: Like all South American catfish, Lima shovel nose catfish are not hard to feed at all. They will eat everything pretty much including the kitchen sink! By nature they are carnivorous, which means they love meat! I recommend that you provide a diet that will consist of shrimp, chopped up pieces of fish such as Cod and Flounder and I highly recommend that you incorporate earthworms into their diet as it provides a lot of nutrition for them. Pellet foods that are high in meat may also be used, but not all Lima shovel nose catfish will accept pellets. But, once established in the aquarium they may accept pretty much anything. I should forewarn you that feeding Live feeder goldfish is something I tell people NOT to do! Goldfish provide no nutritional value to any fish. Some of the lipids contained in feeder goldfish cannot be properly metabolized by the fish, and can cause excess deposits of fat and even organ degeneration. Similarly there is no benefit in the use of ‘feeder’ fish such as livebearers or small goldfish which carry with them the risk of parasites or diseases. If you must experience a Live Feeding for your Lima shovel nose, breed and raise your own livebearers, gut feed them with quality food and make sure they are healthy.
Tankmates: AVOID ANYTHING THAT IS SO SMALL IT CAN BE EATEN! Don’t even consider a Lima Shovel Nose catfish if you have small fish. Besides the fact that they will eat any fish that can fit in their mouths , they are actually quite peaceful. Keep them with bigger fish. Good tankmates include: Myleus, Metynnis silver dollar species, SemaProchilodus flag tails, other larger characins, cichlids such as Chocolate cichlids, angelfish, severums, other catfish such as pictus cats and medium to large growing cats, plecos, and more.
Other Information on Lima Shovel Nose Catfish: Did you know that there are 5 different species of Lima shovel nose catfish? Sorubim currently contains five recognized species which are Sorubim Elongatus (slender shovel nose catfish), Sorubim cuspicaudus, Sorubim Lima, Sorubim maniradii,and Sorubim Trigonocephalus. Check out Planet Catfish for pictures of the different species!
Aqua Alex’s Final Information on Lima Shovel Nose Catfish:
Lima Shovel Nose catfish are one of the best medium to large growing catfish available in the aquarium hobby. They grow WAY smaller than Tiger shovel nose and red tailed catfish. Don’t get me wrong, I love those catfish too, but let’s face it they don’t belong in the hobby due to their size they reach. Lima Shovel Nose also are one of the only shovel nose species to show off their shovel nose with a hockey stick stance. It is one of the coolest things ever. They are readily available in the aquarium hobby and have a price tag of $15 to $40 depending on the local market.
When you get a new Lima Shovel Nose catfish, do not fret if the Lima Shovel Nose catfish hides and isn’t active for a few days, he is getting used to his surroundings. He will eventually get used to his tank, and become more bold and ready for food. In my personal experience with my lima shovel nose since I have a lot of plastic plants and hiding spots, my lima is very active. I personally recommend supplying plenty of caves for your lima shovel nose.
My last thought: Looking for a medium to large odd ball catfish that has a unique look? Looking for a catfish from South America? The Lima Shovel Nose is the catfish for you. Consider getting one if you don’t have one already.
Lima Shovel Nose catfish are my favorite catfish for a reason it’s because they are a shovel nose I can keep for life.
I hope you will consider adding a Lima shovel nose to your tank if you don’t have one already! If you have any further questions on Lima shovel nose catfish, feel free to ask away!
Thanks and have a nice fish keeping day!
Sincerely,
Aqua Alex Cardinale
Host of Exotic Tropical Fish on AC Network

 

[AG458]

I am considering buying a Lima shovel nose to add to my tank. However, the store I currently buy from only has ones that are larger than all of my fish that I currently have. They cost around $40. I wanted to ask how large my fish should be in order to prevent the Lima from eating them? I'm assuming they're predators in that kind of sense. The ones at the store are around 5"-7".

 

[moe214]

Some of this information is incorrect... I didn't read through the whole thing. But in your section of full size, your recommendations don't make sense and max size you state is false from what I know. And the fish we get in the hobby are elongatus. True limas are rarely ever reported so we assume rarely imported. Max size should be 2'. Recommend minimum tank size should be 72x30" for a foot print. Some people would even say larger. I'm giving minimum as in no decor, cause they're not flexible. Though eye likely appreciate decor. You recommending an 18" wide tank for a fish that you're saying maxes at 18" in captivity isn't recommended and some may say cruel. That's without pointing out they grow larger than 18".

 

[AquaAlex1993]

I am considering buying a Lima shovel nose to add to my tank. However, the store I currently buy from only has ones that are larger than all of my fish that I currently have. They cost around $40. I wanted to ask how large my fish should be in order to prevent the Lima from eating them? I'm assuming they're predators in that kind of sense. The ones at the store are around 5"-7".

The fish should be about the same size as lima shovelnose or bigger.

Some of this information is incorrect... I didn't read through the whole thing. But in your section of full size, your recommendations don't make sense and max size you state is false from what I know. And the fish we get in the hobby are elongatus. True limas are rarely ever reported so we assume rarely imported. Max size should be 2'. Recommend minimum tank size should be 72x30" for a foot print. Some people would even say larger. I'm giving minimum as in no decor, cause they're not flexible. Though eye likely appreciate decor. You recommending an 18" wide tank for a fish that you're saying maxes at 18" in captivity isn't recommended and some may say cruel. That's without pointing out they grow larger than 18".

According to Planet catfish, they grow up to a foot. But I know better than that. I would say that 12-20'' is a proper estimate. I stated that Limas should be kept in a 90 gallon or larger and I even said a 6' tank is ideal. Everyone has a different opinion but one thing is for sure lima shovel nose don't get any where near as big as tsn and rtc.
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=697

 

[moe214]

According to pcf apurensis grow 1'. Don't know if they changed that yet but it's been a few months it feels like since JL finally offered a 2' specimen next to a measuring tape. And there's been specimens up to 30" reported in the hobby many times. They make mistakes far and few between but can't trust everything you read. True limas grow double of what we get which is elongatus. Maybe you're reading the wrong species profile. I don't really resort to pcf so I can't say if they have anything right or wrong. A 90 gallon is 18" wide. Not fair to the fish. That's all I'm getting at but you are right, you're opinion.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Wonderful write-up. Thanks, Alex.

I'll contribute my little write up too, where I focus on the ID issue of Sorubim lima versus Sorubim elongatus.

I concede that you may be right that our "LSN" that max out at 1' may be either runts or rather that they are all / mostly indeed true lima (not elongatus) but merely don't grow over 1' in captivity, in our care.

However, IDK if we can state that. IMHO, currently, your thought is as fair as mine. I mean 99.99% of our "LSN" max out at 1' because either

-- they are true lima but captivity limits their growth (there are plenty fish like that)

or

-- they are elongatus and not true lima.

*******************************************************

Here is a small write-up I made on lima/elongatus.


Most important first: Lima maxes out at 2', elongatus at 1'.


Check out this thread which includes a relevant piece from the most recent genus revision: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...elongatus-ID-thread&highlight=trigonocephalus


These are ambush predators that float with minimal motion ~ vertically head down among vegetation or debris pretending to be a twig or a plant and wait for a suitable prey to come by close enough.


Young Sorubim species like the company of each other and usually, with enough of them, would do the head standing together, which is an unusual and cute sight. Adults are said to largely lose the gregarious trait. My eight are ~7" and float like that together parallel to each other in a tight formation half the time at about 45-60 degrees to horizontal.


IME and IMO, the vast majority of people thinking they are buying a Sorubim lima are actually buying a Sorubim elongatus in the US, so chances are great that yours is S. elongatus, which tops out at 1', not 2' as S. lima does. Not once have I seen any Sorubim labeled elongatus. They are all labeled either common snovelnose or lima shovelnose.


They appear quite hard to tell apart from the exterior features for laymen like us: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=30938&hilit=+elongatus (that's one of mine I was trying hard to ID years ago). As you could see, our colleague Back (high level hobbyist) from Finland thinks the position of the mandibular barbels with respect to the gular and other skull features may be telling. I do not remember this approach having been validated by a known respected ichthyologist but I think the latest genus revision justifies this ID approach.


I've never seen a 2' one in person, not even one that'd be longer than 11"-12" TL, while I have owned and seen scores of them. Mine never grew beyond ~11", which makes me assume they were all elongatus but I have not had them long enough to be dead sure. For now, this leads me to believe that most/almost all we have in the US are elongatus. I have seen only 1 or 2 approximately two-footers on the photos originating from the USA here on MFK (here are some pics of an almost fully grown lima: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...e-lima-shovelnose-catfish&highlight=elongatus ) and a few in between 1' and 2'. Our colleagues in Europe say they see 2'-ers sometimes, not as rarely as we do in the US.


The Cat-eLog entry for elongatus http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=697offers kind of soft ID: "...Very generally, Sorubim with spots are usually S. elongatus. (TBTB edit: as opposed to the other 4 species in this genus; this appears mostly true IME with ~20 of these fish.) They are more of a black water species and, as with most such species, tend towards more variable, spotted patterning."


They need not live feedings, unless we are talking earth worms or ghost shrimp, lizards, land frogs, etc. They are small predators that snatch small fish (anything that can fit in their mouth which is relatively and surprisingly big for their slender body structure but not that big compared to other medium and large Pimelodidae catfish), crustaceans, and insects in the wild. I always feed mine frozen/thawed foods - small whole fishes, fish pieces, shrimp/prawn/etc. or shrimp pieces if too large (do not peel; raw is better than cooked), and other sea/aquatic animal foods.


They can be trained to take pellets but the cases where they thrive on pellets are few it appears to me, even on Hikari Massivore pellets. I have never seen them fat and happy on pellets, rather always thin and slow-growing. Anyone, correct me, please, if your experience differs. EDIT Dec 2016: my latest batch of 8 has started on cut fish but with time taken to pellets (offered to tank mates) all by themselves and now are taking 50% or more pellets. Doing and growing very well so far. If I recall correctly Necrocanis reported his specimen doing exceptionally well on pellets too.


When very small, mine like freeze-dried and fresh bloodworms, plankton (mini-shrimp-like creatures), etc.


The growth on elongatus is not fast, perhaps 6"-7" in one year starting from ~3". As you see, I think my experience with lima is most likely zero, so IDK how fast they grow. The fact that they reach 2x larger adult size may or may not matter.


Check this excellent link: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/sorubim-lima/ - the info is well written and arranged. In the notes it says: " (TBTB: S. lima is) Distinguished from S. elongatus by having modally 9 pectoral rays; 21 anal-fin rays; 16 gill rakers..." The page does not state the counts for elongatus anywhere. Neither have I found a species page for S. elongatus. Unless I am missing something, I find this odd and not as helpful as it could have been otherwise. All other pointers refer to things that are subjective. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the page and learned a lot.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

According to Planet catfish, they grow up to a foot. But I know better than that. I would say that 12-20'' is a proper estimate. I stated that Limas should be kept in a 90 gallon or larger and I even said a 6' tank is ideal. Everyone has a different opinion but one thing is for sure lima shovel nose don't get any where near as big as tsn and rtc.
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=697

I find this response confusing. Let me clarify:

PCF says lima max is 20" SL (Standard length) = about 22"-23" TL total length (which is measured to the base of the caudal fork, NOT to the tip of the caudal. To the tip would be ~24"-25"). https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=98

Elongatus - 13" SL https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=697

 

[AquaAlex1993]

Wonderful write-up. Thanks, Alex.

I'll contribute my little write up too, where I focus on the ID issue of Sorubim lima versus Sorubim elongatus.

I concede that you may be right that our "LSN" that max out at 1' may be either runts or rather that they are all / mostly indeed true lima (not elongatus) but merely don't grow over 1' in captivity, in our care.

However, IDK if we can state that. IMHO, currently, your thought is as fair as mine. I mean 99.99% of our "LSN" max out at 1' because either

-- they are true lima but captivity limits their growth (there are plenty fish like that)

or

-- they are elongatus and not true lima.

*******************************************************

Here is a small write-up I made on lima/elongatus.


Most important first: Lima maxes out at 2', elongatus at 1'.


Check out this thread which includes a relevant piece from the most recent genus revision: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...elongatus-ID-thread&highlight=trigonocephalus


These are ambush predators that float with minimal motion ~ vertically head down among vegetation or debris pretending to be a twig or a plant and wait for a suitable prey to come by close enough.


Young Sorubim species like the company of each other and usually, with enough of them, would do the head standing together, which is an unusual and cute sight. Adults are said to largely lose the gregarious trait. My eight are ~7" and float like that together parallel to each other in a tight formation half the time at about 45-60 degrees to horizontal.


IME and IMO, the vast majority of people thinking they are buying a Sorubim lima are actually buying a Sorubim elongatus in the US, so chances are great that yours is S. elongatus, which tops out at 1', not 2' as S. lima does. Not once have I seen any Sorubim labeled elongatus. They are all labeled either common snovelnose or lima shovelnose.


They appear quite hard to tell apart from the exterior features for laymen like us: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=30938&hilit=+elongatus (that's one of mine I was trying hard to ID years ago). As you could see, our colleague Back (high level hobbyist) from Finland thinks the position of the mandibular barbels with respect to the gular and other skull features may be telling. I do not remember this approach having been validated by a known respected ichthyologist but I think the latest genus revision justifies this ID approach.


I've never seen a 2' one in person, not even one that'd be longer than 11"-12" TL, while I have owned and seen scores of them. Mine never grew beyond ~11", which makes me assume they were all elongatus but I have not had them long enough to be dead sure. For now, this leads me to believe that most/almost all we have in the US are elongatus. I have seen only 1 or 2 approximately two-footers on the photos originating from the USA here on MFK (here are some pics of an almost fully grown lima: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...e-lima-shovelnose-catfish&highlight=elongatus ) and a few in between 1' and 2'. Our colleagues in Europe say they see 2'-ers sometimes, not as rarely as we do in the US.


The Cat-eLog entry for elongatus http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=697offers kind of soft ID: "...Very generally, Sorubim with spots are usually S. elongatus. (TBTB edit: as opposed to the other 4 species in this genus; this appears mostly true IME with ~20 of these fish.) They are more of a black water species and, as with most such species, tend towards more variable, spotted patterning."


They need not live feedings, unless we are talking earth worms or ghost shrimp, lizards, land frogs, etc. They are small predators that snatch small fish (anything that can fit in their mouth which is relatively and surprisingly big for their slender body structure but not that big compared to other medium and large Pimelodidae catfish), crustaceans, and insects in the wild. I always feed mine frozen/thawed foods - small whole fishes, fish pieces, shrimp/prawn/etc. or shrimp pieces if too large (do not peel; raw is better than cooked), and other sea/aquatic animal foods.


They can be trained to take pellets but the cases where they thrive on pellets are few it appears to me, even on Hikari Massivore pellets. I have never seen them fat and happy on pellets, rather always thin and slow-growing. Anyone, correct me, please, if your experience differs. EDIT Dec 2016: my latest batch of 8 has started on cut fish but with time taken to pellets (offered to tank mates) all by themselves and now are taking 50% or more pellets. Doing and growing very well so far. If I recall correctly Necrocanis reported his specimen doing exceptionally well on pellets too.


When very small, mine like freeze-dried and fresh bloodworms, plankton (mini-shrimp-like creatures), etc.


The growth on elongatus is not fast, perhaps 6"-7" in one year starting from ~3". As you see, I think my experience with lima is most likely zero, so IDK how fast they grow. The fact that they reach 2x larger adult size may or may not matter.


Check this excellent link: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/sorubim-lima/ - the info is well written and arranged. In the notes it says: " (TBTB: S. lima is) Distinguished from S. elongatus by having modally 9 pectoral rays; 21 anal-fin rays; 16 gill rakers..." The page does not state the counts for elongatus anywhere. Neither have I found a species page for S. elongatus. Unless I am missing something, I find this odd and not as helpful as it could have been otherwise. All other pointers refer to things that are subjective. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the page and learned a lot.

Excellent information my friend! Thank you very much! Everyone is going to have different opinions about lima shovelnose but one thing is for sure, they are a gorgeous catfish that is manageable to keep for people with a 6' aquarium. You seem to love South American Catfish. Would you be interested in being a guest to discusss South American catfish on my fish keeping podcast?

I find this response confusing. Let me clarify:

PCF says lima max is 20" SL (Standard length) = about 22"-23" TL total length (which is measured to the base of the caudal fork, NOT to the tip of the caudal. To the tip would be ~24"-25"). https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=98

Elongatus - 13" SL https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=697

Thank you for clarifing for me. My dad and I did have lima shovelnoses before and we managed to get them to 14'' and then they stopped growing. They were in a 180 ( I believe was the correct size).
Here is a picture of one of those limas. One of the best pictures I've taken of a lima.

 

[jaws7777]

Nice cat write up alex but i agree with moe as its really not a matter of opinion if x fish gets 12 or 18 inches it shouldnt be kept in a 12 or 18 inch wide tank.

 

[AquaAlex1993]

Nice cat write up alex but i agree with moe as its really not a matter of opinion if x fish gets 12 or 18 inches it shouldnt be kept in a 12 or 18 inch wide tank.

Thank you. I can understand that, but I did say I recommend 90 gallons and up. I think I also pointed out 6' is better. I understand the train of thought. I myself am keeping my lima in a 6' tank so he will be happy. I will edit out the 90 gallon part since it does bring up a good point.