Spotted Shovelnose Catfish Tank Mates

Spotted Shovelnose Catfish is semi-aggressive, so its tank mates need choosing with care. Here are the 5 freshwater species that pair well with a spotted shovelnose catfish — plus the 245 to avoid — with a live checker you can tune to your own tank.

By The Aquarium DB Team • Updated June 8, 2026 • Full Spotted Shovelnose Catfish care guide →
Best matches

The best tank mates for a spotted shovelnose catfish

  • Yellow-spotted Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 35 cm · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Common Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 45 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Sailfin Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 50 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Elephant-nose Knifefish ✅ Compatible
    Hard care · Peaceful · 35 cm · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
    Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Black Doras Catfish ✅ Compatible
    Hard care · Peaceful · 60 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
With caution

Spotted Shovelnose Catfish tank mates that can work with care

  • Adolf's Cory ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 5.5 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Adolf's Cory, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Agassiz's Corydoras ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 6 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Agassiz's Corydoras, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Altifrons Geophagus ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Altifrons Geophagus can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Angelicus Synodontis ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Angelicus Synodontis can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Assassin Snail ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Assassin Snail, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Axelrod's Cory ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 5 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Axelrod's Cory, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Bandit Corydoras ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 5 cm · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Bandit Corydoras, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Bearded Corydoras ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 10 cm · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may bully the smaller Bearded Corydoras, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.

+ 82 more “with caution” pairings — see the interactive checker above.

Avoid

Fish to avoid keeping with a spotted shovelnose catfish

  • Wels Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 300 cm · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Alligator Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 250 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Redtail Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 120 cm · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Clown Knifefish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Spotted Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Wolf Cichlid ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 72 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Ocellaris Peacock Bass ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 70 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Ocellaris Peacock Bass are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Mbu Puffer ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 67 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Mbu Puffer are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.

+ 237 more to avoid — the checker above flags every one.

Interactive tool

Check any fish against a spotted shovelnose catfish

Dial in your exact tank size and filter by result — the checker scores every species in our database against a spotted shovelnose catfish, with the reasoning for each verdict.

Tank-mate checker

Will it live with a Spotted Shovelnose Catfish?

We compare each fish against your spotted shovelnose catfish on temperament, size, water parameters and swimming zone. Set your tank size and filter the results.

  • Black Doras Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 60 cm · Hard care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Common Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 45 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Elephant-nose Knifefish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 35 cm · Hard care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
    • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Sailfin Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 50 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Yellow-spotted Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 35 cm · Medium care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Bichir⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 45 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Black Ghost Knifefish⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 45 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Butter Catfish⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 45 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~680 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Loach⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 30 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
    • Watch for Spotted Shovelnose Catfish picking off any clown loach small enough to fit in its mouth.
  • Fire Eel⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Giant Gourami⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 70 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Giant Gourami can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Golden Sailfin Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 45 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Golden Sailfin Pleco can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Goldfish⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 30 cm · Medium care · 18–22 °C (64–72 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Goldfish — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
    • Watch for Spotted Shovelnose Catfish picking off any goldfish small enough to fit in its mouth.
  • Imperial Flower Loach⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 50 cm · Hard care · 15–22 °C (59–72 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Koi⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 90 cm · Medium care · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~3800 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Lima Shovelnose Catfish⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 50 cm · Hard care · 23–30 °C (73–86 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Lyre Tail Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 63 cm · Hard care · 21–27 °C (70–81 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~1500 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Nile Bichir⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 70 cm · Medium care · 25–28 °C (77–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Nile Bichir can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Orinoco Sailfin Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 50 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Orinoco Sailfin Pleco can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Royal Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 43 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • True Parrot Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 33 cm · Hard care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and True Parrot Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish may hunt True Parrot Cichlid, fry or shrimplets — safest in a heavily planted tank.
  • Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
    • Alligator Gar may bully the smaller Spotted Shovelnose Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Mbu Puffer⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 67 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Mbu Puffer are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~757 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Ocellaris Peacock Bass⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 70 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Ocellaris Peacock Bass are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
    • Wels Catfish may bully the smaller Spotted Shovelnose Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
    Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Spotted Shovelnose Catfish and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Your 570 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.

Setting up a spotted shovelnose catfish community tank

Give the group a stable, planted 570 L+ tank with a gentle filter, a reliable heater and plenty of cover — broken sight lines and hiding spots let mid-water and bottom dwellers keep out of each other's way. Cycle it fully and stock gradually.

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How to choose

How to choose the right tank mates for a spotted shovelnose catfish

Being semi-aggressive, spotted shovelnose catfish can nip or harass smaller, slower or long-finned fish — give it space, broken sight-lines and similarly robust companions. It mostly occupies the bottom of the tank, so it pairs naturally with species that use the other levels.

Spotted Shovelnose Catfish grows to about 55 cm, so avoid tank mates small enough to be seen as food — as a rule of thumb, skip anything under roughly 28 cm. Match its water, too: aim for 22–28 °C (72–82 °F), pH 6–7.5 and 2–12 dGH. Fish needing very different conditions — coldwater species, or hard-water lovers against a soft-water fish — rarely thrive side by side.

Spotted Shovelnose Catfish doesn't need its own kind to feel secure; think twice before keeping more than one if it is territorial. Whatever you add, introduce new fish slowly, watch for bullying in the first days, and have a backup plan if temperaments clash.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a spotted shovelnose catfish live with other fish?

Yes — with the right companions. Our checker finds 5 compatible freshwater species for spotted shovelnose catfish. Pick calm, similarly-sized fish that share its water needs and add them to a mature, well-planted tank.

What is the best tank mate for a spotted shovelnose catfish?

Easy, peaceful, similarly-sized species top the list — for example Yellow-spotted Pleco, Common Pleco, Sailfin Pleco. Use the checker above to match against your own tank size.

What fish should you avoid keeping with a spotted shovelnose catfish?

Avoid Wels Catfish, Alligator Gar, Redtail Catfish and similar — usually a temperature, size or temperament clash. The full "avoid" list below gives the reason for each.

How big a tank do spotted shovelnose catfish tank mates need?

Start from Spotted Shovelnose Catfish's own minimum and scale up with every addition. The checker above defaults to a 570 L community tank and flags pairings that need more room — drag the slider to match your setup.

← Back to the full Spotted Shovelnose Catfish care guide