Ideas Please

[Fish]

Now my tank seems to be going well but today in my LFS I saw a Pictus and it was pretty big so now I'm thinking should I trade in my 3 Pictus for fishes that are more suited to my tank?

If I did I was thinking of having more plants, a few schools of small fish up top and some small cats below like the Smaller whiptails (any others to recommend?)

OR should I just stick with them and see how it goes?

What are your opinions?

(I know I know, 'I told you so' )

[MatsP]

Well, you are the owner of your tank.

Yes, Pictus cats get to about 15cm/6" in length, and they like a fairly big tank as they are fairly active fish.

The suggestion to have some smaller fish in the tank is of course a good plan.

--
Mats

[Fish]

Hmm.

Another question is that I saw these 'banded sucker mouth catfish' they seem to be quite common but does anyone know the proper name? They are a brownish colour with black stripes.

[MatsP]

Could be quite a few things, I'm afraid. Something like

Peckoltia vittata

perhaps?

--
Mats

[Fish]

No, the shape was similar to the pictus. It had a white belly too

[hydrophyte]

Yes I was surprised to learn that pictus cats grow so large. I saw a fish that one guy had that must have been at least 7".

I like my Synodontis lucipinnis a lot.

[RickE]

Another Pim maybe? How about

Pimelodus ornatus

?

[MatsP]

No, the shape was similar to the pictus. It had a white belly too

Suckermouth doesn't usually have this shape...

--
Mats

[Fish]

Nope not the Pim above. It's definitely a sucker mouth as they were all stuck to the glass like the pit bull plecs, It's similar shape to the pictus but not exactly the same.

[Fish]

I like my Synodontis lucipinnis a lot.

They look interesting, how would they do in my tank?

[L number Banana]

Nope not the Pim above. It's definitely a sucker mouth as they were all stuck to the glass like the pit bull plecs, It's similar shape to the pictus but not exactly the same.

Maybe a type of

Otocinclus vittatus

?
If that's them, wonderful little fellas and like to be in groups. Stay small too

[Richard B]

i thik you really need to get a pic or at least the name from the shop for us to confirm ID/advise you on what sucker it is - this is a big family with species that reach one inch to over 3 feet.

I think trading in the pictus would be a good move.

S.Lucipinnis can go in a community tank, but would prefer a tank with hard, alkaline water with rockwork & ideally in groups of 4 or more.

[Fish]

Nope it's not Otocinclus vittatus but next time I go I'll try and get a picture. About the S.Lucipinnis, if I were to change my bog wood for some rock work would I be able to have them as bottom dwellers then some smaller groups of schooling fish above?

Thanks for the help so far

[Fish]

It looks similar to this: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=850

[Richard B]

It looks similar to this: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=850

& it was sucking on the glass? Perhaps it was not a catfish but a loach ot garra?

[MatsP]

I completely agree with Richard - it's unlikely to be a "sucker mouth catfish" if it looks similar to that. I'm not aware of ANY catfish that looks like that and have a suckermouth. Are you sure that you saw the right fish/label. If it was a MA branch, the labels are quite often moved about (usually by kids) and the label for one tank is by something completely different. It is of course also possible that there is another fish in the tank that is hiding, or that the fish is mislabeled.

--
Mats

[Marc van Arc]

Garra flavatra I reckon.

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=h ... X%26um%3D1

[Fish]

Garra flavatra I reckon.

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=h ... X%26um%3D1

Yep that's the one!

[MatsP]

If that is really the fish labeled as a "Suckermouth catfish", the shop isn't much worth as a shop for catfish. But as I stated earlier, it's entirely possible that the fish you SAW and the label do not belong together, but that there is some catfish hiding under a rock/piece of wood/etc in the tank as well.

--
Mats

[Marc van Arc]

Garra flavatra I reckon.

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=h ... X%26um%3D1

Yep that's the one!

I don't keep these myself, but according to Sidguppy (and the pictures on the net) this is one brilliant fish. It already looks nice in the pictures that go with the link, but also the fins become red.
No catfish indeed, yet an asset to any tank! A bit pricey over here though.....

[Fish]

It was labelled 'banded suckermouth' and they were in a few tanks with the same label

[MatsP]

But not "catfish", I suppose - yes, Garra may well go under that name.

--
Mats

[Fish]

Nope it didn't say catfish (I must have some how added that my self )

I prefer the S.Lucipinnis though but I don't know how hard they are to get hold of where as the Garra are quite common?

[MatsP]

S. lucipinnis is available, but if you want mature ones, expect to pay a decent amount. In my local (Farnham) Maidenhead Aquatics, they used to have a group of

Synodontis petricola

, but when I took Richard B there, he said there was a mixture of species there. Most S. lucipinnis will be for sale as S. petricola "dwarf" as the name S. lucipinnis was introduced late 2007.

--
Mats

[Fish]

I'll ask my LFS if he can get some in but I'm definitely not going back to Maidenhead Aquatics again, not the way they treated me

[MatsP]

I'll ask my LFS if he can get some in but I'm definitely not going back to Maidenhead Aquatics again, not the way they treated me

I'm all for asking the LFS to get fish in - if I see a fish that I want, I will always ask my LFS what they can do before I go off and find it elsewhere - but most shops have a limited set of wholesaler lists that they can order from [1], and it can be difficult to get things that are outside the shops usual sources. In this case, I'd make sure your LFS isn't getting the fish from the Czech republic - if that's where they are from, they are 99.9% certain to be hybrids sold as genuine species.

There are several different MA Branches. Some are better than others, and some are not so good (and of course, each individual of the staff is a person, they have good days, bad days and inbetween days - and some are good staff, others not so good). I've known one of the staff at Farnham from before he started working there. The branches in Bourne End, St. Albans and Oxford (Wheatley) are all good places in my opinion.

[1] Technically, I think almost any shop can buy from almost any wholesaler in the country, but a shop may have to fulfill a minimum order - either a certain number of boxes, or a certain amount of pounds worth [or both]. And if the wholesaler doesn't usually deliver to the shop, they may charge delivery fees or other "extras" for a "single order".

--
Mats

[Fish]

OK thanks, I'll have a chat with him anyway and see what he says.

[Richard B]

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/p ... 155530.php if you want lucipinnis at a good price - only problems is location but maybe we could work something out on that?.....

[racoll]

Hi Fish.

Before making recommendations, it would be good to know your tank size, decor, temperature, filtration (and other hardware), and current stock etc.

[Fish]

Hi,

I posted in my other thread I think, 21" length, 20" height and 13" width about 20 Gallons (UK) Same as the one 'Smirf' is selling in the UK sale section. Current stock :

Congo Tetra x2
Harlequin Rasbora x4 (Tiny)
And also the Pictus but that's what I'll be replacing.

Oh and a crocodile

The tank has a few live plants, small gravel on the back and sides and some underneath with sand on top. Ideally I would like some nice cats at the bottom with small schools of fish at the top

Richard is that you're ad?