Hello!

[Dee]

I'm a new member popping in to introduce myself. I'm Dee, I live just outside of Edinburgh in Scotland and I'm currently in the process of setting up my very first tank with the aim to keeping catfish. I've tried to make sure and do my research, I've bought and read a few different books and had a look at some articles. Hopefully my research is keeping me on the right track!

I'm setting up a 260 litre fluval tank just now, and will then be leaving it to cycle for 10 days using the supplement recommended to me by a local store. Eventually I would like to stock the tank with 8 or so corys (not decided more precisely just yet!), 2 bristlenoses and 8 or so asian glass catfish. Originally I was also planning on adding some upside down catfish too, but I've been advised they would eat the glass catfish

I'll be taking my time with stocking, so I expect it to be a few months before I've added everyone.

[Dave Rinaldo]

Welcome Dee!

[andywoolloo]

welcome!

and will then be leaving it to cycle for 10 days using the supplement recommended to me by a local store

what supplement? most supplements need some type of nutrient (fish and their waste,fish food, ammonia) to keep it alive) are you doing a fishless cycle or what?

Originally I was also planning on adding some upside down catfish too, but I've been advised they would eat the glass catfish

hmm, i cannot imagine an upside down syno eating glass catfish.

[Dee]

welcome!

and will then be leaving it to cycle for 10 days using the supplement recommended to me by a local store

what supplement? most supplements need some type of nutrient (fish and their waste,fish food, ammonia) to keep it alive) are you doing a fishless cycle or what?

Originally I was also planning on adding some upside down catfish too, but I've been advised they would eat the glass catfish

hmm, i cannot imagine an upside down syno eating glass catfish.

It's just nutrafin cycle that I was recommended to use, and I was advised to add this during the 10 days before slowly adding fish. Sorry I don't think I described that well calling it a supplement.

ETA: Forgot to say I am putting some fish food in to provide ammonia "food" for the bacteria as it decays, wanting to do a fishless cycle before starting to add fish.

[corybrummie2010]

Hello Dee,
Welcome to PlanetCatfish

[Richard B]

Hello & welcome Dee

True USD catfish (syno nigriventris) are very peaceful & certainly will NOT eat glass cats - they are best kept in a group but be aware that sometimes other species are sold as "upside downs"

[MatsP]

Welcome to Planet Catfish, Dee.

--
Mats

[macvsog23]

All I can add is ruddy well done cycling a tank is about the most important thing you can do when starting out.
I would myself just stick to a small group of corries and some Bristle noses about 3 or 4 but your far better adding them to the tank after it has run for 3 or 4 months in my opinion.

The corries and the B/n will provide you with ages of enjoyment as there is a good chance they will spawn.

Regards Bob

[Jools]

Welcome Dee, I'm near where you live. Where are you buying your fish? That advice about USD and glass cats is pretty much bad advice (well, over cautious - I can understand why it might be said to a beginner by a shopkeeper that's not very up on their cats), but maybe it avoids having quite a lot of shy fishes in one tank. There are some good and some not so good shops in the area...

Jools

[Dee]

Thank you for the welcomes and for the advice, I will cycle the tank for as long as it takes before adding fish, I don't want to torture them while trying to get it right

Jools, I have been looking around quite a few fish stores in the Lothians area and really liked Riverside Aquaria (I went to the one at Uphall as that's closer for me), the fish were beautiful and I got good advice about setting up my tank (like soaking the driftwood I was purchasing). I also really liked Water Wonders, which also had lovely fish. This is were I got the advice about upside down catfish, however I do wonder if they were thinking of

Mystus leucophasis

which from its entry perhaps would have eaten glass cats? Whereas I was thinking of someone more like this

Synodontis nigriventris

.

Went to a couple of shops I don't think I'd like to use purely because of the number of dead fish in tanks when we were looking.

[Jools]

Yeah, Riverside is nice. They have a pretty basic fish selection, but well looked after, with many of their (cat) fishes from local breeders. Clean shop and helpful staff and a decent selection of dry goods. I hope they do OK when the massive Dobbies opens next door. Water Wonders I have not been to for years, but got friendly with the owner in the 90s when I lived in Edinburgh. The parking there just got too hard to figure out.

It's a bit further out, but outside inside aquatics in Haddington is where to go locally for the more unusual community fishes. They import from Germany and the fish are well looked after but can be more expensive, but not always.

Jools

[Dee]

Thanks Jools, I found Outside Inside Aquatics on yell.com but hadn't gone to check it out yet, I'll definitely do so soon when they are open normal hours again. We managed to get parked just around the corner from Water Wonders but it is all pay & display unfortunately.