Good catfish for Lake Tanganyika tank?

UNTgolf · Post by **UNTgolf** » 23 Dec 2003, 01:55

Sorry, I am sure that a lot of people have asked this question but I was looking for a good catfish for may tank Lake Tanganyika tank. Does anyone have any good ideas on what would work well within a 55gal tank. In my tank right now is a Frontosa and a Calvus both are about two inchs at the moment.

Post by **Barbie** » 23 Dec 2003, 02:48

Two words, (the commonly found ones are actually the "dwarf" variety and will top out at about 3.5 inches). They are from Lake Tanganyika and are wonderful additions to cichlid tanks, IMO, and they are regularly available. They do best in groups, I try to keep them 6 or more to a tank. Watching them is like watching a bunch of puppies chasing and playing tag. They're quite interesting, and have no problem coexisting with cichlids. Eventually you'd have to worry about the frontosa snacking on them, years down the road, but he's not going to be happy in a 55 gallon tank by that point anyway, IMO.

This is a picture of one of my petricolas, with a few more in the background.

Barbie

Post by **Dinyar** » 23 Dec 2003, 02:49

Synodontis multipunctatus and S. "petricola dwarf" (in fact, a separate species from the "real" S. petricola) are probably the most readily available and the best place to start.

As you probably know, you will need to get rid of your C. frontosa or get a bigger tank for it in a few years, as it will grow much too large for a 55 gallon.

Dinyar

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 23 Dec 2003, 19:56

If you ditch the front, and stick to gentle-mannered species like calvus, there are some more species available, such as the Lophiobagrus species and the extremely pretty Phyllonemus typus.

both do fine with any Synodontis species. Although not as visible, their very different outlook and reddish color make them very good additions to any tank, that's not crawling with agressive Lamprologines.