What type of catfish come from Central America?

Heyguy74 · Post by **Heyguy74** » 26 May 2005, 12:35

I was wondering what catfish come from the big lakes in CA? I have a 360 gallon tank that i wish to setup with a CA biotope. The tank is 8'x4'x18". It will have a sand substrate and plenty of rocks.I will have smaller cichlids in there ( Convicts, sajicas, firemouths). Nothing larger than 8 inches. I would like some cats that are native to the rocky lakes of CA. I have 2 striped raphael cats already and they do fine with my firemouths and convicts now. I know the PH of those lakes gets to be on the high side (7.5 to 8.0). I cant seem to find ant sites that list CA catfish. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Post by **Silurus** » 26 May 2005, 12:44

The most common CA catfish you would encounter are Rhamdia.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 26 May 2005, 12:54

If you know the name of the lake (or country), you can search for fish that live in that body of water (or country) in http://www.fishbase.org

It won't show you just catfish, of course, but you can then use the family. For instance, Mexico lists:

seven or eight different Ictalurus spp.
Prietella lundbergi

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Mats

Heyguy74 · Post by **Heyguy74** » 26 May 2005, 13:05

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Now, where would I find these species to purchase? I dont think most LFS would have these for sale.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 26 May 2005, 13:10

Heyguy74 wrote:Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Now, where would I find these species to purchase? I dont think most LFS would have these for sale.

Yeah, well, that's, ehm, not so easy to answer. My guess would be that you can't really find many of those in the trade...

To be honest, I have no experience in trying to find these fish, I'm just suggesting ways to find which species would match your requirements.

I'm not even sure that there is much catching of fish (for aquarium trade) in those regions. But I don't know...

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Mats

Post by **Silurus** » 26 May 2005, 13:11

You are not likely to get the ictalurids in a hard water lake. Rhamdia are seldom offered for sale as they often show up only as contaminants.

I have a 12" Rhamdia that I will have to get rid of in a year or so. Ask me about the fish then.

Heyguy74 · Post by **Heyguy74** » 26 May 2005, 15:07

Thanks for the answers. I kinda figured it wouldn't be easy to get those species. I do like the Rhamdia's. Seems that they would do best in that environment. O well I'll keep looking.