PlanetCatfish.com

I was wondering in a room full of cat lovers what people may think is the best cat to own. I have the Pictus cat now and I think he is gonna be OK, but for further reference and for further purchaces I would like to know. I have the 30 Gallon tanks and don't want one to get to large. I've heard Pictus get large, unfortunatly after I brought him home. Anyway thanks for your input.

I've heard Pictus get large

I wouldn't call a fish that reaches 5" large by any stretch.

Ask a dog-lover which dog is the best to keep, and you'll always get the answer "my breed", whichever breed they have.

There are 1300+ species of catfish documented in the Cat-eLog here, and there are something like 2500 documented by scientists in all. Some grow to 5 feet, others stay under an inch. Some eat algae, others eat other fish.

So your question is probably a bit bigger than you thought.

I like Pleco's (Loricariid's or Suckermouth Catfish), but I can see the beauty in many other catfish too, and if I had a million (dollars or pounds, I don't really care which, but not Turkish Lira...), I'd get a big(-ish) house with lots of BIG tanks and keep all sorts of larger catfish (the ones that grow to a couple of feet or so).

But at the moment, I'm limited to what fits in a traditional english three bedroom house with enough space to live together with my human family... So it's limited to fish that grows to about 6-10" and only a few of them...

I personally have:
Clown Pleco x 2
Emerald Catfish x 5
L177 Baryancistrus sp. "Gold Nugget Pleco" x 1
Ancistrus sp.(3) Common Bristlenose x 2 adults + ~50 babies.

Next purchase will probably be another gold nugget. I'd like to sex mine first and get mate for it...

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Mats

I'd have to agree with Mats on this one. Like the saying goes, all creatures great and small....I forget the rest. But, you ask 100 fish lovers, you could get 100 different answers. I happen to love the little cats. I have a 75 gallon tank, which I personally feel is overstocked at the moment with the following:
6 Callistus Tetras (H.Equs)
5 Pristellas
10 Otocinclus sp.
8 Paleatus Cories(4 adults, 3 juveniles, 1 fry)
1 Chaestoma sp.
But, I like to watch the way they interact. I like to watch them swim. When the Tetras were in the 29 gallon tank, I never saw them swim with the "scissor" motion of their fins. I would love nothing more than to find out what the ratio is in the wild of certain small species. Then give them that ratio in a tank. I don't know if that's possible. Just an idea.

Thanks for the posts! I guess your right though there are a gazillion different types and everyone has probobly good and bad stories for each. It seems by looking at several signatures that some breeds are a little more popular than others so I guess I'll just have to browse. Thanks again.

Hi!

I think the cheapest, easiest to keep, hardiest cat is the common bristlenose...it might be a hybrid but if you get a nice breed you have a beautiful fish that breeds like crazy, looks very "nice" and is almost impossible to wipe out.
Ancistrus sp (3) i think in the elog

For a 30gal. Id go with a Raphael cat.

Caol_ila wrote:Hi!

I think the cheapest, easiest to keep, hardiest cat is the common bristlenose...it might be a hybrid but if you get a nice breed you have a beautiful fish that breeds like crazy, looks very "nice" and is almost impossible to wipe out.
Ancistrus sp (3) i think in the elog

Yup, they are very nice. I tried counting my babies yesterday. There are at least 50 of them, but they keep moving... Amazing how some of them are much bigger than others... The smallest ones are obviously that ones that are 4 weeks younger, but the older ones, there's a difference of almost 30%, ranging from about 2 to almost 3cm in length (that's 3/4" to 1 1/4" for those non-metric guys).

Another advanage of the Common Bristlenose is that it doesn't grow too big for the average size tank. They grow to about 5 inches, so in a 30g tank, they end up just the right "big" size. Compared to a "Common Pleco", which can often get to 12 or 18 inches, and definitely will grow too big for a anything but HUGE fish-tanks.

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Mats

another really tough "el cheapo" cat is Synodontis nigrita.

these guys can handle parameters, incredible...anything from a Discus-tank to Malawian Mbuna-setups, brackish, you name it.

IMO next to indestructible.