PlanetCatfish.com

Hi... I'm in the process of setting up a 55g central american river biotope with some smaller cichlids and was wondering what cats were native to the rivers and streams of this area?

My lfs recommends either Pictus, Raphael or Royal Whiptail Cats. I can't find any info on the latter on this forum however and the Pictus appears to be South, rather than Central American.

Can anyone advise on native cats and also numbers to keep in a 55g?

Many thanks
Vern

A fair few of the Heptapteridae and Trichomycteridae are from Central America. Can't remember which ones though.

Of the Loricariidae there are some sp. of and from Central America.

However your biggest problem is that none of these countries have a significant fish export business, so they will be very hard to find.

Your best bet is to contact your supplier, have a look at his Colombian list, and see if you can cross reference with any catfish that are also found further to the north.

Thanks... Do you think a pair of royal whiptail would be ok with a pictus?

Yes, but you will not be able to find a Central American Sturisoma in the shops, and you will most likely find S. aureum or S. festivum, which are not Central American.

Yes, that seems to be the problem, I can't appear to find anyone in the UK who stocks C American cats and I have been advised by my lfs that the closest I can get is the Royal Whiptail and Pictus.

I plan to keep Rainbows (Multispinosa), Firemouths and t-bar cichlids.