Catfish & Cichlids

[Greg Curtis]

I'm getting ready to build my 90g tank with a couple of SA/CA cichlids. Which ones I don't know yet but I figure about 5 to 6 inches each. Looking for a catfish for this tank which can live relatively peacefully with the cichlids. Just don't want either one to seriouly injure the other. Any suggestions guys?

[Richard B]

There are plenty & personal preferences will definately contibute...

...some will be expensive, some will hide away & rarely be seen, some are drab & not the most pleasing to the eye, & it depends upon the aggressiveness of the cichlids

As a quick reccommendatiion

Megalechis thoracata

, or

Platydoras armatulus

, there are aso a mulitude of "plecs" & maybe a pim but we need to know a touch more...

[Bas Pels]

I'm getting ready to build my 90g tank with a couple of SA/CA c*****ds. Which ones I don't know yet but I figure about 5 to 6 inches each. Looking for a catfish for this tank which can live relatively peacefully with the c*****ds. Just don't want either one to seriouly injure the other. Any suggestions guys?

Regarding the cichlids, Don't mix SAand CA. The water differs a lot - and the fishes will not yunderstand one each other too - resulting in more agression than needed

If you would take Cryptoheros species, or Thorichtthys, these would not buther your catfish, and the earlier mentioned Megalechis thoraca would be a grood suggestion

The above cichlids are CA species, in SA you could thing of Laetacara, Krobia, The Eaquidens pulcher group - thus not too large species, but not Apistogramma. Apistogramma are quite small, especially the females, but very agressive indeed.

A 120 * 40 cm tank could house 1 Apisto male, and 1 or 2 females. But with a pair of Laetacara and Krobia you would see much more fish, and have less problems

[Greg Curtis]

Pretty sure I've decided on 1 Jaguar Cichlid to go in my 90g so I'd need a catfish that can take care of himself as the Jag gets 12-15" long.

[Richard B]

Pretty sure I've decided on 1 Jaguar c*****d to go in my 90g so I'd need a catfish that can take care of himself as the Jag gets 12-15" long.

If thats what you're going for, i'd suggest something from the doradidae family, maybe

Rhinodoras

?

[Mod ediit: add CLOG tags for ease of finding the Cat-eLog for that genus --Mats]

[MatsP]

Greg: With all due respect for your integrity, I would like to point out that a 90g tank is not a suitable size tank for such a large fish - at least not the standard 90g size that is 48 x 18 x 24 inches - according to my rules (and many others agree with this), you should have AT LEAST 4L x 2L x 2L, where L is the length of the fish. Counting back from the smallest dimension of a 90g tank, it allows fish up to around 18"/2 => 9". You are suggesting to put a fish that grows to around 1.5x that size in the tank.

Whilst you may then say "Well, if it grows that big, I'll get another tank". But there are PLENTY of examples of people who, for one reason or another, have ended up with a problem because the fish grows faster than the savings account [or something happens that means that the savings account has to be emptied to fix the car, rebuild the bathroom, etc, etc]. My rule is to get the tank set up first, then get the fish (unless it is LITERALLY a couple of weeks difference).

--
Mats

[DeepFriedIctalurus]

Greg: With all due respect for your integrity, I would like to point out that a 90g tank is not a suitable size tank for such a large fish - at least not the standard 90g size that is 48 x 18 x 24 inches

I have to agree there, and add that a guapote of that size will likely tolerate NO tankmates in a 90g as well.

The smaller size of a female may allow it to work, but you might as well wave goodbye to any catfish in there if she decides to lay a clutch of infertile eggs....which are just as aggressively protected as a fertile batch!

P.motaguensis are quite nice if you're stuck on guapotes, and not quite so large anyway..


As for the catfish, I've always been partial to keeping

Pimelodus

with my American cichlids. But for something tough-as-nails and just as predatory as any guapote, I'd consider

Batrochoglanis

or

Pseudopimelodus

instead.

[Greg Curtis]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. I just may have to re-think my choice of cichlids and go with something in the 6" range. Plenty of choices there. Thanks again!

[Richard B]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. I just may have to re-think my choice of c*****ds and go with something in the 6" range. Plenty of choices there. Thanks again!

At that size the choice of catfish increases dramatically too.