PlanetCatfish.com

Let's get one thing clear: I have a bristlenose that I've had for more than 5 years (I had it for a few months before joining this forum) and I would be sad and surprised if it passed away anytime within the next few years - I'd expect a lifespan of about 10-15 years. They are indeed not short-lived species - unless by long-lived you are referring to Red Tail Catfish and such, that can live for 50 or more years with adequate care.

As for suitable companions, I'd suggest as one option. They are relatively easy going, and with the right choice for your tank temperature, you should be able to keep them happy for a long time.

But there are SO many catfish species that it is very difficult to suggest. And just like some people like big flowers on their curtains, and others like dark plain colours, and some people just want to keep the sun out, so put black plastic rubbish bags across the window. The same applies with fish - someones LOVELY fish isn't what someone else thinks as a "great" fish.

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Mats

if you love otos, then go for some more, but be careful to obtain healthy stock as some are in poor condition in stores.

Corys are a good option too, selection dependant upon price & availability - a group of 6 corys or otos would be great but do take personal preference into consideration - if you see something you like the look of - ask here & you'll get good advice.

Another BN would be ok but do you know if Minnie is M or F? 2 males may well scrapp all day long without adequate territory, 2 females should be better, but one of each could lead you to becoming a parent to hundreds of young & good as it is to begin with suddenly becomes a bit of a problem..........(eh Mats? I'm on my third lot now )

Hi Moonbunny-
Mats makes some good points and suggestions in his post. However, I'm not too sure about corys and bristlenose in a small tank- I have mixed them in the past, but found male bristlenose to be quite aggressive bullies to anything they think they can spook at feeding time- I had to move my male from my shoal of Brochis and Corydoras sterbai as they'd always got split fins from being pounced on by the male bristlenose (females seem quite a bit less aggressive), but his four of his sons and daughters (which are now big enough to breed) are now in with the Brochis without the same problems (at least so far), possibly because they spend more time squabbling with each other, and possibly because they're in a 35 gallon rather than 23 gallon (UK) tank- maybe the extra space helps. I didn't lose any corys or Brochis due to the bristlenose so from that point of view they can be mixed, but the corys/Brochis always seemed a lot more nervous than otherwise.

If you do go for corys, make sure there are enough of them that any bullying gets shared round them.

Hope your dog gets better.

As to the "big choice", I'd say that a lot of the fish in the Cat-eLog Search you did are quite difficult to find. If you sort by hits instead of size, you get a "likely to be found in shops" listing, rather than a list of "biggest to smallest".

Rubberlip plecos are not hard to find, but they can be a bit sensitive - the generally like cooler water than the average pleco, and like really fast flowing water.

You don't state where in the USA you live - it's a big place, so it would make sense to know where (at least as to which state, but where in a big state may be helpful too). This is helpful for a number of reasons:
1. Someone may be able to recommend a local shop if someone else is living in the same area.
2. The water conditions where you live (it's pretty easy to find a US map showing hardness level in the water for example) may suit one type of fish better than another - if you live in an area with really hard water, you should stay away from fish that require really soft water, for example.
3. The climate where you live may also help give useful suggestions - if you live in Arizona [which is possible, given the name of the shop you went to, but also quite possible that it's called Phoenix for a different reason], choosing a fish that prefers the low 70's F as a tank temperature is perhaps not the best choice, where if you live in San Francisco, that would work quite well [but maybe not in San Jose, a few dozen miles away].

Edit: You can change the "location" field in the User Control Panel, top left of the page (second row of text under the "three random catfish drawings").

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Mats

Hi MatsP : )

Thank you so much for writing back and for caring!

My pup (well, she's 8 years old,) has given everyone a run for their money, lol. First her disolving stitches disolved too fast, so the gory, raw 5" hole had to be medically stapled and bandaged at her dr's office. A day and a night later I looked at her bandaged foot and it was twice the size of her other back leg (the bandage had become an unintentional tourniquet,) so off it came as fast as possible while my poor girl winced until it was totally off. She's been wearing the inflatable donut-style collar, but while I was at the dentist last Friday having fillings, someone at home took the collar off...big mistake. I came home, face all numb, lol, and asked, "Where's the dog?" No one knew, but...once we found her she'd chewed out and swallowed *every* staple, well over 20 of them. So we got out the biggest, most powerful magnet we have around, scanning anywhere she'd been--none to be found. So off to the after hours ER vet who promised they'll pass (he patched her up with some fancy stitching, reverse knots, bandaged her leg properly from hip to toes and knocked her out enough for a day or two of rest--just keep it dry, he said. Despite the pain medicine, the antibiotics, etc. she's just terrified and freaks out if more than 2 people are gone for too long (this only manifested after the surgery.) Last night she freaked out a little, knocked over her water bowl and got her bandage wet, so back to the vet for a re-wrap and tranquilizers : ) She's my kid, I love her, but is it any wonder, MatsP, why I'm here at Planet Catfish, lol ?

What do you think about just re-stocking the 20 L, lightly, around Minnie? Cats seem so sociable among their own, although shy. I'm exceptionally open to suggestions, should you have any : ) Do you think the water params (see below) are too hard on otos? Do you think it has a psychological impact on a fish like Minnie, should she be the only bn pleco in the tank? The only thing I'm really certain of is I don't want her to have to be alone, she's too good of a fish : )

I thank you for your tip on the rubber-nosed plecos (that makes one thing simpler : ) ) And next to answer your questions...

Location: You're spot on : ) I live in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona (East valley)--from the windows we can see the Superstition mountains, Four Peaks and Red Mountain (having grown up less than 5 minutes from a river in Michigan, all the pretty mountains in the world, all the jack rabbits, hummingbirds, quail, etc. just don't balance out the black widows and scorpions...it's their season : ) ) Phoenix Tropical is considered the best local indie fish store, at least by the folks living in the area who also hang out at Badmans site and they get in pretty regular small batches of fish (so, that's one over the chains.) Also, they're the only ones in the area with bristlenose plecos.

Water conditions: Liquid rock Hard water and pH that's a smidge above neutral (we've TONS, mountains, of limestone here, having, prehistorically, been underwater, then tropical, then the desert sands of today--and a crazy range of fossils!) It jibes pretty well with the waters of the Amazon or Central American biotopes.

Climate: While weathermen start cheerfully gloating that we've hit the "century mark" in April and stay between 100 and 120 through October (despite these magnificent haboob sand storms and following monsoon rains)... : ) the house stays cool enough that the tank's heated year-round. Health concerns, like RA, have their upsides : ) Daytime temps are 80-78 deg. F and I just set the temp to 74 to sleep. So any weather will do

(For future ease, I'll reset the location tonight. Thanks : ) )

Looking forward to your suggestions,
Moonbunny

My friend that I went to see that time lives in Chandler, which is at least the same side of Phoenix as you are.

Independent small shops are a great thing to have. Here in the UK, the chains aren't as much "everywhere" as they appear to be in the US, and the biggest aquatics chain is Maidenhead Aquatics, which is a decent company, but they are still a big company, so the shop manager or below have little to say about how the business is being run.

Hard water isn't too bad - it's difficult if you want to keep really exotic species, but many of the more common species are perfectly fine with hard water. The common bristlenose definitely seems to be very happy with harder water conditions. And they work reasonably well in a group. If you have more than one male in a small tank, they may fight a bit over "mating rights", but adding one male will not be a problem (except you may have lots of babies!)

Central America is to a large extent hard water, so that is a better match. Unfortunately, there aren't any commonly available catfishes from Central America - those that turn up from time to time are nearly always growing too big for a smallish tank.

The Amazon is soft in general, there are a few exceptions in the Peru part of the Amazon drainage, but if we average the pH and hardness of all of it, it's quite soft and pH below neutral by a fair bit. That's not to say many species of fish from that region can't be kept in higher pH and hardness!

I'm still not quite sure what you'd like to see in your tank. There are so many fish that COULD work. But if you want to get one more bristlenose, that would work just fine.

And again, best wishes for the recuperation of your pup. I know the feeling.

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Mats