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hey i have72"x18"x18" tank with 3 oscars, a giraffe cat and a ornate bichir in. has anyone got any ideas of a catfish that grows to around 10"-12" that i could add??

Synodontis Pleurops, Angelica, Decora, or Notata might suit your requirements or maybe something like Pimelodus Ornatus - but i think the tank is a bit small for a giraffe cat

yes the giraffe cat will be moved out once it is to big for the tank. and im looking for something abit different from synos already have a few.

Hi Superluke,
Welcome to PC.
I deleted your other thread in Speak Easy as it was the same as this one. That may confuse respondents and it's also easier for yourself to get all replies in one thread.
Regards,
Marc

Hi. Recommendations depend on what's available to you locally. I assume you're Oxford England, not Oxford USA, Oxford Canada, Oxford New Zealand, etc etc. Might be worth updating your location to reflect that.

If you are Oxford England, then have a look at what's lurking in the sump tanks at Maidenhead Aquatics Wheatley. They often have interesting larger catfish such as the ones Richard mentioned.

cheers and how do you know they have sumps underneath it says your from new zealand!

superluke wrote:how do you know they have sumps underneath it says your from new zealand

Ok then, so not synos...










Any of these tickle your tastebuds?

the top and bottom fish on that list look good but im looking for something active are either of those species active during day time?

superluke wrote:the top and bottom fish on that list look good but im looking for something active are either of those species active during day time?

The last one definately isn't but the first one can be.

Some of the bigger callichthyds might be more suitable as they are generally more active...

my lfs has some pimelodus ornatus in atm for around £25 and another has some lima shovel nose for around the same price. are these good prices?

Lima's are tricky

there are a few species, but they're very hard to identify

one species rarely grows larger than 12", another reaches 2 feet; both are almost virtually the same.

another thing to keep in mind:

while the tank is large enough for 1 12" catfish, it might not be adequate for several.
a number of the species should be kept in groups, because they are gregarious fish

the lima is one of them; it's much happier if you keep 3 or so and then this tank isn't large enough if you get big uns.

the same goes for Pimelodus ornatus
it will survive alone, but it will be thriving if you keep a group of 4-5

happy fish will show!

on the other hand, several mentioned fish are territorial and do best when kept single, others are not so territorial, but still do just fine when kept alone

if you like a large catfish as a showpiece, then you might check out one of those.
Pseudopimelodus bufonius for example does fine on its' own.
so does Bagrichthys.

a more common looking cat, but one that's very active and even tameable is the hoplosternum littorale
this one should be kept as a pair or a group; but it's likevely behavior and activity can and does bring out other catfish

it's THE perfect choice if you want a day-active catfish of medium size.

Pseudopimelodus bufonius looks good but will it be alright with the fish i have? and although you say hoplosternum littorale is a very good choice theya re abit boring i was looking for a fish with more of a pattern or spots or more exciting?

As long as the other fish are big enough not be be eaten then P Bufonis should be fine. the other fish need to be 3/4 his size at least. They do like prawn, mussel, fish etc and will eat meaty pellet food.

Racoll may be in New Zealand but it doesn't mean he's been there all his life. When i met him he was in Banbury having travelled up from Oxford!

is p bufonis active? and yeah never really thought about that