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So, I was looking at some Glass Catfish, and then I realized they share behavior with, tetras and danios. I don't like glass catfish, so do any other catfish share this trait?

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Hi mikeisrad,

Do you mean do any other catfishes swim in open water instead of at floor level? If so yes several different kinds to.

If you are trying to avoid buying them, there are some open water corys that have a tendency to swim in open water. You can usually tell by looking at head shape and mouth position (pointing forward instead of down) then watch the fish for the behavior.

Also several African cats do too.

Maybe it would be easier if you have a list of fish you are interested in and we start with those fish?

Cheers, Eric

Hypostomus littorale is also a rather active swimmer. They do rest on the sand, however.

Thanks! I don't like glass catfish, so anything that swims in open water in schools or alone is what I'm looking for.

mikeisrad wrote: ↑13 Mar 2017, 15:18 Thanks! I don't like glass catfish, so anything that swims in open water in schools or alone is what I'm looking for.

What size fish are you looking for? What will the tankmates be (if any)? Is the tank filled with softwater or hardwater?

The fish listed above come from different water types and range widely in size, so these will probably be issues you should consider before buying.

Cheers, Eric

I'm thinking catfish with schooling behavior, that are always swimming in the open. Not really sure about specifics, though.

Corydoras hastatus do this. They'll school with some tetras (ones that have similar size and coloration).

MChambers wrote:Corydoras hastatus do this. They'll school with some tetras (ones that have similar size and coloration).

So true. I once had a school of 50 hastatus in a planted community tank where any and all tetras would school with them. It was especially interesting when I added a small school of the Paraguay tetras, , to the tank. They have an almost identical colour pattern and they schooled with the hastatus whenever they could. This copycat colouration and behaviour would provide protection for the tetras as the hastatus, as do all Corydoras, have small amounts of venom that they can donate to a would-be predator's mouth through their dorsal and pectoral spines.

Very late seeing this thread, but here is an old video clip of my 25 , with the tank backing removed temporarily to help make the catfish stand out. I still have them in the same tank, but I am absolutely awful at photographing and videoing my fish on a regular basis!


My lives in the same tank as the above these days (as do my secretive , but these days, it sadly does not come out during the day like he/she did back in 2012 in the old tank.