PlanetCatfish.com

Hello.
Long time browser, first time Poster.
We live near Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
We have several tanks, from 20g to a 550g, and several species of catfish between them.
This probably isn't the correct forum, but as there isn't a general catfish forum, I'm going to post a question here. I hope that's ok.
We're looking for a medium to large (18-24 inches) species of catfish for our 550 gallon tank (96Lx32Dx42H inches) that is interesting, and will make a good tank mate for a Silver Arrowana, Clown Knife Fish, Jaguar Cichlid, and a couple large Oscars. We thought about Tigrinus, but the water flow requirements put us off. Obviously, Redtail, Tiger Shovelnose, and other large-growing species - while very cool - are too large.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

A Pseudacanthicus pirarara or a Hypostomus luteus woud be cool if you like plecos.

Hi FinsandFeathers,

First, this is the perfect forum to use.

As for choosing a catfish, I believe the rule is that your tank's shortest dimension (width) must be longer than the fish's max TL so that the fish can easily turn around in the tank. What is the shortest dimension of your tank? about 48"? If so, a fish 18-24" shouldn't be a problem. In that case, you can try the "Species search tool" (https://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/index.php) and specify a min size of 18" and max length at 24". To get the most results, set the # results at 100. If you want to limit your results to various South American families or genera, you can "Refine search" by selecting individual taxa.

Unfortunately I can't figure out the URL for the results I obtained myself using the parameters above. But as I look at the results, I see a lot of nice plecos (like those mentioned above) and I also see one alternative option that stands out: . I don't know much about it, but I have a friend with a pretty big one and his fish has a lot of personality. They should be fine with oscars and jaguar cichlids, but I don't know how they would get along with the knife fish or the arowana. might be a more compatible fish, but it gets significantly larger, perhaps too large for your tank.

If you find some results that interest you and you want more info about particular species, please ask.

Cheers, Eric