PlanetCatfish.com

Okay, id'ing this fish may be impossible, or may be very easy. I stopped at PetsMart today and my husband found a tank of teeny tiny itty bitty really very little -- are you getting the picture? -- cat fish. They were marked "stone cats" and were $1.49 each. They didn't know the latinate name, but we bought four anyway because they were small and inexpensive.

I took some pictures, but the fish are only 1/2" long at the most, so... don't know that they'll help. They almost look like little Liosomadoras morrowi. I neglected to ask if the fish were wc, duh, that would have helped. Whatever they are, they aren't stonecats.

Here is the only one of the pictures that turned out even remotely visible. Like I said, they are very small.

http://www.muridae.org/fish/cats/hara_j ... CF0728.jpg

Anything that looks like that bred for the aquarium trade, or captured and imported at such small sizes?

If they are just too little to id, I'll just have to wait for them to grow bigger.

These are either or some kind of Erethistes.
Depending on what exactly they are, they may never get bigger.

Silurus, do you know everything about catfish? Don't think I've asked a single question yet that you have not been able to answer.

Can't find too much good information on this species, other than that they stay pretty small and like cooler water temps. I guess I will set up their own species tank, rather than moving them in with my larger fish. Any advice anyone can add to that?

I like them, they're really neat. Perhaps I will get a few more and see if they can be convinced to spawn.

Have a word with medaka about them.

Jools

I have had them many years ago.
beware; they're fun to have, but they can behave like a tiny Banjo cat; just laying around in the leaflitter, playing dead.

Wich is not a problem, until you start to vacuum or root around the tank with your bare hands. Those impressive pectoral spines can give a nasty sting!
prying one out of your hand or finger is NOT to be recommended

Any advice anyone can add to that?

They like a sandy bottom, and provide some vegetation that they can hide in.

So far they don't do anything, just sit on the bottom of the quarantine tank looking small and spiky. Haven't eaten anything yet, either, but they haven't settled in so that's not surprising. What size tank should I use for housing ten of them? Would a ten or twenty gallon be suitable?

A ten-gallon tank would be fine, as they don't grow very large and swim much. A twenty-gallon tank is even better, as it gives you a reason to buy more fish. ;)