Aussie catfish

djw66 · Post by **djw66** » 04 Dec 2007, 22:13

Hi all,
I'm in the reseach and planning stages of a 200 gallon planted tank housing two species of rainbowfish. As I like to keep fish from the same part of the world, I've been trying to find an Australian catfish suitable for this setup, preferabley a schooling species. The largest rainbows will be 30 Glossolepis incisus at 6 inches, the smallest 64 Melanotaenia praecox at about half that size. So the catfish can't be large enough to eat any of them,
I figure there's just gotta be something small, sociable and bewhiskerd swimming around Down Under.
Also, what eats algae in Aussie waters?
Planet Catfish is my last hope; neither my Aussie friends nor my large aquarium library has an answer for my puzzle. If you guys (and girls) don't know of any Australian cats, no one does.

Dave

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 04 Dec 2007, 22:24

Here are possible candidates.

Your problem might be finding one!

Look through the The catfish family Plotosidae

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 04 Dec 2007, 22:33

yep for that size tank your best bet would be either the Rendahl's cats or the golden / yellow eeltail . Both reach a max size of about 20cm.

Rendhali's spend more time wedged in bunches of plants while the hyrtlii's are more of a snag lurker.

N. ater is a nice fish but may get a bit large for that tank.

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 04 Dec 2007, 22:39

Regarding aussie algae eaters, unfortunately there there are very few. I only know of the Blackmast as an algae eater, however they prefer hard alkaline water and to be honest they are not a great algae eater anyway - they will eat it, but not as prolifically as fish like Siamese algae eaters or even mollies.

Shrimp are generally the best algae eaters, but of course with rainbows and catfish in the tank they won't stand a chance.

djw66 · Post by **djw66** » 04 Dec 2007, 22:41

Thanks guys I really appreciate the help. Only concern would be whether the 8 inch Randahls would eat the 2 or 2.5 inch neon rainbows in the wee hours of the morning.
I might just have to bite the bullet and use loaches but it'll chaff me to do so.
Hmm Dave R that N. ater is a definate possibility. Appears sociable in those photos as well. You snuck that one in on me.

Dave

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 04 Dec 2007, 23:36

From the Cat-eLog Data Sheet for

Suggested Tankmates ..... Has been recorded in the wild as occurring alongside related species Neosilurus ater, N. hyrtlii and N. mollespiculum. Avoid keeping with aggressive fish. Dither fish from the families Melanotaeniidae (rainbowfishes) and Ambassidae (glassfish) are recommended. Smaller Elotridae (gudgeons) from the families Hypseleotris & Morgunda would also be suitable.

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 05 Dec 2007, 22:10

The Rendhal's are unlikely to eat the smaller fish you have, certainly not at 2" or so. Fry may be at risk though.

An ater probably won't eat adult rainbow fish either, but they are a larger and more vigorous fish and thus potentially more destructive in a planted tank.

I've found the N. ater I have has grown much more quickly than any of the other Neosilurus or Porochilus I'm keeping atm.

btw scratch my earlier comment on your tank not being large enough for the ater, I mis-read 200 gallons as liters...