Advise Needed Please.

[Bluecatamber]

Hi Guys.

I am new to fish keeping and have only had my aquarium for four months.

I would really love to add cats to my little community, but not sure what to
start with.

My tank is a 24 inch cube
Water Temp is 24c
PH is 7.2

There are lots of various plants, and pieces of bogwood.

The fish I have at the moment are Neon Tets, Cherry Barbs and Tiger Fish.

Can anyone suggest a cat that would feel at home in my little
community.

Regards to all.
Donna.

[Marc van Arc]

Hello Donna & welcome to PC.
How many gallons does your tank contain (is it 24x24x24??).
Also : what is a tiger fish? I take it you don't mean tiger barb, do you?

[Bluecatamber]

Hi Marc.

Thanks for the reply.

The tank holds 165 litres, and yes it is 24 x 24 x 24

I said I was new to fish keeping, and now you know thats true...LOL
I did mean to say Tiger Barbs, dont know were I got Tiger Fish from... not to worry you know what I meant.

regards.
Donna.

[MatsP]

Given that there are roughly 2500 known catfish species, it would be good to limit the selection a bit. Ok, so we should not go over 150mm (6") based on your tank-size, but that still leaves nearly a 1000 species in the Cat-eLog [not counting those that are "unknown size"].

Do you have any specifics of what the catfish should do, look like, etc - so that we can reduce the choice a bit.

Edit: Of course, reducing the choice by entering the 24'C temperature to the Cat-eLog search (www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php) gives 350 or so choices.

By the way, Tiger Barbs tend to be a bit "nippy", as in they will go after the fins of other fish - particularly if they are not in a large group. That may limit the choice a bit.

--
Mats

[Bas Pels]

Starting from the other end, perhaps Corydoras would be a good choise?

The most common ones are quite hardy, they prefer temps around 24 degrees C and easy to find

one question, a tiger barb is Barbus (or Puntius) tetrazona ?

[Richard B]

With small fish like neons & the fin-nipping potential of tiger barbs, you are looking to find catfish that wont eat your other fish & won't be harassed by the tiger barbs - it could be a little tricky & of course there is always your personal preferences

Possible species might be..... the banjo cat

Bunocephalus coracoideus

- generally they are sold small, are true bottom dwellers, secretive but might eat small fish when they are fully adult.

Maybe woodcats are more your thing:

Tatia intermedia

or

Centromochlus perugiae

are both small, secretive & active mostly at night (certainly to begin with) - C.Perugiae is a very attractive looking fish.

Batasio batasio

are a bit delicate, & need to be in small groups more than the other species named so far, as does

Hyalobagrus flavus

- not a good mix with tiger barbs really.

Megalechis thoracata

might be a good bet, they're popular & readily available.

Pareutropius buffei

are also readily available & are a nice shoaling species.

Maybe some of the smaller suckermouths might suit you? Be careful & seek advice as some have special requirements...

The species above might not all be the most suitable but hopefully give an indication of the massive variation of small species available.

I would suggest if you see something you like ask specifically about it - one to avoid is

Pimelodus pictus

which is often sold as a community fish but is a notorious eater of tetras!

[MatsP]

Aside from

Pimelodus pictus

eating the tetras, they will also be harassed by the Tiger Barbs and probably get most of their babels bitten off. So not a good mix for this tank.

--
Mats

[racoll]

This is what is known as a tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath/vittatus)






I would suspect they are also a "bit nippy".


Further to the recommendations above I would add

Synodontis flavitaeniatus

,

Mochokiella paynei

,

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

and

Parotocinclus jumbo

.

[MatsP]

I guess the tiger-fish is not something you'd "noodle" for

Another candidate:

Synodontis nigriventris

--
Mats

[Richard B]

This is what is known as a tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath/vittatus)






I would suspect they are also a "bit nippy".

Tiger fish are kept though...even if i can't see why. The first photo shows the fish has a bit of plaque & doesn't floss! Ha Ha.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that they have been known to bite through metal artificial fishing lures - i would agree with racoll that they would indeed be a "bit nippy"

[Marc van Arc]

Although not as threatening as the tiger fish, your tiger barbs are a potential nuisance to almost all catfishes suggested so far.
I don't know how you feel about them, but getting the tiger barbs out would give you a much bigger choice and happier catfishes for sure.

[Marc van Arc]

The first photo shows the fish has a bit of plaque & doesn't floss!

What a coincidence Richard. The African Society of Dental Care in Predatory Fishes (ASDCPF) are looking for volunteers to floss the teeth of tiger fish (among others). No problem if people have one broken arm; they could always use the other one. You should give them a ring

[racoll]

Although not as threatening as the tiger fish, your tiger barbs are a potential nuisance to almost all catfishes suggested so far.

Five-band barbs (Puntius pentazona) would make an excellent alternative. More attractive than tiger barbs and peaceful too.



[Mod edit: Use jjphoto.dk link for image instead of arofanatics, as the latter doesn't allow hot-linking --Mats]

[Richard B]

The first photo shows the fish has a bit of plaque & doesn't floss!

What a coincidence Richard. The African Society of Dental Care in Predatory Fishes (ASDCPF) are looking for volunteers to floss the teeth of tiger fish (among others). No problem if people have one broken arm; they could always use the other one. You should give them a ring

Sounds like a dream job, i must call them straight away .....hang on, i'm hoping to be out of plaster on Thursday .....blimey, doesn't 6 weeks go quickly

[Bluecatamber]

Hi Guys.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will go take a look at them all and let you know which I decide to get.

Regards to all.
Donna.

[sidguppy]

I second Bas zuggestion of Corydoras

You can find Corydoras in any LFS, be advised that they like to be in a small group, say 4 or 5 or so.
best catfish to start with if you never kept any before.