Hello to all

KNH · Post by **KNH** » 02 Jun 2005, 04:22

Hi everyone,
I'm interested in getting a catfish that will attain a max adult size of 12" to 18" for an ~ 8' x 2.5' x 2' aquarium. My LFS have a very limited selection to chose from. Thanks in advance.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 02 Jun 2005, 10:40

So out of about 2500 different species, you want a list of all that grow to about 12-18" without any other criteria?

Could you perhaps give us a clue to a few of the following things:
1. Temperature/type of tank (cold water, tropical, planted or not, etc).
2. Other occupants of the tank (if you keep smaller fish in the tank, you don't want something that will eat anything smaller than itself, for instance)

Here are some random suggestins:

I'm not saying that any of these are what you're looking for, neither that they are available for sale easily. I'm actually just trying to point out that there are a lot fish that COULD match the single criteria of size that you've given.

[Note also that the size given in the above links is "Standard length", which is "not including the tail-fin"].

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Mats

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 02 Jun 2005, 13:16

Welcome to Planet Catfish! I would strongly recommend you visit the Cat-eLog. You might be overwhelmed, but the visit will be well worth your while. I think you'll see what Mats is getting at.

KNH · Post by **KNH** » 03 Jun 2005, 23:54

I did check out the Cate-log and thats why I need some help narrowing my choices. My experience with cats is somewhat limited (cory, channel cat, various plecos, bumble bee cat etc.)
1. ~74-80F
2. known occupants will be an Red Fin Giant Gourami and a school or 5-7 Tinfoil Barbs.
Thanks for the links Mats. Any personal favorites within this size category?

Post by **medaka** » 04 Jun 2005, 00:04

Hi KNH

and welcome to Planet Catfish

Just answered something a litte similar here http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=11571
maybe some of those that I listed there will be suitable for you.
noting that a giant Gourami and a school Tinfoil Barbs
are Asian also.

KNH · Post by **KNH** » 04 Jun 2005, 00:24

Good info Medaka and thanks for the welcome. I'd gladly keep another Blue Channel Cat if they didn't get so large. Ideally a cat with a similar look and personality would be great but about 1/3-1/2 the size.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 06 Jun 2005, 09:52

Thanks for the further details, it helps a great deal in helping you.

Ok, so you're looking for something that is looking like a native american catfish. Perhaps bullheads?

I haven't got a big enough tank to keep any of these (or the ones I listed in my first post). If I had that size tank, I'd probably not keep Giant Gourami either, but I'm not you, and you have your choice in keeping fish.

If I had a big tank like that, I'd probably go for a shoal of Silver Dollar's, or a giant shoal of Neon's or Cardinals with a few Discus, and a few big pleco's ( for example). But I'm me, and you're you, and you've got your favourites of what fish to keep, and I've got my favourites. There's no particular reason for keeping one rather than the other, except for personal taste, and I'm not at all trying to tell you what to keep. [The Scobinancsistrus will require higher temperatures than your intended ones, in the mid to high eighties, which I think is a bit too warm for the Gourami].

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Mats

KNH · Post by **KNH** » 07 Jun 2005, 05:19

None of the cats listed are really catching my eye from a visual standpoint. I may end up rethinking the cat and look towards Central American c-ichlids for some color. Thanks for your effort. A shoal of Neons in a jumbo tank??? Like you said, I'm me and your you. Good luck with your fish keeping.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 07 Jun 2005, 11:57

Well, it's pretty hard for me to choose fish for you... I don't know what you like, so I have to go by the information you've given.

One thing to consider would be the larger panaque species, like , of which there are several other varieties. They are pretty fish, grow reasonably large.

There's probably a bunch of asian catfish that may fit the bill, perhaps some sort of bagridae. You can find them by scrolling down here.

There's obviously nothing wrong with keeping c-ichlids (central american or otherwise), there are many pretty ones that would go nicely with the Gourami, just as long as you stay away from the more agressive ones...

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Mats