which fish to get??

[funkedupkoalzz]

hi, i'm new here and ultimately i would like to breed some cats. just once will do soooo, my quetions are:

1) what's a nice looking friendly fish to get? in UK
2) will they breed if there are other fish living in the same tank? will the other fish eat the eggs?
3) where do i get live food from like micro-worms?
4) how do i create a nice 'love' nest?
5) how can i tell male from female?
6) will different breeds mate?
7) are hybrids bad?
i read somewhere on the forum that people feed guppies to their cats. are we talking whole live guppies? or are they dead? i want to keep guppies in the same tank! when the cats get to a certain size do they eat guppies? or is there a dry guppie treat u can give them?
9) what treats can i feed my cats/fish? cucumber? brussel sprouts? do i cook the srouts or serve them fresh?

aaaaargghhhh! sooo many questions so little time! fish tank arrives next week.

oh, and i saw a beautiful light grey cat today. like nothing i've seen on the forum. cant remember if it had stripes or spots. but the guy in the petshop said there are much more stunning cats out there and i should have a look online. he was £14. and now i really really want him. (or her). if i get him i'll post a pic and maybe u guys can help me to identify him

thanx!

[funkedupkoalzz]

i spelled my name wrong. it's supposed to be FUNKEDUPKOALAZZ. forgot the one 'A'. any chance u can fix it or tell me how to fix it? gonna really bug me!

cheers!

[medaka]

Hi and welcome to planet catfish,
firstly I moved your post to this forum due to your requests are best suited here.

and WOW what a lot of requests.

1) what's a nice looking friendly fish to get? in UK
2) will they breed if there are other fish living in the same tank? will the other fish eat the eggs?

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you will find that this all depends on peoples personal preferences, mine for example are mothcats whilst other like corydoras species or synodontis, there are quite a few catfish species and there will be plenty of them nice to look at but unsuitable for the less experienced fish keeper. some catfish will spawn readily in a 'community tank' and the other occupants will indeed eat them if possible. in the end it is down to you , however it may be worth your while taking your time and read up a bit on catfish, there are plenty of articles on husbandary and reproduction within the Planet Catfish site. see "Shane's world" & CotM sections within this site and also take some time and delve into the forums; there are some really great exchanges of idea's and experieces, both from a mangement point of view and a reproductive point of view.

3) where do i get live food from like micro-worms?

usually other aquarist sell these through local fish auctions, try joining a aquarist society in your area or attend one of their auction, here's the contact details of the Federation of Scottish Aquarist Society:_ [email protected] Iam sure if you contact them they will be able to help you.

4) how do i create a nice 'love' nest?
5) how can i tell male from female?
6) will different breeds mate?

again down to experience and reading as referred to earlier.

7) are hybrids bad?

IMO one word Yes!

i read somewhere on the forum that people feed guppies to their cats. are we talking whole live guppies? or are they dead? i want to keep guppies in the same tank! when the cats get to a certain size do they eat guppies? or is there a dry guppie treat u can give them?

9) what treats can i feed my cats/fish? cucumber? brussel sprouts? do i cook the srouts or serve them fresh?

Feeding of feeder fish (guppies,goldfish etc) are usually fed only when all other types of prepared and frozen food are refused,most people that use this site usually ask "How do I get my catfish to accept dead or prepared food"? So please don't get confused that feeding guppies to catfish is the norm. there are also many articles on feeding fish and problems relating to feeding within the forums, "Shanes world" and the CotM sections.

oh, and i saw a beautiful light grey cat today. like nothing i've seen on the forum. cant remember if it had stripes or spots. but the guy in the petshop said there are much more stunning cats out there and i should have a look online. he was £14. and now i really really want him. (or her). if i get him i'll post a pic and maybe u guys can help me to identify him Smile

We would endeavour to identify the said catfish correctly

[MatsP]

Medaka made a good effort in answering many of the questions. Here's some comments from me, with MY personal opinion, which may not be what you like...

1) what's a nice looking friendly fish to get? in UK

Corydoras Sterbai

,

Peckoltia Vittata

,

Ancistrus sp(3)

,

Baryancistrus sp(L177)

,

Pimelodus Pictus

.

2) will they breed if there are other fish living in the same tank? will the other fish eat the eggs?
As Medaka said, this depends on what catfish, and which OTHER fish you'd have there. For example, bristlenoses

Ancistrus sp(3)

, the amel will look after the eggs and the babies will be ready to fend for themselves when they come out of the cave, so if you have only small companions (small tetras, danios, etc), the fry will not be eaten. However, small fish is seens as food by bigger fish, that's natures way. So if you have any bigger fish than small tetras, most likely the babies will be eaten.

3) where do i get live food from like micro-worms?

You can buy live blood-worms and daphnia in most fish-shops. Never seen micro-worms tho', but Medaka gave a good sugggestion there.

4) how do i create a nice 'love' nest?
Depends very much on the specie of fish. Most plecos will want a cave to spawn in, where the male entices the female in, then holds her in place while she lays the eggs and the male looks after the eggs until the babies are ready to leave the cave.

Corydoras generally lay their eggs on any flat smooth surface, which in the tank usually ends up being the glass.

Others catfish do other things, ranging from swimming around madly laying eggs everywhere, via male or female catching the eggs in the mouth and holding them there until they hatch all the way to cuckoo-breeding (parasitic) of the synodontis species, where they spawn in conjunction with the host, a mouth-brooding c-ichlid specie. The eggs will then hatch before the hosts eggs, and use the hosts eggs as food for the first stage.

5) how can i tell male from female?
Entirely dependant on the specie of catfish, and there are some 2500 or so species, ranging from Male is quite different, e.g.

Ancistrus sp(3)

to some that you can't tell apart until one of them lays eggs.

6) will different breeds mate?

Sometimes. If they are closely related, they may do.

7) are hybrids bad?
Absolutely.

--
Mats

[funkedupkoalzz]

thank you to everyone, you guys have been very helpful. Will let you know how i get on

[bronzefry]

Welcome to Planet Catfish!

[Jools]

oh, and i saw a beautiful light grey cat today. like nothing i've seen on the forum. cant remember if it had stripes or spots. but the guy in the petshop said there are much more stunning cats out there and i should have a look online. he was £14.

I may be hitting the Edinburgh fish stores at the weekend, post what shop it was and I will ID it for you.

Jools