What catfish should i get? Please give suggestions! :)

Cory_love · Post by **Cory_love** » 12 Sep 2007, 04:19

Hey there! I was wondering what is a good catfish for me to get? i have a 10 gal tank w some fish already living in there and i am wanting to get another one or so.
here is my tank set up:

10 gal
waterfall filter
heated to be always around 79-80 degrees ferenheit

live java fern
live java moss
natural colored pebbles with a few larger river rocks
some tank decorations (fake tree stump cave w fake plants, and a fake log with fake plants on it too)

inhabitants:
1 panda corydora
2 Corydoras leucomelas
3 amano shrimp
some small unknown snails that snuck in with the java plants

i would like to get one or so more fish for my tank. it is very roomy and nice in there and everyone gets along really well with eachother. they all sleep and eat together alot. the sides of my tank look like the *might* start developing algae? the snails are doing a good job at eating that, but the fish and shrimp just nibble on everything BUT the sides of the tank.

is there a good catfish i could buy that likes to stick to the sides of glass? i love plecos but i know that a 10 gallon is WAY too small! any suggestions?

sorry this was so long. thank you very much for responses!

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 12 Sep 2007, 10:38

Hi.

Welcome to the forum I hope you learn lots here.

Corydoras are always happier in large shoals, so I would first recommend more Corydoras.

Perhaps a bit more of a left field suggestion is the Banjo catfish, .

Unfortunately you are slightly limited, as you have a small tank and have amano shrimp (many catfish will eat these

).

Not a catfish, but what about a small gourami or two for the midwater/surface. These are good fish for small tanks.

is there a good catfish i could buy that likes to stick to the sides of glass? i love pl*cos but i know that a 10 gallon is WAY too small! any suggestions?

Not all plecos grow huge.

are very small and eat algae, as do the bristlenose (although these might get a little bit big).

A may work provided you get one of the smaller ones.

A is another possibility.

Do bear in mind though that these wild caught plecos can be pretty sensitive if you don't know how to purchase them/care for them properly.

Are you fairly new to the hobby? If you are I would recommend the , but you may have to part with him if he gets too big.

How long has the tank been set-up, and what is the pH, hardness and nitrate?

the sides of my tank look like the *might* start developing algae?

An algae eating pleco should take care of the sides of the tank, but bear in mind algae is caused by excess nutrients and light. Twice weekly 25% water changes and floating plants (even duckweed) are a good way to limit light and nutrients. They will also make the fish feel more secure.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 12 Sep 2007, 11:26

natural colored pebbles with a few larger river rocks

I would also recommend replacing the pebble substrate with fine sand.

Pebble substrates can harbour harmful bacteria with may infect your Corydoras.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 12 Sep 2007, 19:56

I would recommend the Ancistrus sp.3 also.
They have the best combination of effective algae eating, peaceful nature and hardiness of almost any other pleco. Ten gallon tanks are what I keep and breed my trios in.
Farlowella do best in larger tanks and even then are not easy to keep long term. Hypancistrus are desirable and one will do well in ten gal. tanks but they are not algae eaters. Otocinclus are good if kept in numbers and are well suited for small tanks.

bslindgren · Post by **bslindgren** » 13 Sep 2007, 05:25

I would stick to Corydoras. Their behaviour is much more interesting and natural in shoals. Also, note that your temp is a bit high for pandas, so you might want to stick with leucomelas or some other species that likes warmer water.

Cory_love · Post by **Cory_love** » 14 Sep 2007, 04:48

thanks for the replies and advice everyone!

yeah, i know that corydoras do well in larger numbers, to be honest, the reason why i'm so aprehensive to get more fish in general is that i love my fishies now and i don't want to maybe bring a disease into thier home!

i can't change the temperature unfortunately, its preset. but the little panda seems to be perfectly fine with it.

the pebbles don't seem to be a problem either. i've kept a close eye on thier barbels and they haven't got scratched up or missing or anything so far, so i think they're doing alright with the gravel.

i had first bought 3 pandas but 2 died. so the one little guy was alone for a while, and when i brought the two new guys home (plus 5 glowlight tetras) he would not leave thier sides for and an instant! it was very cute!

(tetra story: i had 5 glowlight tetras and everyone worked very well in this community and were very happy together. i would change thier water 25% once every week and everything would be just fine. then, one night when i was doing the partial water change, after i put the new treated water in, the tetras and 2 of the shrimp were acting very funny, like they were in pain or something!

i was really worried! the corys were acting a little sluggish too. so after that, everyone was ok, but all the tetras died within 1 hour! i still cannot figure out what caused this! i don't think it was the water temperature of the new water either, as they've never had a problem with it before. any ideas as to what caused this?)

i don't know what all my levels are specifically, i don't have a home water testing kit, but a month or two ago, i brought a water sample in to get tested, and the guy there said that for such a young tank (abt 3 months old) the water was quite literally perfect! (that made me happy too ;) hehe)

i was thinking about maybe getting 2 or 3 albino corydoras to add to the tank. what do you think? though i really would like a fishy that sticks to the glass of the walls..

thanks again everyone! (sorry this was so long winded again!)