Which catfish do I need??

[MrDrums]

Hello all....new to forum here. I just had to take my big pictus cat out of my tank - a friend who works @ LFS took him in. He was too aggressive, believe it or not. He ate 2 bosemanis....I thought the severum was the culprit, but no, it turns out to be the pictus! Anyway, I am looking for some suggestions for what kind(s) of catfish I might want to add to my existing community. I don't think I want anything too big here, but something to coexist nicely with the sev & geo. Any help is appreciated. Thanks all!

[Richard B]

Welcome to Planet Catfish

Pictus really are a predatory fish although a relatively small one & are best kept in groups (of 5+).

If you want some new cats, i'd recommend something like

Dianema longibarbis

or

Megalechis thoracata

from the callichthyidae family. Peaceful, active in the day, not too hard to obtain (here in the UK anyway). They are easy to feed & should fit in nicely - they don't have to be kept in big groups so a couple would be ok.

There are loads of others that would be suitable - let's see what others think.

[Carp37]

Megalechis thoracata are a great choice- it's still among my favourite fish, and can be kept in groups or alone. Callichthys callichthys are also an option if you can find them. Dianema are a fish I've always aspired to keep but they've got a reputation of being pretty delicate so I've never dared to try them!

[MrDrums]

Thanks.....headed to my LFS today to see what they have.

[MrDrums]

What do you think of the Debauwi cats?

[Bas Pels]

I think they are as innocent as Dianema or Megalichthys, but will not be able to cope with the same amount of hasslement.

Besides debouwi are African, and many people try to keep at least the continents apart, I'm glad to say

[MrDrums]

Does that mean you would not recommend them for my tank?

[Richard B]

What do you think of the Debauwi cats?

A great fish! I think it might be a bit small for your tank when severums are bigger, they certainly can't put up with any hassle as they are a naked catfish with no body arnour & should be kept in shoals of 6+.

Megalechis thoracata are a great choice- it's still among my favourite fish, and can be kept in groups or alone. Callichthys callichthys are also an option if you can find them. Dianema are a fish I've always aspired to keep but they've got a reputation of being pretty delicate so I've never dared to try them!

I've not had any problems whatsoever keeping D.longibarbis either mixed with medium community fish or a wide range of peaceful cats. I have found

Dianema urostriatum

more fussy & harder to get settled but not too delicate & wouldn't hesitate to have them again

[Bas Pels]

Does that mean you would not recommend them for my tank?

Personally I would not mix fishes from different continents, in fact, I think fishes should be kept with fishes similar to ones they can meet in nature.

But I'm mostly a cich lid man, and cich lids can cause each other serious damage if communication goes wrong. So I do mind about whether the cich lid can meet Rhineloricaria, but I don't mind obout whether the Rhineloricaria meets cich lids - because the Rhineloricaria will not be able to hurt the cich lids

However I not combining themselves is not the same as recommending not to combine them. for that I know for too little about the African fish involved - for a starter

[MrDrums]

Well, after much research online and talking to LFS, I settled on 3 Debauwi cats....a bit more interesting for my tastes than corys, and they don't get too big. The sev leaves pretty much everything alone, so I am not too worried about them. The cats are swimming together as we speak. I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.