Got a tank, now what?

[KaneAR]

Wasn't quite sure where I should post this but here seemed the best place. I have a 55gallon tank but still need a filtrations system. I was just wondering what type of Catfish would be the best to start off with? I have kept different fish before, Marines and Tropicals. I like Corys but they aren't something which I'm overly keen on so I wasn;t sure what other cats there were that don't grow to the size of a small country .

Thanks

[MatsP]

Use the Cat-eLog search engine http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php to select fishes that are within the size range you think is suitable (I think the maximum size should be no more than whichever is smaller of half the shorter side or a quarter of the longer side of the tank).

You can reduce the number of choices you get by selecting a family or a genus, and if you enter a temperature that you indent do keep your tank at, it will further reduce the choices. [The closer the range is, the more likely you are to find something, since the search function is trying to find a fish that will work within the WHOLE of that range, so entering 16-35 degrees will probably find none or one fish in the list of 2000+ that we have - whilst entering some sensible 25-26 (or 26-26) degrees will give you a fair number of fishes].



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Mats

[Richard B]

Welcome to Planet Catfish!

Although i am extremeeeeeeeely biased i'd suggest a tanganyikan set-up for

Synodontis lucipinnis

- they are small,easy-to-keep, nicely patterned, readily available, not too expensive, active, peaceful, hardy, gregarious & best of all, fairly easy to breed, with a good market for the offspring - what more could anyone possibly want???

Of course it's really all about your preferences & budget. Mats makes some good points for searching but alternatively, look through cat-e-log & see what you fancy, read about them then ask specific questions in a thread here. (as a crude guide, if there are limited pics in cat-e-log, the specie might not be readily available).

Keep us posted

[Birger]

I like Corys but they aren't something which I'm overly keen on

I am not sure how to read into your statement above, you like them but you don't hmm...but maybe if you expand into others in the family Callichthyidae, look into the brochis species for example

Brochis splendens

they are a bit different than your "usual" cory.
Or some of the Scleromystax, again for example

Scleromystax barbatus

really unique shape, pattern, obtainable and breedable.
Or some of the Dianema or hoplosternum
All from the same family but different than cory's.(not that there is anything wrong with cory's)