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I've had "Sylvester" for aprx 10 yrs. When I bought him, he was about 2" long. He's now aprx 24". I feed him fresh shrimp and whitefish, (talapia). I have him in a 55 gal tank with 2 other catfish, (placo's). All were bought at the same time. The placo's are aprx 5 or 6" each.
The sales person who sold him to me said he was a "pre-historic" catfish. He's very gentle and usually only stays in one spot... and has since he was 2". He will take food right from my hand if I stick my hand down to him, but normally does not splash or move around much.
I've searched different sites and found pics of different "Nigers". Any help would be appreciated.

You are correct.

Thank you! Oxydoras Niger...

I have him in a 55 gal tank with 2 other catfish,

OMG....Oxydoras in a 55G.......


I think you're in dire need of reading the Big cats sticky.

edit: Shane, looks like the BCS is cut in half or so, did I miss something?

anyway, back on topic, mandatory reading on the Oxydoras:
Catfish of the Month feb 2001 Oxydoras niger
Catelog Entry:
Catelog: Oxydoras niger


frankly, the way it is housed now, is like keeping a human being in a coffin and hoping that it'll thrive.....
inthis case the possibility of the catfish outgrowing the tank can be taken literally.....

24" fish ..... how big is a 55g??????

in general just a wee bit over 1 meter; 4 feet if you're lucky.

55G is about 200L or so. i have a tank like that in my house, it's my smallest tank
dimensions are 1.3m x 40 cm x 40 cm.
or in non metrics: 4' 4" length x 16" width x 16" heighth.

it's not precisely a standard tank, but a regular 55g won't be that much different. maybe a bit wider and higher, but shorter then.

1 thing is for sure: a 2 feet catfish will be hard put to turn around in such a small tank, unless it's quite flexible.

i keep seeing the scene in Kill Bill where Uma thurman is buried in a coffin and she has to squeeze around in order to free her hands for the punch.
it'll be a fair bit for the Oxydoras if it really wants to swim

but Kill Bill's a movie.....

That's more than just a tight squeeze

55G is about 200L or so. i have a tank like that in my house, it's my smallest tank
dimensions are 1.3m x 40 cm x 40 cm.
or in non metrics: 4' 4" length x 16" width x 16" heighth.

Unfortunately a standard US 55 (the most common mid-size tank in the States) is 48" X 12.5" X 20.5" so it is worse than what Sid thought (i.e. narrower and taller, which does not help the fish in question). The next size down is a US 45, which is 48" X 12.5" X 17".

A US 55 actually holds 53.24 gallons (201.53 liters) before filtration, gravel, rocks, driftwood, etc, although the above tank looks quite bare.

24" of doradid and 12" of plecos, still way under the 1" of fish per gallon rule

In all seriousness Skwerally, you are looking at needing a much, much larger tank (better yet a heated indoor pond) for your animals.

-Shane