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Does anyone out there have the Dianema Urastratius? How are they to keep? Any input would be appreciated. I'm thinking about getting one.

Do you mean Dianema urostriatum, Flagtail catfish? this is one of the most active catfish i have, and as long as you have a well matured/maintained set up with south american water parameters I would recommend a couple or group.

I have the setup. Are you saying these cats aren't happy by themselves? Will one be alright by itself? I am heading into being overcrowded now.

They feel more secure in a group, rather than on their own.

I purchased another flagtail cat so the first guy I got would have a buddy. The thing is, they don't even hang out together. One is swimming around and the other is staying in the pvc pipe all the time. I don't think he's sick, because he'll come out the pipe to taste a pellet at feeding time. When I got the first cat. he swam around the tank all day. Now he just stays in the pipe. Is there something wrong, or is this characteristic of this specie?

One is swimming around and the other is staying in the pvc pipe all the time. I don't think he's sick, because he'll come out the pipe to taste a pellet at feeding time. When I got the first cat. he swam around the tank all day. Now he just stays in the pipe. Is there something wrong, or is this characteristic of this specie?

I would say give it time to settle down, there is nothing to boisterous in the tank is there?

There's just clown loaches and barbs(rosey & tiger) in there. Do you think he's sick?

keep a close eye. But no i don't think he's sick from what you've told me.

-Just want to let you know that I have one flagtail that swims around all the time and one that stays in a cave most the time. I have seen him come out and grab some flake food. He looks very healthy and moves quickly, so I don't think he's sick. What do the cat experts think? Any comments welcome.

I think he's had enough time to settle in. Just a question. How closely related to the cory specie are these cats? I noticed they scoot to the top and swim back down like cories.

Bigdan wrote:-
I think he's had enough time to settle in. Just a question. How closely related to the cory specie are these cats? I noticed they scoot to the top and swim back down like cories.

I have a porthole catfish (not a flag-tail porthole) and have noticed that he likes to "hang out" with the Corys. Sometimes, he even thinks he's a clown loach

I would say there are similar tendencies and not necessarily fierce competition for food. Please note I am not a Biologist, who would be able to give you the best answer.

Well Beersnob, I have to tell you that I appreciate your response. I don't have any cories with these guys. They're in one of my other tanks (9 total). The flagtails are in a 55 with 5 clown loaches and the barbs. I still have a shy flagtail-he seems to come out at feeding times only. The other one is swimming around and totally with a different personality. Now I have to say that these cats are new to me. I never heard of them before. When I first saw them, they were at a LFS in a tank labeled AGGRESSIVE. I wanted to buy them right away. I didn't know how big they got or anything about them. I went on the internet and found that they weren't aggressive at all and only grow 4-5 ". I bought 1 at first. A few days later I got the other one. Just to let you know, the bigger of the two is the shy one. He was the first one I got. Just a footnote-When I put the second one in the tank, all of my tiger barbs got what I think was ich. I lost 3 of 6. I also lost my beautiful Red Tail Shark, he went first-in less than 12 hours. None of the other inhabitants got it at all. It was a hard loss to have them die. These cats are beautiful and I hope they will live a long time.