PlanetCatfish.com

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster. I'm in the process of planning a major tank rehaul - I'm turning my basic anything-goes community tank into a bottom feeder centered SE Asian river tank. I'm not rehoming any of my current fish, however, so there will be some South American fish in there too - fortunately, all of them will like blackwater and leaf litter.
One of these fish is my big four-lined pictus.
'He' turns nine this summer. That's fairly old for his kind of cat, and that's why I'm asking for advice.
While I know I'm going to have a hard time adjusting to not having a catfish I've had since I was a teenager, I also know I'm going to miss long whiskers. I'm going to have three species of loaches - two kinds of kuhli and one species of smaller botia - but I've realized I need a catfish too.
Preferably, a few small cats, as opposed to one big one.
Originally, I was going to go for Pseudomystus leiacanthus, as they're my favorite of the various 'bumblebees', but it turns out they are not easily had. I worked in a fish store once upon a time and our supplier gave us completely different species of 'bumblebee' each time we ordered them, and we got the dwarf Asian bees once or twice, and they were my favorite. . . I really missed the boat on that one. I had no idea they were difficult to intentionally obtain.
Thus, I am here, looking for some cats to think about that fit the bill and maybe are not so rare. I'd like interestingly marked species under 4" with a fairly classic catfish shape, preferably species that will be content in a group of two or three in a 40 gallon tank. A bit of punch is okay, though, as the botia are boisterous at feeding time and can be a bit much for overly docile species. I've kept these with corydoras before and while they usually got along, they did wind up with the occasional nip from somebody getting too excited over a pellet. I'm also not sure how well extremely tiny catfish would do in this community - I honestly worry something like a stone cat, with its slow reaction time, would wind up mistaken for a wafer.

Thanks in advance!

A combination of Botia and Pangio is a bit odd to me: Botia comes from swifly flowing waters, while Pangio come from the almost stagnant waters closer to the coean.

That is, it is impossible tho have a current which suits both, while the temperature should also be an issue

I'm quite certain catfish can be found for both options, but I would suggest choosing

Botia may come from mountain streams, but they're actually typically found where those streams spread out, slow down, and pool, sometimes to the point of being nearly still at the bottom. They definitely need well-oxygenated water, but in my experience they don't even like current.
I already have the botia I like (B. histrionica) and one of the kuhli species (P. oblonga) and have kept them together about two years - there is low flow in the bottom 3/4ths of the tank and some moderate current on the top on one side where the filter outflows. The black kuhlis are in fact more interested in the faster flow than the golden zebras; I catch them dancing in it at night.
The preferred temperature ranges of both species overlap, so that's alright too. I keep the tank at 77F/25C and both are thriving, so I will likely keep the flow and temperatures the same after redoing the tank. A cat that likes those conditions would be best. My pH currently rests at neutral or a little above, but I suspect with the addition of more botanicals I can drive it a bit lower and still achieve stability.