PlanetCatfish.com

do they mix well? i'm setting up a 20g. long fish tank that i plan on putting 3-5 yellow labs in. i'd like to have a catfish, but i dont know which on would be the best. the cichlids have to have water that has a ph of 7.7-8.8, a total hardness of 160-320ppm, a buffering capacity of 180-240ppm, and a temp. of 72-82. ant help would be greatly apperciated.

that tank is very small!

the question is too generic, but I assume -since you posted this in the African sector- that you're into Synodontis.

your tank isn't big enough for any Syno, with the possible exception of a small group of S nigriventris, but then I wouldn't add any cichlids and few other fish whatsoever.

i've never had a catfish before and i thought they migh look cool in a tank with the yellow labs. the more i research about the catfish, i find that they all get really big. i have no plans to get a bigger tank. i only plan on having a very small number of fish. the two or three yellow labs, and maybe a catfish, if i can find one who will do ok in a cichlid environment.

Little bit too small of a tank (IMO) but, 3 (1 male,2 female) EL's and maybe a petricola just might work. Synodontis petricola stay fairly small. Ive never owned them , but I do keep EL's with Syno multipunctatus and its a great color offset. Petricola "look" similar to Multis ,but stay much smaller. My Multis are "schoalers" though, so are kept 5 in a 120 gal. But from my personal observation ,Petricola seem to stay alone. So they could be kept as a solo cat. Correct me if Im wrong Petricola owners. Just an idea though . Love them CATS.

A suitably sized tank must not only be big enough to support the fish in question, but also be big enough to give subdominant fish room to flee. A 20 long doesn't offer much of this. For Yellow Labidochromis that can grow to ~4"+ and can be fairly aggressive a twenty long IMHO would not be suitable for the cichlids let alone a catfish included.
You may either want to rethink your species selection (Tanganyikan Shell dwellers would be nice in a tank this size) or get a bigger tank.
I'd consider a 29 gallon to be about the bare minimum for a small group of Yellow Labs this size(no more than 5-6 fish though). But that's me... ... your mileage may vary.

On the other hand, if you ditch the cichlids and add a shoal of guppies, you can keep and breed Phyllonemus typus in that tank, wich is probably the coolest and prettiest African catfish around anyway

petricola's are true shoalers, although they tend to stay in groups that are smaller than the huge shoals of multipuncs. they're not a 'solo-cat' by any stretch of the imagination, and singles are shy and sad creatures.