i am trying to find catfish that is not nocturnal and will help clean my tank what catfish will come out during the day?

all the catfish i have like to hide to mutch

i got a glass cat but he doesnt clean

but from what i seen of cats they normally hide hehe

my bn are active all day long but any plec will be active if he/she feels comfortable in doing so provide lots of cover about the tank resulting in him having a secure place to go when frightened


cheers dane

do u mean Bristlenose Catfish? becuase i have three of them 1 male and 2 female and they hide all the time, i have only seen 1 of them out on the glass once

yeah tease them out with algae wafers or courgette during the day


cheers dane

sounds like a great idea, i will do, thanks mate cheers

As mentioned fish will only venture out if they feel secure and safe, if everytime they come out someone batters the glass then they will hide etc. My Brisltnose Plecs, Clown Plec and Bulldog Plec are always out and about. My L387 on the other hand only appears in late evening and at night with the lights off. I got him from a tank at ankle height so i think he has been scared a lot before i got him and its never got any better

okay, yeah i guess they are getting a scared, its only a 2 foot tank any i do make alot of noise were they are

noise should not be the problem it ill take time for them to get used to you walking and looking into the tank and eventually the will not see you as a problem to them

my starlight bn plecs are really shy but are getting more and more brave

have a wild caught pair of zenacara bn and i have no chance with them


cheers dane

Let's make this crystal clear: no catfish cleans your tank. With every new fish you add, the filter has to work harder, there is more solid waste in the gravel, and their is more nitrate in the water encouraging the growth of algae and pushing down water quality. To maintain the tank at the same level of cleanliness as before, you need to scrap the glass more often, siphon the gravel more often, and change the water more often. It's a total and utter myth to imagine adding a fish will make an aquarium cleaner, as should be obvious if you think about it for just one second.

Now, if you want to add a catfish because you like them, that's fine. There are lots of day-active species. African glass cats, Pareutropius buffei, and Corydoras spp. are among the best. Pareutropius buffei aren't scavengers, and need to be looked after just like barbs or tetras, but then no catfish is really able to survive without some food set out for it. Corydoras are obviously lovely fish. Otocinclus spp. are also very active during the daytime, but they're a bit delicate and need green algae to survive.

Many nocturnal catfish will become day-active in time, if you're patient and train them to do so. I have a female Panaque that not only swims about during the day time, but actually expects to be fed at around lunchtime when she gets a bit of salad or whatever. That said, some catfish groups do seem resolutely nocturnal almost no matter what. Synodontis spp., thorny catfish (family Doradidae), and banjo catfishes (Aspredidae) would be three such groups in my experience.

Cheers, Neale

okay great thanks alot

My albino bristlenose was really shy at at first. He comes out in the mornings before the lights come on. I leave the lights off for a while to give him and my loaches a chance to feed and root around.

i have 2 sailfin plecs and have had them for about 6-8 months now and when i sit in front of the tank they come out and swim around, the kids love it when they stick to the glass when they are watching them, i do have lots of caves and plants they can hide in but i think i have just got a pair of show offs lol