Best catfish

[CassCats]

Love these derps.
Of all my fish, THESE are my favorites

 

[mbsqw1d]

What are they NC? They look pretty big?

 

[CassCats]

What are they NC? They look pretty big?

Hoplosternum Punctatum

They reach 3-4 inches, so small for a hoplo catfish species

PlanetCatfish.com - Hoplosternum punctatum (Callichthyidae) Cat-eLog

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

They dont get as large as their cousins do, but theyre so active a 40 gallon would still be the best minimum for them.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ah thought i'd just found it then

 

[AilyNC]

Are they these guys? Ok for hard water and my tank dimensions

Dianema longibarbis (Porthole Catfish) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[CassCats]

Ah thought i'd just found it then
View attachment 117778

Thats a flagtail porthole catfish, similar and a nice cat too, different genus of cat but a relative. Also a good catfish to keep

Are they these guys? Ok for hard water and my tank dimensions

Dianema longibarbis (Porthole Catfish) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

No, but very VERY similar in appearance. Those are porthole catfish. Great cats too.

Difference: they lack the mottled dorsal fin, stay a touch smaller, have a strong line of spots down the median of the body, deeper forked tails, and their eyes are larger plus placed lower on their faces.

But I would hands down tell you to get a group of 3-4 for your tank if theyre suitable for you.


The ones I posted are Hoplosternum Punctatum, common name is spotted hoplo, but there's a cousin to them ALSO called spotted hoplo which grows much, much larger (8-10 inches) so its not as easily accommodated, needing a 55-75g minimum, unlike the smaller species i keep. Which is why I will refer to it as its scientific name as its also less common than the larger hoplo species. Makes it less confusing.

But really, anyone who likes corydoras, I really really urge them to look into Hoplosternum catfish and porthole catfish. Theyre in the same family as corydoras. They also get along with corydoras. But these guys are so bold and friendly and outgoing.

My male comes up top to beg for food, will eat out of your hands, nibbles fingers, swim into my hands. They're just so incredibly friendly and goofy and always so much energy. They're also really adaptable to all sorts of water parameters and temperatures. So very underrated catfish. But if you meet them, its hard not to fall in love with them.


I actually wrote an article for them.

PlanetCatfish.com - October - 2023 - Catfish of the Month

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

 

[AilyNC]

Great write up! They're lovely but I think the pothole catfish being smaller means my tank dimensions work. And hard water too. Would they be ok with Bristlenose? The bottom of my tank will be quiet as most of the fish I'm looking at are small middle tank Rainbowfish.

 

[CassCats]

Great write up! They're lovely but I think the pothole catfish being smaller means my tank dimensions work. And hard water too. Would they be ok with Bristlenose? The bottom of my tank will be quiet as most of the fish I'm looking at are small middle tank Rainbowfish.

Yep they'd be just fine with a bristlenose
I keep my hoplos in with my bristlenose and they do good. They mix in a good chunk of communities.

They dont always sift the sand like cories do though, they swim mid level to bottom level but rest on the bottom.

 

[AilyNC]

You have the best fish! I'm always admiring them. I can't get that handsome Spotted Hoplo but I'm gonna search for the Pothole catfish. I really love the more unusual looking fish.

 

[AilyNC]

I kept googling pothole not porthole I can't seem to find any but one place does have Hoplo. But @NCaquatics are they too big for a 36" length x 18" height x 12" depth tank? I couldn't find Hoplosternum Punctatum on SimplyFish.

Porthole Catfish

The Hoplo Catfish is a peaceful and easy-to-keep beauty for your Amazon community aquarium. A row of dark spots run along this unique catfishs lateral line, resembling portholes on a ship. Their bodies are sleek, featuring long-sloping heads with pronounced barbels protruding from their mouths.

www.seahorseaquariums.com

 

[CassCats]

I kept googling pothole not porthole I can't seem to find any but one place does have Hoplo. But @NCaquatics are they too big for a 36" length x 18" height x 12" depth tank? I couldn't find Hoplosternum Punctatum on SimplyFish.

Porthole Catfish

The Hoplo Catfish is a peaceful and easy-to-keep beauty for your Amazon community aquarium. A row of dark spots run along this unique catfishs lateral line, resembling portholes on a ship. Their bodies are sleek, featuring long-sloping heads with pronounced barbels protruding from their mouths.

www.seahorseaquariums.com

Portholes will be fine in that sized tank.

Larger hoplo species, no.
Hoplosternum punctatum isn't as well known unfortunately. Its not listed on seriously fish, no. Its a shame people don't know more about this catfish, because it is a fantastic species, especially for more smaller setups compared to the more known larger hoplos.

Hoplosternum punctatum - Aquarium Glaser GmbH

Plated catfish from the genus Hoplosternum are known in the hobby mainly from relatively large growing species, which can reach 15 to 20 cm in length. However, there also exist small species, like H. punctatum, which hardly grows larger than 7 cm. The natural distribution of this species is in...

www.aquariumglaser.de

Hoplosternum punctatum Meek & Hildebrand, 1916

 

[CassCats]

I kept googling pothole not porthole I can't seem to find any but one place does have Hoplo. But @NCaquatics are they too big for a 36" length x 18" height x 12" depth tank? I couldn't find Hoplosternum Punctatum on SimplyFish.

Porthole Catfish

The Hoplo Catfish is a peaceful and easy-to-keep beauty for your Amazon community aquarium. A row of dark spots run along this unique catfishs lateral line, resembling portholes on a ship. Their bodies are sleek, featuring long-sloping heads with pronounced barbels protruding from their mouths.

www.seahorseaquariums.com

In the link you sent, the photo shows a porthole catfish, or dianema-longibarbis.
This is a great one and is very very similar to what I have

 

[ClownLurch]

Are there any hard water (19dh/340ppm) small catfish suitable for a 120L 760x315mm (30”x12”) tank? I love the idea of the Hara Jerdoni which almost makes it but they’re too shy I think.

 

[CassCats]

Are there any hard water (19dh/340ppm) small catfish suitable for a 120L 760x315mm (30”x12”) tank? I love the idea of the Hara Jerdoni which almost makes it but they’re too shy I think.

Synodontis nigriventris, or upside down catfish can handle up to 20DGH, gets 4 inches and 30x12 is the minimum for a group of 4 (needs a group)

 

[ClownLurch]

Synodontis nigriventris, or upside down catfish can handle up to 20DGH, gets 4 inches and 30x12 is the minimum for a group of 4 (needs a group)

Thanks for the suggestion but I still think 4” is too big for a 30” tank. I wouldn’t feel comfortable looking into the tank. 2” would be my limit in a smallish tank like mine.