catfish with long barbels

black_bull

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Hi! I'm setting up a community of medium-sized fish in a 90g and my wife is VERY insistant that I get a catfish with long "whiskers" as she calls them. So does anyone know of a catfish that grows to about 6"-12" that has very prominent barbels? Any advice appreciated.
 
try looking for the synodotis species, but bew carful of the choice some get huge.
you may wish to go for pim pictus but they need to be in groups.
good luck.
 
Pictus stay around 7" adult size.

But the problem with catfish with long whiskers is that the longer they are, the more predatory they are, so they may not be suitable for your community needs
 
Pim. Pictus would be perfect, I have kept them with some very small fish, and they are absolutely fine (until they get to maturity). Bigger group the better, in a 90G you could have a group of 6 quite comfortably.

But the problem with catfish with long whiskers is that the longer they are, the more predatory they are
The length of the whiskers has little to do with it, its just that alot of predatory catfish are from the pimelodus family which have long whiskers. Its usually because these catfish come from the depths of the amazon or its tributaries, where light is extremely scarce, thus they have evolved whiskers to feel their way around and to feel vibrations throught he water of other fish.

Ben
 
This is my pim pictus :D They are lovely lovely fish and though they are said to prefer being groups of 3 or more, I've kept my current one on it's own for a good 2 + years now. Just don't keep anything that can fit into its mouth (depending on how large the pim picuts is). But they are certainly not aggressive and won't chase any of the other fish.

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:kewlpics: Pictus cats are awesome. I have always wanted some, but never had a tank big enough to keep some. I like to go the LFS and watch them in the tank when they are small and in a large group, they are very active. Watching them feed is cool too, they swallow everything whole and fast too, its quite amazing...
 
I agree... get some pimelodus pictus... they are wonderful and beautiful and have long barbels! BUT they are naked catfish (no scales/armour) so be very careful with copper based medications - like malachite green - it killed mine because I was treating the tank for white spot and didn't know they'd be killed by it...
 
^I treated mine with Protozin and they died on the second day of treatment. :-( They can't fight off ich very well and there seems to be a lacking of good ich med for armourless fish. Granted mine were barely more than babies but even so. :byebye:
Hugs,
P.
 
Could these cats be kept with sand substrate and only a few rocks for decorations? Or do they need a planted tank to feel secure? I'm unable to plant my future 90g, since some central and south american cichlids will be put into the tank also. Some possible tankmates include blue acaras and possibly some larger dwarf cichlids, including keyholes. Will these tankmates work?
 
Pictus and dwarf cichlids will work fine....I've got my 5 pims with a pair of Keyholes and a Severum at the moment. As long as they can't fit in its mouth they'll be okay. A group of pims will need plenty of rocks/caves/over hanging plants (fake/real no diiference) for shelter during the day.

Pimelodus Pictus do much better when introduced into a stable tank...perferably one that has been running smoothly for a few months, and they can be quite susceptable to Ich when kept in poor conditions. There also carniverous fish as othres mentioned, and due to this diet they can be very messy fish so heavy filtration is a good idea.

Pictus

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Thirded. :lol:
No seriously. I lost my babes because the filter was pretty new and not long finished a fishless cycle. I learnt the hard way, please don't do the same.
Synodontis filamentus are beautiful fish if rather nocturnal. Can reach 8" but more likely 6". They have long 'whiskers' :p And also large top fins which look utterly graceful. They tend to have them all the time they are moving and even when they're not sometimes. I've never seen my youngsters put theirs down at all. The need hiding places though and can eat alot! :X Mine are all looking a tad podgy presently. :*)
Hugs,
P.
 
Thanks everyone! I think I'll do some more research and if everything looks like it'll work with my future tank I'll plan on getting a few once it's been cycled and set up for a few months. Just to keep my options open, though, are there any catfish that have long barbels and are "fatter"? My wife likes pictus cats (there are some at out LFS) but she wants another cat that is larger in the body and can be kept by itself. :S :dunno: Anyone have any tips to satisfy her demand? I personally like the pictus cats, but she demands that I find another one in addition. :/
 
synodontis catfish (upside down catfish) are really cool, but they dont have really long whiskers I dont think, and they really like to hide. I had one that got about 5" and gave it to a friend who put it in a 100 gallon tank and its still alive and well.

Rafael Cats are really cool too, but they eat really small fish if they can get their mouths around them, and they hide a lot too..

You can do a google search for catfish and find all kinds, just make sure they dont get too big for your tank. They sell channel cats in pet stores when they are very small, which is a huge mistake because people buy them as babies not knowing they get way to big and dont belong in a fish tank...

good luck B)

EDIT: BTW, synodontis catfish, like most other catfish, like to be in groups of 3 or more...
 
Just to throw another suggestion into the pot...

Indian Clown Catfish - we were looking at Pims but decided not to risk our phatom tetras and other community fish...

We found some clown cats in a store after seein them on planet catfish - the get to about 4" - have wiskers just like pims - but are not even the slightes risk - They have been great so far - always out and about (compared to our synos that pop out for food only)
 

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