Keeping Catfish

[fishfinderdave]

keeping catfish.

a little bit of quick advise for people on keeping catfish in there aquarium.
in tropical tanks there are a few kinds of catfish you can get readily available to buy from fish shops.
some are safe with community fish and some are not!
many people get confussed when buying catfish....because there tempermant in certain cases and the fish they keep them with.

"plecostomus catfish" can be kept happily in a community tank without any problems.
"cory catfish" can also be kept safe and well in a community tank

however catfish such as the "redtail catfish" should only be kept with larger fish due to the size.
these fish can reach upto 1m in length so are not very ideal for a normal tank.....ther a very energetic fish...and needs a lot of room to swim around in. A tank of around 300 litres is ok....but a tank this size takes a lot of looking after and not many people cant have them due to their size.
despite this they are not aggresive towards other tank mates.

a catfish which i have is the "pictus catfish" these are fantastic fish to have a community tank as are very easy to care for and arent aggresive towards other fish..so long as these other fish arent to small to b eaten.
they are however very aggresive feeders....and will up-root all things in the tank while feeding...which can b a real pain.
these fish can grow to around 5cm to 7cm.

good luck to anyone wanting to keep catfish, and im always happy to answer any questions on them.
thankyou and good luck.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

hi, im getting 2 x clown plecos as soon as my tank is ready for them, i was also thinking of getting 3 x peppered catfish as well. will they all get along? my only other fish are 4 neon tetras. i have a large piece of drift wood, a nice multi colored piece of slate over lapping a half drain pipe to make a cave and a broken up plant pot placed strategically into caves.also 3x live plants. the tank is a 2ft 60 liter with a fluval plus 2 filter.

mark

 

[fishfinderdave]

hi, im getting 2 x clown plecos as soon as my tank is ready for them, i was also thinking of getting 3 x peppered catfish as well. will they all get along? my only other fish are 4 neon tetras. i have a large piece of drift wood, a nice multi colored piece of slate over lapping a half drain pipe to make a cave and a broken up plant pot placed strategically into caves.also 3x live plants. the tank is a 2ft 60 liter with a fluval plus 2 filter.

mark

 

[fishfinderdave]

hi mark, as to your question for a 60 litre tank....its not that large.

however it would be large enough for what your wanting, the clown plecy is a very nice fish, as are the peppered catfish.
as to sizes the peppered catfish dont get that big about 2 to 3 inches at most, and the plecy's can reach upto 6 inches in length
having a fluval plus 2 filter is a good filter to have aswell.
these kinds of fish like a mild to moderate flow in the tank, as they are taken from rivers in the wild.

having plenty of hiding places is a great idea, as some plecy's are very shy when first introduced to any tank
expect it to hide itself away for a while the first few days to acclimatise itself to the new tank.
what are ur water conditions atm?
as plecy's like very clean water...despite being very hardy fish
and DONT WORRY these fish will get along just fine even with the neon tera's, so long as there is plenty of hiding places and room to swim around.

be warned these fish are slow growing fish.
another suggestion as to add to your tank with these fish are black skirt tetra's or danio's
i recomend that u feed your fish on the normal fish flakes and the tetra pleco wafers, if these wafers are not eaten take them out of the tank.
and the most important thing to do with plecy's, when there added to your tank leave the light off for atleast 2 hours.

goodluck with your fish.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

hi mark, as to your question for a 60 litre tank....its not that large.

however it would be large enough for what your wanting, the clown plecy is a very nice fish, as are the peppered catfish.
as to sizes the peppered catfish dont get that big about 2 to 3 inches at most, and the plecy's can reach upto 6 inches in length
having a fluval plus 2 filter is a good filter to have aswell.
these kinds of fish like a mild to moderate flow in the tank, as they are taken from rivers in the wild.

having plenty of hiding places is a great idea, as some plecy's are very shy when first introduced to any tank
expect it to hide itself away for a while the first few days to acclimatise itself to the new tank.
what are ur water conditions atm?
as plecy's like very clean water...despite being very hardy fish
and DONT WORRY these fish will get along just fine even with the neon tera's, so long as there is plenty of hiding places and room to swim around.

be warned these fish are slow growing fish.
another suggestion as to add to your tank with these fish are black skirt tetra's or danio's
i recomend that u feed your fish on the normal fish flakes and the tetra pleco wafers, if these wafers are not eaten take them out of the tank.
and the most important thing to do with plecy's, when there added to your tank leave the light off for atleast 2 hours.

goodluck with your fish.

im currently doing a fish in cycle, wrong advice etc, and will not be adding anymore fish until my tank has cycled. i leave the light off for atlest 9 hours aday, fish need sleep to right? lol.im glad they will all get along, and as for the slow groth rate, thats fine

i have aquired 2 x 4ft tanks, one is kinda damaged but the other is mint. they will all eventually be transfered in about 4 months.

thanks for the info

mark

 

[JenCliBee]

If your going to make a post about catfish try and make the info correct.

Red tail cats can get to 5 foot not 1 meter, a 300ltr tank is far from big enough, try more like 3000 gallon to house the fish comfortably, they are aggressive to other fish not to mention when fully grown can eat almost anything added. Plecs yes are quite good community fish but dependant on tank mates and the type of pleco acquired not all are actually fully suited to 'certain' community tanks.

Pictus catfish are nice pleasant semi community fish but will eat anything they can fit in there mouths, need to be in groups and can reach upto 15cm (6inches) not the 5-7 cm you mentioned.

Not sure where your info came from but i would try and research the fish a little better before advising conditions for fish that are far from suitable

 

[fishfinderdave]

hahaha...

ok then, first of all my info on catfish has come from breeding and having catfish for many years in all of my tanks.
i have worked in fisheries and biology of fish species for a long time...fresh water and saltwater.

pictus catfish are best kept in groups yes, but they are not semi-aggresive atall...i have 2 which is fine.
they are one of my favourite fish, i know how to look after catfish.
they will not eat what ever they can fit in their mouth...
if they wer to come across a dead fish then yes they would eat it....but alive...no!

and as for your information on the "redtail catfish"...The Redtail Cat can grow impressively large in an aquarium setting and should be given plenty of room to swim. Due to its size and high energy, this fish should be kept with larger tank mates. Besides the minimum tank size of 300 liters, rocks, plants, and large driftwood should be used to enhance and simulate a natural environment. Since the Redtail Catfish is a highly active fish, a tightly covered aquarium should be used to prevent it from jumping out of the tank. They mature into a very heavy fish and should be maintained in a reinforced aquarium.

Minimum Tank Size:600 litres Diet:Omnivore Originouth America Temp (C):22-27C Max Size:1m Familyimelodidae Temperamenteaceful pH:6.0 -7.0 Care Level:Easy

(taken from aquatic life direct.co.uk)

i know exactly what im talking about mate.
and plecy's are one of the best fish for a community tank
whatever sort!
ive kept all kinds of plecostomus's

i studied aquatic biology for 2 years....i know of many types of diseases,fish types,there living arrangments, all sorts...
i know what fish can be put together and what cant!

and i know this because again i have had different catfish for many years.
thankyou

 

[JenCliBee]

hahaha...

ok then, first of all my info on catfish has come from breeding and having catfish for many years in all of my tanks.
i have worked in fisheries and biology of fish species for a long time...fresh water and saltwater.

pictus catfish are best kept in groups yes, but they are not semi-aggresive atall...i have 2 which is fine.
they are one of my favourite fish, i know how to look after catfish.
they will not eat what ever they can fit in their mouth...
if they wer to come across a dead fish then yes they would eat it....but alive...no!

and as for your information on the "redtail catfish"...The Redtail Cat can grow impressively large in an aquarium setting and should be given plenty of room to swim. Due to its size and high energy, this fish should be kept with larger tank mates. Besides the minimum tank size of 300 liters, rocks, plants, and large driftwood should be used to enhance and simulate a natural environment. Since the Redtail Catfish is a highly active fish, a tightly covered aquarium should be used to prevent it from jumping out of the tank. They mature into a very heavy fish and should be maintained in a reinforced aquarium.

Minimum Tank Size:600 litres Diet:Omnivore Originouth America Temp (C):22-27C Max Size:1m Familyimelodidae Temperamenteaceful pH:6.0 -7.0 Care Level:Easy

(taken from aquatic life direct.co.uk)

i know exactly what im talking about mate.
and plecy's are one of the best fish for a community tank
whatever sort!
ive kept all kinds of plecostomus's

i studied aquatic biology for 2 years....i know of many types of diseases,fish types,there living arrangments, all sorts...
i know what fish can be put together and what cant!

and i know this because again i have had different catfish for many years.
thankyou

LOL, ok for a start you think a 1 meter/3 foot (your length) catfish can fit into on this sites calculator 3x2x2(340 ltr)tank?, a fish that that would be 3 foot can turn round in a 2 foot wide tank?

Before you make such sensational claims about what experience you have and what you have studied please think!!

Take a look HERE!!

You go ahead and think that you could house a potential 5 foot fish within a fish tank 3 foot long but please keep it to yourself and make mistakes that only you yourself can do instead of encouraging people to house fish very inadequately.

You obviously no far more than me on catfish and ultimately plecs lol but i will advise you that you really do need to do a little more research and get whatever money you paid for your 'biology' course back, they didn't teach you to well

Just wanted to add, if anybody is planning on listening to this obviously wrong advice, please look at his profile and see what sort of fish he is keeping within an 85litre tank and also his previous posts on what fish trouble he is having, all from a so called fish expert

(x1) siamese fighter fish
(x2) pictus catfish
(x3) black skirt tetra's
(x7) neon tera's
(x2) dwarf blue ram cichlids
(x2) male guppy's
(x1) chinese algea eater
(x2) small goldfish

And this is apparently from someone that knows a heck of alot about catfish and fish in general lol

Dont want anybody to think im getting at this person but i really dont want people thinking that they can get a redtail catfish if they have a 300 ltr tank or even a 600 litr tank from the info the person is trying to give.

 

[fishfinderdave]

ok first of all im not telling or advising anybody to have any of these fish as they are hard to look after due to their size!
DONT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS PAL!

all i said in my post was a few things about certain catfish as many people get conffused when buying these fish.
i said whats ok to have and whats not such a good idea to have... i.e. the "red tail catfish"

ive kept catfish for many years and never once had any problems!
and so what ive lost 3 guppy's everyone losses a few fish every once in a while so what!
all my other fish are fine.

and my tank is not over-crowded mate, far from it actually...when they get a lil bigger then they will be moved to a bigger tank!
all the fish are very small atm.

and i get research from the internet, books, experiance, and from my basic studies at college and my course.

i have the qualifications mate....

AND WHERE IN MY POST HAVE I SAID IM AN EXPERT FISH KEEPER??? please find it and let me know!

lets just agree to disagree right!
simple!

and people everybody losses a few fish...it called fish keeping...

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm sorry fish finder dave, but I am more than inclined to go with FishyJake here.

You implied that you clearly new how to keep all the catfish you were talking about due to 'breeding and your qualifications'

But actually you can't back this up with any sort of evidence. And fishyjake has easily found a flaw in your logic (3ft fish in a 3ft tank with 2ft of turning space...it's just impossible).

Qualifications mean nothing. Experience and listening to advice from others who have actually experienced it means everything. I'm not trying to have a go, I'd just really really advise that you don't give advice on something you clearly aren't 100% on.

Also, you haven't listed any water stats. Despite your 'qualifications', which may I add aren't in 'Keeping freshwater tropical fish in a fish tank', you have an overstocked and very incompatible tank set-up.

People around here will be very happy to help you if you're willing to listen an heed advice. But people aren't going to stand back and watch someone profess to know all about something when the simple facts are that there are many inconsistencies in your post.

Oh one final thing, I'm not trying to imply your qualifications are meaningless, but they really can't be applied strongly enough to fish keeping for you to make posts such as this.

Ps. Of course people lose fish every now n then...but you'll find most people giving advice on here only lose them to old age. I haven't had a single death due to disease since I started my tank 2 1/2 years ago. However I did have them WHEN I started the tank, before I knew about cycling, good stocking and good husbandry.

 

[JenCliBee]

Thankyou curiosity you pretty much answered everything i would had written back , at least someone with the sense to know what they are actually talking about stepped up.

Dave, we will agree to disagree, your wrong plain and simple lol.

Stop giving advice on fish you haven't either kept or know what the requirements are. I had to laugh when you said a potential 5 foot fish could fit into a 300 litres equivalent to a 3 foot tank lol.

Just to let you know beens your so hung up on what experience and qualifications you have, i have been keeping catfish/plecs for the last 17 years, that nearly as old as you actually are lol. Experience counts for alot and not what a site tells you when they are trying to sell fish.

Have a good day either way but try and listen to somebody when they are giving 'correct' advise when the welfare and self being of fish are involved.