ghost catfish

[missie]

So- I just bought 3 ghost catfish and a aquatic frog for my 20 gallon. in addition to my new additions I have 3 mollies, dwarf gourami and 1 mystery snail. The pet store told me ghost catfish were hardy creatures as I am going to more hardy fish...my tank is only 7 weeks old. Online, its says they are incredibly fragile... any opinions?

 

[mommytron]

not sure about their hardiness, but any fish likes a cycled tank. you said yours is 7 weeks old, is it fully cycled? what are your water parameters at the moment? as long as your tank is established and your parameters are good, they should do just fine. i don't know a whole lot about them but i know that they like to be in groups and they like a strong current.

 

[missie]

my tank is fully cylced and parameters are good...I just had the water tested at the pet store. Im just concearned that my in experiance will cause issue at some point if they are indeed fragile. I would rather bring them back.. but maybe I will just wait and see... is 3 enough ghost catfish enough?

 

[mommytron]

don't rely on the pet store's water tests. they almost always use strips which are super inaccurate. do you rememeber what your parameters are? you should really invest in a liquid test kit (API Freshwater Master Test kit is the best and most readily available) if you want to be successful in this hobby.

as i understand glass cats are schooling fish, and generally 6+ is a good number for a school. when in smaller numbers they might be shy or aggressive, so just look for those signs, and if you notice they are shy or aggressive, then you may want to think about adding more.

if you are willing to do the research and the work, you will be very capable of keeping these fish. pick up a test kit of your own so you can test at home. when a fish is not considered hardy, it usually means that it just needs optimal water conditions. that means a cycled tank and clean water. in order to find out if you have these things, you really need the test kit.

 

[Morgie]

Ghost catfish ARE very hardy fish, despite being transparent.
They are schooling fish, and if kept in numbers lower than five they'll just become shy and hide a lot. I've never seen ANY aggression from my ghost cats with each other or other fish, in fact they try to cuddle up with most other fish. They're really friendly and easy going, but they are shy and will take a while to get used to you. They'll probably grow to about 3". I would go back to the store and get at least two more, I have five ghost cats in my 20g and they are doing just fine! They can be finicky eaters at first, but will eventually accept flakes. Be sure to give them some plants to hide in. They generally like to stay and swim in the area of your tank with the highest current. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I've kept ghost cats for quite a while and know a lot about them. :>

 

[siva]

I'm not a huge fan of keeping glass cats in a 20 gal tank..you should have six of them and I think they get large enough that you should give a group of them more space.

Also you need to be careful with the mollies. They aren't the best choice for a 20 gal either, no only because of their adult size, but because of their bio-load (they produce a lot of waste).

I would not add any more fish until you have a liquid master test kit.

It's important that your frog is an african dwarf frog aka ADF and not an african clawed frog aka ACF. If you are unsure, look up pics of both to be certain. The ACF's grow much larger and will eat fish.

 

[missie]

Siva- what kinds of fish would you recommend for a 20gallon?

 

[siva]

My favs would be guppies, platties, sparkling gourami, licorice gourami, dwarf gourami, ember tetras, blue tetras, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, glowlight tetras, HiFin blackskirt tetra, rummynose tetra, dwarf pencil fish, harlequin rasbora, scarlet badis, celestial pearl danio, betta, german blue ram, gold ram, bolivian ram, gardneri killifish, Oto cats, dwarf cory cats (hasbrosus or julii would be my fav picks), and kuhli loaches.

 

[missie]

I like guppies too! ghost cats are definitly shy!! they are so cute though! I hope everything works out with them! do i have any room to add more fish or am i fully stocked??

1 dwarf gourami
1 mystery snail
3 ghost cats
3 mollies
1 african dwarf frog

can i add more???

 

[Morgie]

I'd just add two more ghost cats, for there sake, personally. They'll be a lot less shy and have more personality with numbers. After you add two more you'll be 100% stocked.

 

[gkuzel]

I love my little school of ghost cats. lately, they think they're rainbows, and they school with them. I planned to add more before I had a callamanus worm infestation in my tank. Poor things, But they do tend to be pretty hardy. I'd say a healthy school of five or more.

 

[missie]

what do you feed your ghost cats? i tried baby shrimp didnt take much interest in it..

 

[siva]

If you have a master test test kit, ideally you'd have atleast 2 frogs and 2-3 more ghosts. Adding fish without the ability to test your water however, wouldn't make sense because you'll end up with losses. Your tank is already stocked because of the mollies that could easily reach 4" each and at that size will produce tremendous waste for a 20 gal tank. If you are going to maintain an overstocked tank you will need to test your water regularly and be prepared to do extra water changes.

 

[gkuzel]

i feed brine shrimp (frozen) and misis shrimp every other day, along with bloodworms. they were a little fussy at first, but now they even come up for flakes in the morning =)

 

[missie]

where do i get frozen brine shrimp? local pet store? How long after you got your ghosts did they start eating ?? only one of my ghosts comes up to eat.. the rest a still pretty timid so, as soon as i get my master test kit and everything shows up good ..i am getting at least 2 more...

 

[gkuzel]

Yeah, I think that would be best. And yes, your LFS should have frozen food. Anything really to stimulate their appitite, mine just particularly enjoy brine shrimp. They'll also eat bloodworms, and like I said, they've taken a liking to flakes. Mine didn't eat for three or four days after I got them. (scary, I know).

 

[missie]

that makes me feel a ton better!!! thank you!!

 

[gkuzel]

sure, anytime! best of luck!!

 

[Rosenweiss]

IME, glass cats can actually be incredibly hardy, surviving and thriving after such (actual) horrible hazards such as:

1) fish-in cycling (a noob mistake)

2) transport to another tank (recovered from lying on its side in a bowl)

3) being dropped on the floor from a height of 4 feet.

So. I think you will do fine. That being said, getting 5 couldn't hurt! I had a school of 3 until today, when I got 2 more. They are loving, docile, and incredible to watch, so the more the merrier.

And as for what they like to eat, mine go CRAZY for live brine shrimp.

 

[missie]

tried frozen brine shrimp yesterday.. didnt get the response i was hoping for.. but- then again.. only 1 of my cats is brave enough to eat...