New catfish - any suggestions?

[J-D]

I'm gradually filling my 127 litre tank and have decided my next addition should be a catfish...can anyone recommend which type I should go for? The way i'm planning it he will be living with pristella and cardinal tetras and dwarf gouramis (although all I have at the moment is the pristellas). I don't think I want more than one so he'd have to be a type who likes being a loner, and I wouldn't want him to get too big, what with all the other fish in the tank being pretty small ones, say 5-6 inch max. The tank is 3 feet by 1 with small gravel substrate and I have a perfect hiding place in the form of a broken pot. The tank's only been populated for four weeks so far...

 

[Jchillin]

Sounds like you might be interested in a dwarf pleco, perhaps a bristlenose or pit bull. They are active and hard working and won't bust your tank when full grown.

 

[Zagz]

My vote would be for the bristlenose if you go with a pleco.

A small cat fish is the upside down catfish (Synodontis nigriventris). They grow to be about 4". And of course there are always the corydoras, of which there is many possibilites. Keep in mind most catfish don't eat algae all that much.

 

[J-D]

cool thanks guys. algae eating's not so much of a priority as, touch wood, so far i haven't had any, i'm just looking for someone to sweep up really!

 

[tropicfishman]

well not only are catfish good, but snails do a good job, I put two in my 29 gallon and they clened the spots of algea off my driftwood the first night, but in a 30 some gallon tank such as yours, I would think a bristlenose or even apictus cat would be cool, you could even do a clown loach and that would look nice and do a great job but they get big

 

[Menagerie]

you could even do a clown loach and that would look nice and do a great job but they get big

These guys do best in groups of 3+. You can't go wrong with a dwarf pleco!

 

[JCatania43]

are they known to often clean up the extra food and wutnot on the bottom

 

[DeathWarp]

For food handling, I'll say look into corydoras. As for algae eater, brisstlenose is an excellent choice, or even a chocolate albino