I need another catfish...suggestions?

[Seedy]

I need another catfish in my 40gal Mbuna tank...Current resident catfish is an L264 pleco...I moved teh Synodontis over to the bowfront so it could have some "friends" to play with...I'd like to put another trick catfish in the 40 now...Not sure what I want...It can't get too big, cus I don't want it to kill the l264...Needs to be tough enough to deal with my dwarf Mbuna...and tolerant of higher ph...I don't care if it will eat my algea or not...

Suggestions? Pics...

Thanks!
Colby D
*CD*

[rsabatini]

planetcatfish.com there's all the info and pictures of catfish you could imagine, hope it helps seedy.

[Seedy]

Oh yeah, thanks...I've browsed that site plenty of times...I'm just wondering what others around here would suggest...

[Algour]

I have a featherin synodontis. He has amarvelous dorsal fin and very nice black on grey dotted body and he is quite friendly.
He is the boss in the tank and take a moment and see him in the planet catfish or scotcat (take a look at the second)
He is also cheap as purchase ( as a fry) around $10 and grows to a nice 6 1/4 to 2/4 inches size for a medium to small tank.
He needs places to hide but when he gets used to you and if you put some mopani wood you can see him for often, less aggresive than the more expensive decorus or multipuncatus sinodontis but to my opinion equally beautiful.

[Algour]

Oh by the way mine lives with three plecos, a gold nugget, a panaqolus ( called gold line or it is L204 nice gold lines on a black body) and a clown peacefully

[Seedy]

How does that species do by itself? I just moved an S.decorus out of there (put it with 2 others in another tank)...I got sick of never seeing him, and figured it was loanly w/out a shoal to hang with...Do you know if that species is a loner or a shoaler?

[Seedy]

Oh and BTW...I'm not so worried about price because its generaly worth it for cats, cus they can live so long...

[aharris]

S. eupterus is more of a loner. If you're really not worried about price, you could always go S. granulosa (lol, tank's too small anyhow).

It wouldn't fit in the 40g, but boy if you had the space and money, one of those big boys sure would look grand with a colony of fronts.

[Algour]

Hello again seedy,

Well eupterus is a loner but you definetly see him much more than a decorus ( hardly ever visible), for a granulosus two problems 1. costs about $170 plus!! 2. when you can find it very rare 3. it gets BIG 4. oh it might eat some other fish if they are like 4 inches.

Yes catfish live more than 10 years for sure, if well taken after but I mean I am not the person to pay lets say $50 for a decorus when you can get a eupterus for $10 but then it is a matter of taste and it taste everyone has his own.
You could try since you speak of catfish for few other synos
( check the site I told you about) there are also the robertsi small cute things of about 3-4' that shoal and you dont mind getting 3-4 because they go out on light and have nicest colours ever, here they had some pink red and some bluish ones but they dont come out often in the market.
What about a nice pleco like a Lepracanthicus or a gold nugget or a sunshine one ?

[Seedy]

Thanks for the input...Ok, well a buck seventy is out of the price range (and tank size...)....BTW I picked up my decorus for $7.99 each!!...They were mismarked...I think they might have been missing a 1 or a 2...(ie. 27.99 or 17.99)...but they ARE S.decorus and they are all 4-7 inches now... :ok:

Hmm...I'll look up the robertsi...that could help to "dither" my Mbuna too...

I really like the Lepracanthicus suggestion, in fact, I like it so much I already have one!...L-264 L. joselimei (or something spelled like that...)...he does just fine w/my Mbuna too...He's a great fish...

I'm a bit spooked about putting in a gold nugget, The only ones I've found around here are still really small, and I'm afraid they would get eaten by my fish....

hmmmm......decisions, decisions....

[Algour]

Hello seedy,

Well, you certainly paid a good bargain for the decorus! Usually they are around $30 but the bigger adults might even fetch ( showcase) $50.
Personally I am a catfish fan and especially a plecostomus addict.
I have a Gold Nugget, got him 5-6 months ago for $30 and he was a tiny 2' hatchling.
Now he is doing fine, especially since I added Zuccini and he seems to munch that exclusively.
He is also much more bold than the Panaque Panaqolus I have( Gold line or Flash Pleco -a black body with nice gold yellow lines all over and a feathery tail, kind of not so customary for sale can fetch upto $50) so he comes to be fed out at the front or he prowls even whe the lights are on and he is very pretty, exotic looking.
If you provide him with zuccini and romaine lettuce, plus some occassional bloodworms and his beloved mopani ( african) wood to munch on he will be just growing and growing

[Algour]

Something extra. My gold nugget lives with three elephant noses ( 9 inches now) one syno (eupterus) -almost 7 inches- 5 bumblebees, 5 kuhli loaches and a clown and gold line pleco.
He is doing fine, but if you go to www.malawicichlidhomepage.com ( MCH), a wonderful site you can find at the other fish intex a picture of Gold Nugget with a guy that has aggressive Mbuna in and he is doing just fine, even in hardier water.
They are very adaptable and there at that site is a guy that has one in a monstrous tank of 220 g ( I would love one of these) with a colony of 6 Frontosa... So...
Oh yes I love that pleco I told you about but I am searching for a Queen Arabesque gold variation

[Seedy]

Thank you very much for all the info...My Panaque is the "royal pleco" red eyes...I can't remember the species name or L # off the top of my head...I only have one small piece of wood in their for him....and I'm not sure that it is specifically "mopani" wood...but this is a sa/ca catfish right? what wood would they eat in the wild, or are they not picky?..oh and here is my l-264 http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2004-06-27/52374-001.jpg

[Algour]

Hello seedy,

That's a nice looking pleco! I am more accustomed to see the black ones with the white spots on, and this looks different having black spots on grey body.
Mopani wood is the kind of wood that grows in riverine areas in Africa and resembles the mangrove root in the sense that it forms an underwater riverine root system where plecos hang on and feed.
Some of them like the Royal ones ( for example the famous nigrolineatus gold or normal variation, check that site I told you about) need wood to chew on because it provides them with enzymes that help them in biodegrading the matter they eat.
The same values for the majority of plecos, but also for some other catfish.
Infact their growth can be stalled if they are not provided with adequate wood.
Now the problem (as far as I have read about it) is that the wood of the Brazil Amazon region where most of the beauties come from decays outside the water at a faster rate so it losaes the nutrients when it arrives at LFs.
Therefore an exact substitute for that is the mopani wood because it a) doesnt degrade outside water at such a rate
b) provides them with all the bacteria they need to grow
c) induces spawn even at your mbuna tank because it works like peat moss and that softens the water a little and combined with bloodworms works many times for spawning (and it is cheaper) when your cichlids dont want to spawn
d) Has nevertheless a defect. It tans the water and so I had mine for 6 months in a water bucket and was changing that three times a week or at least when I could to get the colouration out.
St that time I had another piece inside ( got two).
e) I am afraid it is because of the above pricey... For a nice piece like bigger than your palm size and nice decoration shape ( by the way it looks nice in water because it has darket and whiter sides) you might pay upto $30.
f) Last but not least it cultivates a white fungus ( you can see that in fact like little mucus) that synos and plecos love to eat and it is like enriched algae.
By the way I am trying now from Kingston Ontario desperately to get my hands on Frontosa blue zaire fry with NO lack grgrgr
I wish I could get apic and send you the treat back of my pleco (the Gold line since gold nugget everyone knows how they look) but believe it or not I have no proper camera!!

[Seedy]

Thank you again, I have my panaque in w/my tang/peacocks...I'm not sure exactly what kind of wood it is...I'm afraid of adding any more due to the tanic acid issue and water staining...(I have very hard, very well buffered water)...my Tangs really shouldn't go below 8 pH...do you think that with the wood I have (it came from a petstore 10 years ago, and is VERY well cured) I should add more? I have considered picking up some driftwood that has been floating in a local lake and boiling it...will this help?or is it not recomended by you?

I'd love to see some pics if you ever get the chance...

[Algour]

Hello seedy,

Seems a side chat tonight ( lol I am at aquabid searching for the fro)
Well driftwood is nice as a decoration, but it not really doing much beyond that I am afraid, so personally I wouldn't get into the trouble because it isn't really helpful in that way.
Well you got a Lepracanthicus and these guys if they do something is that they hang on wood! Just check the pics on scotcat planetcatfish etc so hmmm.
My gold pleco or flash pleco ( common names are a mess) got really bigger when I added the wood in and he is chewing there daily same the others, but with Lepracanthicus it is like a must.
These guys are bottomfeeders and mucus eaters, they need wood to grow to their size or as showcase.
Of course on the other hand they are resisitant little thingies so they don't mind you having them at much higher ph than were they live etc but I suggest you buy a piece of mopani bogwood and you put it in a basket and leave it there and change the water for 5-6 months ( depends on the "freshness of the wood etc) and then add it in
Thats the problem with acclimatizing fish that are from different regions etc you cant have all happy, but I would exactly because he has a 10 year piece there and he lives in higher acidity give him as compensation a piece of wood or something to munch on then if you are worried for the mbuna leave it as it is.
Though this is a fact seedy as your mbuna will not show their best if the water is not what they like the same the pleco, plus without adequate wood.
Do you put zuccini romaine lettuce or throw some wafers ( althought the latest make the water really bad put better some carnivorous pleco pellets)?

[Seedy]

I feed all my Plecos wafers and fresh veggies...I was unaware that my Leprocanthicus HAD to have the wood, I knew that for the Panaque but was unaware on the other...I'll look into that...

Yeah, I have to admit that my plecos' needs come second to my Cichlids...I think my leprocanthicus is probably about full grown...he's about 5 inches or so now...My panaque on the other hand is still very small, only maybe 3 inches...My albino bushy nose is tiny at only 2 inches at the most...