Are there any catfish out there that do ok with cichlids, but similar in body appearance as a RTC but not nearly as large? Was thinking max size maybe a foot in length?
I'd have to disagree, look up Ameiurus serracathus, they're just imossiboe to find. The Florida strain of Ameiurus nebulous looks almost identical and gets a few inches bigger, maybe just what the OP is looking for.Sun catfish are the closest I can think of. Slow growth though. There are several Chrysichthys and Ameiurus species that meet your size requirement, but none are as attractive as an RTC.
Illegal in US. One of my dream fish that I can't legally have, right up there with Asian Aros.a walking catfish doesn't look to much like the rtc, but they still get pretty big, you can get some very nice colours/patterns and are fun to watch