Catfish school/shoaling for a 20 gallon long

[_SEANC]

Hi, I have a 30''x12''x12'' tank that is fully cycled and I was just wondering if there were any schooling or shoaling catfish species I could keep other than cories. I like SA Bumblebee cats, but I don't know enough about them and was looking for any insight. I also like oddball fish so if you have any recommendations I would love to hear them.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I know they are still corys but for that size of tank I would be looking at a good group of something like c. hastatus. To bring a schooling but different midwater behaviour. A smaller bumblebee group would work but with plenty of hideouts you would never see them.
Similar to corys you have the various aspidoras depending on which you could even get hold of. Maybe something similar but different like the smaller loaches although some can be quite territorial.
some of the Tatia group might work but again VERY nocturnal.
Anchor cats but not very schooling.
Mystus bimaculatus are a schooling tolerant fish but may require a little larger tank and of course would depend what they were with as their night time activity may bother other tank mates.
Hassles leaf catfish is a good choice if you can get a group of 4-5 as they do like to midwater swim too, just don’t have anything like barbs or some tetras to pick on them when they do.
Glass catfish or debawii catfish might be another choice for something a little different.

 

[_SEANC]

What species of loach would you recommend, I've kept khuli loaches before, but I defenitely wouldn't mind trying another species. I feel like I would need a larger tank for most species.

 

[duanes]

Depending on water parameters, because I have always had hard high pH water, I was able to keep a small shoal of dwarf Synodontus petricola with similar size African cichlids..

And is a southern S American tank, Aspidorus spilotus

Today with my 8.2 pH tap water here in Panama, I have caught Pimalodus chagresii for my 180 gal, and I doubt they'd work in such a small tank as a 20 gal, are generally only active at dawn, and dusk, and are probably not available commercially anyway.

 

[Fishman Dave]

What species of loach would you recommend, I've kept khuli loaches before, but I defenitely wouldn't mind trying another species. I feel like I would need a larger tank for most species.

Something along the lines of the hovering zebra loach although there are a number of smaller loaches, it’s what you can get hold of that’s not too large or territorial. Garra may also be added to the list.

 

[_SEANC]

I know I said I didn't really want to keep cories, but would a pair or trio of golden wonder killifish and a school of 6-8 corydoras work?

 

[_SEANC]

or would otos be better?

 

[Trouser Bark]

Otos are xlnt but I've never thought of them as a schooling fish. They also prefer algae and greens over the detritus that most cats get excited about.

 

[_SEANC]

any corydoras species you'd recommend I'm with trying anything but panda cories

 

[Fishman Dave]

Your small varieties like harbrosus, hastatus and Pygmaeus tend to group more than most but beyond that I would go with patterning you like and a type you can get hold of. There are hundreds but many are very hard to get hold of. Worth making a list of the ones you can get hold of first and seeing which you like best rather than going through them all on planet catfish, picking what you like and then trying to see if you can actually get them.
Agassizzi, Trilineatus, melanistius, elegans, rabauti, eques, Schwartzi, Schultzi, all good beyond your normal ones listed as peppered and bronze.