Active bottom dweller (thinking about a catfish)

[West1]

Looking to add something active with my silver aro. I don't know many catfish species except the normal ones and the ones I see in the vendor section.

Tank is 300gl 8'x30" and I'd like to try something active and that wont eat a 16" aro. Dark color cat is out of the question as the back of my tank is black.

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks

 

[divemaster99]

An active catfish, that's funny . Most all cats will hide all day and possibly during feeding with a few species being active at feeding time. It's rare to find a cat that is out and moving all day IME.

 

[Siddons11]

-Lince catfish
- Vulture catfish (might be too dark colored)
- Bowfin (not a catfish or extremely active though)


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[rodger]

Lince is way too big. Tank would need to be minimum 12x4' footprint.

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[madrezz]

Vulture Catfish +1

 

[West1]

Thanks all, didnt think there was anything too active in the cat category.

I'll have to think of something else


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[thebiggerthebetter]

Looking to add something active with my silver aro. I don't know many catfish species except the normal ones and the ones I see in the vendor section.

Tank is 300gl 8'x30" and I'd like to try something active and that wont eat a 16" aro. Dark color cat is out of the question as the back of my tank is black.

How active? IDS (iridescent shark catfish) and other Pangsiids swim all the time and are usually quite visible. Not bottom dwellers though. Water column rather.

TSNs, LSNs do too if big enough and comfortable. Same with sun cats. Lince fits the bill well but, as Rodger said, the tank's too small for life and they like their own kin company and are rare and expensive. Holy grail of a catfish for great many wanna-be-keepers here.

 

[stiker]

I have a group of Australian salmon tail catfish (arius graeffei) that are almost constantly active. There are more of a middle dweller though over a bottom dweller although they do rest on the bottom every now and then.

 

[Bigcatfishrule]

I have a group of Australian salmon tail catfish (arius graeffei) that are almost constantly active. There are more of a middle dweller though over a bottom dweller although they do rest on the bottom every now and then.

X1000000
Salmon tailed cats are my favourite catfish. Being in Australia I used to catch them when I went fishing and take them home and put them in a tank. Like pictus cats they like to be in groups of at least 3, and the more there are the more active they are. However be aware that there are several different varieties of them that are incredibly difficult to tell apart, the largest of the varieties grows in excess of 4ft, and the smallest tops out around 30-40cm, and are the one you are most likely to encounter in the hobby. The happier they are, the darker they'll be, ideal coloration being black on the top and sides and bright white or silver underneath. There is also a black and white piebald version, which I have only seen very occasionally, so I presume it is quite rare. Interestingly enough the piebald version is naturally occurring in the wild, I have seen a bloke catch one while fishing for barramundi. In the wild they (salmon tailed cats) share quite a bit of their habitats with saratoga (an Australian species of aro), so they will go quite well with yours. In my experience they grow quite slowly. They get very tame and personable, I was almost able to handfeed my WC salmontails. They are not in the least aggressive to fish that are too big to be prey (they are a predatory catfish and will chase and eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths), they are extremely peaceful, but can handle aggression from other fish very well, as they share river systems with rays and sharks in the salt, and barramundi, giant gar and the extremely aggressive and cichlid-like sooty grunter. Oh and crocs . I highly recommend getting a trio or more of salmon tailed catfish. They are pretty close to being the best fish I have ever kept. They tend to roam the lower and mid water sections, but if used to it, they may dart to the surface for food.

 

[Bigcatfishrule]

They can live in water from full marine to full fresh, and one 4ft specimen was caught well offshore in 200ft of water. I they can survive being in the open ocean, then I'm pretty sure they'll have no issues with aggressive tank mates.