Yea since the tank is 24 tall id go with the barbs ull see them swiming all around and to tell u the truth probly around half the bioload of a gt they are swimers and dont need a territory tend to chill in the middle id just get all 8 at once but make sure they all look healthy but in the end the barbs will mean less filteration needed for the 65.... if u like the look of plastic plants u could add a few in the back corners if u put a med/large rock on the bottem plastic part but plants arnt needed....if u have a QT tank id add the barbs in there for a bit just to make sure they are all healthy kinda a must imo when adding that many fish to any tank but if u go to a good store u should be fine.....
As for a raphel catfish they are cool but they arnt very active at first but after a few months in my tank id see my 8-10" one looking for food. if u where to get one id only add 1 maybe 2 as they get much larger than pictus...both are cool catfish and will work in the tank... I also would add the barbs in first then wait like a week to 2 weeks then add the catfish just so u know ur filter can handel more bioload.... If u keep ur eye on a tank that u just added fish to ull be fine and in a month it will look like a totaly different tank.
As for a raphel catfish they are cool but they arnt very active at first but after a few months in my tank id see my 8-10" one looking for food. if u where to get one id only add 1 maybe 2 as they get much larger than pictus...both are cool catfish and will work in the tank... I also would add the barbs in first then wait like a week to 2 weeks then add the catfish just so u know ur filter can handel more bioload.... If u keep ur eye on a tank that u just added fish to ull be fine and in a month it will look like a totaly different tank.
