Cichla Keepers - Good Catfish / Bottom Fish

[dr exum]

what do you folks have in your tanks? got an 8’x4’x31” tank... 625g auto w/c 75g-100g per day...

my bass 8”-10” (9)

i’ve tried / have

had : TSN - works nice until certain size then... well bass = dinner

6” - Flagtail - was good with smaller bass... largest bass wanted it in his tummy...

have : sun cat 9” - swam with them tried to be friends, now just hides... going to take out

12” L14 - Hides also... comes out a bit... going to take out

12” - SailFin Pictus Cat - Hides think Bass are picking on it a bit... moving

7” - L 600 - hides but its small so i’d expect that... moving also

thinking a Serratus is next....

just want something to work the wood, pick up scraps in the back of the tank...

i know hypothetically cichlas sift/or should sift the gravel

thanks!

 

[FuriousFish]

I have Polypterus and a big sun catfish in with mine. In a tank the size of yours I would put a Giraffe catfish or an Achara catfish. Clown Knifefish are really cool too, I had one for a very long time.

 

[dr exum]

I have Polypterus and a big sun catfish in with mine. In a tank the size of yours I would put a Giraffe catfish or an Achara catfish. Clown Knifefish are really cool too, I had one for a very long time.

i’ll look into those two cats... trying to keep everything around 30” or less...

i’ve not had a clown knife in forever... i’m skeptical, i’ve read a lot of stories of the havoc the wreak at night...

 

[Oscar Mike]

i’ll look into those two cats... trying to keep everything around 30” or less...

I absolutely adore my 23" achara. He did recently eat a 4" tiger silver dollar but I believe he learned his lesson after regurgitating it a few hours later and stopped going after them. Max size is ~32" but usually seem to top out around 28-30" before passing of old age. Growth was fast 1" a month up to around 16" and slowed down after that. He was pretty shy for the first year and would only eat with the lights off so I kept them off most of the time. Now he never hides and follows me around the room, tastes any new object I put in the tank, even follows my fingers with his whiskers lol. Favorite fish I've had the pleasure of keeping.

 

[dr exum]

I absolutely adore my 23" achara. He did recently eat a 4" tiger silver dollar but I believe he learned his lesson after regurgitating it a few hours later and stopped going after them. Max size is ~32" but usually seem to top out around 28-30" before passing of old age. Growth was fast 1" a month up to around 16" and slowed down after that. He was pretty shy for the first year and would only eat with the lights off so I kept them off most of the time. Now he never hides and follows me around the room, tastes any new object I put in the tank, even follows my fingers with his whiskers lol. Favorite fish I've had the pleasure of keeping.
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looks like a great pet fish! that’s about what i’m looking for, gonna be patient with the pictus sailfin, may need to move him to a more hospitable environment ....

i’ve got one scoped out, seem to lose their pattern over time.

think i’m gonna go troll victors threads... he seems to be our resident catfish collector extraordinaire.

think i gotta get my pond going....

thanks all for input!

 

[Blakewater]

As stated I keep both Achara and polypterus with mine. I’m growing out some geos to add in as well. Tbh anything they can’t eat and won’t eat them will work although they may outcompete some fish for food. In that case you may need to target feed some fish. I have heard cases of them spooking stingrays and getting barbed so proceed in the ray area with caution

Personally though, if you make sure they get home my best addition for my bass has been polypterus. Bass are very messy, catfish are very messy, polypterus aren’t as messy. They can be a good addition that looks cool but won’t create a ton of nitrates.

 

[richyrich]

Not a catfish but I found my fire eels worked well with my bass picking up muscles, prawns and worms that hit the deck.

 

[dr exum]

As stated I keep both Achara and polypterus with mine. I’m growing out some geos to add in as well. Tbh anything they can’t eat and won’t eat them will work although they may outcompete some fish for food. In that case you may need to target feed some fish. I have heard cases of them spooking stingrays and getting barbed so proceed in the ray area with caution

Personally though, if you make sure they get home my best addition for my bass has been polypterus. Bass are very messy, catfish are very messy, polypterus aren’t as messy. They can be a good addition that looks cool but won’t create a ton of nitrates.

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i’ve got some growing out,

i’ve been target feeding the “mopani reef group” or the 4 fish that reside in the back wood structure of the tank. i just wonder if they are living their best fish life being sequestered?

like the geo idea, need to do some research on biggest species.

thanks for Tips!

 

[dr exum]

Not a catfish but I found my fire eels worked well with my bass picking up muscles, prawns and worms that hit the deck.

that’s a good idea! those get big! the uneaten/regurgitated pellets sadly go into the sump and the kril does find its way to the substrate...

may be leaning towards one these serratus?

 

[cigars]

Vulture cat, always out actively swims during the day and is aggressive at feeding time just like bass and can hold its own and it doesn’t grow to super large size. Not very good with other bottom dwellers though I wouldn’t house a vulture cat with rays, I have a psuedoras granulosus that hides all day comes out at night.