Need catfish suggestions..

[Mudfrog]

Ok.. I'm looking for a catfish with a prehistoric look, the catch is I would want it to max out around 8-10", and I would "prefer" it to not hide 23 hours a day. I'm putting together a tank of ugly / prehistoric looking fish and I need a really kick butt catfish to go in with it.

The first catfish that came to mind is the Marbled Raphael (Amblydoras hancockii) but I've had them in the past and they do hide, granted not as much as the striped or spotted raphaels but I'd prefer one that somewhat stays out in the open. Any thoughts?

Tank would be 60x18x17

On a side note, I'm interested in the Flame Pleco (L024), does anyone know if they hide majority of the time?

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

You'll find that most cats from the Doradidae family will hide A LOT.

Other than the size limitation, do you have any other preferences?

 

[Mudfrog]

Not really.. Just one that has a "prehistoric" look to it. Something like a minature ripsaw would be great although I don't know of any lol.

Possibly something that can't eat a fish of equal size, I will have some bichirs and a red wolf in the tank with it.

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

Yeah, a full sized ripsaw could be a handful...lol.

I know of Centrodoras hasemani, but good luck finding one...I have never even seen one available from a vendor.

There are some fish, like Megalodoras uranoscopus, that do get big, but take A LONG time to grow and they are true gentle giants. They aren't very demanding for space due to the fact they are fairly inactive.

I have two of these guys, and I love them. They do hide, but not completely...and I can get them to come out on cue if I drop sinking pellets in the tank.

Here's a link to PC...see if you think they are an option.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=143

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

Would you look at that...I'm at work and I found a pic of my guys.

Here are my two...it's an old pic, but you can see they have a very prehistoric look to them.

 

[Mudfrog]

Yea I'm familiar with them but was under the impression they get waaaay to big (which they do ). I thought I read someone saying theirs grew from 3" to 12" in a matter of less then a year so that probably wouldn't work for me but yea.. I love that catfish and it would fit the bill perfectly as far as looks goes.

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

I was just admiring kolsix's Jaguar cats (Liosomadoras oncinus)...those would work well for you.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=173

They are hiders...but this is what worked for koltsix:

I kept mine in a pretty bare tank so I could view them. They're real nocturnal even with a blue light I couldn't coax them out. So thats when I decided to give them nowhere to hide. Now I've re-introduced hiding spot and only one will stay in the open. They're all about 5-6" though the brazen one is the widest around 3" wide. Important too is that 77 degrees is the max temp they'll take any higher and they'll refuse to eat. Once they start eating they eat blackworms, shrimp, earthworms and red wigglers.

 

[channarox]

just lay some slate in front of the glass.
thats how i see my irwini 24/7.
have you considered cats from the siluridae family?
they look pretty cool.