Small catfish?

[Demo]

Pretty vague question i know, but so far i have been raising catfish that get really big, but not keeping them to their adult size. EX: redtail from 2-10 inches-than sell.

Does anybody make/breed "toy" catfish. I like the bigger ones, not for their size, but for their shapes/wisker length. I have pictus catfish, and limas (dont seem to get too big*in my experience)

The tank i have is a 55, and i am looking for catfish that wont reach over 12 inches (and thats TOPS) Ideally id get a mini RTC/TSN/other but i do not know much about catfish.

right now i have the "african catfish" common at petco, a few limas, and a few pictus. Id appreciate suggestions on other catfish that hopefully are not too expensive. pics appreciated.

 

[derekp]

How many do you exactly have of each and what else is in the tank? It sounds like you are already set with what you have. The synodontis cats can get up to a good 8 or 9" and so can the pictus cats. The limas on the other hand can get up to 2 feet or more in length and they grow pretty quickly. That sounds like a lot for the bottom of a 55 gallon. I would suggest upgrading your tank to a 125 or so before even considering getting anymore catfish. Without the limas I think any of the raphaels would be okay.

 

[Demo]

Glad you brought that stuff up, i agree that some of the fish can get big, i dont plan to keep all of them, im a tad overstocked right now(but mostly on the bottom side) i dont keep fish that arent catfish(catfish r favorite) I may not get anything now, or at all, but i do want to see what my options are. cant upgrade the tank, but i have 2 55s, both with catfish. the 1 has the "small" catfish. africa/limas/pictus/plecos/columbia shark, the other has a 6in RTC/perunno look alike and a pleco. RTC will be gone with the perrunno soon, looking to see what i can add.

Also, the pictus take a LONG time to grow?

 

[derekp]

I believe so. My four line pictus took a year to grow from 3 inches to 8 inches in a 190 gallon. I wish you lived closer cause I would definitely take that perunno cat and those limas off your hands. Also be aware that the columbian shark should start to be acclimated to brackish water pretty soon or he will start to become sick and deficient.

You could also go with any of the synos. There are tons of them out there and they will not outgrow a 55 gallon. I personally love the synodontis perticola. They are cute little guys.