I want a catfish for my 20gal

[Incredulous_Ed]

I have a 20long with a pH of around 6.8. It has an AC 50 and an AquaTech 5-15. It is well planted with rotala rotundifolia and has two pieces of malaysian driftwood. The substrate is Schultz aquatic plant soil and sand. There is 7 small blue rams in the tank, along with a bunch of small mollies.

I want a catfish for this tank, thats not a pleco or a corydordinae. Any suggestions?

[mp3rp]

The only two cats I could think of right off the bat are Glass and upside down cats. However a 20g might be a bit small for the upside down cats.

EDIT: Shrimp Cats are also pretty cool and they only grow to about 2-3 inches (Don't know what size you want)

[cocoa_pleco]

i would say a bumblebee cat or upside down cat

[toddnbecka]

Banjo cats are small enough for a 20. They're nocturnal, so don't expect to see much of them, but a group of 3-4 would be effective scavengers and easy on the bioload.
There are also the "moth" catfish species like Hara hara, not too commonly available but they do turn up occaisonally.
Here's a link to franksaquarium, though the catfish are stocked out at the moment: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[toddnbecka]

Here's an aquabid auction, ending soon though: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[angelcakes]

i would agree with bumblebee or banjo catfishthumbs2:

[donvichu]

I would vote for bumblebee catfish:thumb:

[Incredulous_Ed]

How many bumblebee catfish would you reccomend? Would they bother the rams?

[cocoa_pleco]

How many bumblebee catfish would you reccomend? Would they bother the rams?

i would get 1, they hide alot and keep to themselves

[toddnbecka]

I'd go with 3-4, they are social fish. Also good for population control of the mollies...

[Incredulous_Ed]

I read up a bit on bumblebees and dont they get 6 inches? I think thats a tad too big, because I dont want them swallowing any smaller fish. What do you guys think of porthole catfish? are they easy to find?

[toddnbecka]

Asian bumblebees only go about 3", porthole cats grow larger and are schoolers. Not too hard to find, but a group of them would overcrowd a 20 with 7 rams.

[Incredulous_Ed]

So how do I find out if a bumblee catfish is an asain version or not?

[cocoa_pleco]

the small versions are usually more commonly sold and at full size already

[Incredulous_Ed]

ok cool. will i ever see them or do they hide?

[cocoa_pleco]

ok cool. will i ever see them or do they hide?

in smaller tanks like 10g's and 20g's, probably. In a 55g, 75g, or 90g, probably not. Mines in my 90g and havent seen him since i added him

[Incredulous_Ed]

lol cool. Ar ethey commonly avaliable?

[angelcakes]

I read up a bit on bumblebees and dont they get 6 inches? I think thats a tad too big, because I dont want them swallowing any smaller fish. What do you guys think of porthole catfish? are they easy to find?
fantastic fish.......one of the most peaceful fish you will ever get,grow to about 6 inchesthumbs2:

[Red]

I have the south american bumblebee and they are about 4 inches and great cleanup.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol cool. Ar ethey commonly avaliable?

yep, theyre commonly available.

when i spread my 55g's stock to my other tanks to make the 55g a reef, the bumblebee was in the 55g, and i thought he was dead. I put the 55g's driftwood into a 20g, and when i tore down the tank almost a year later he popped out of the driftwood

[Incredulous_Ed]

lol. I hope Ill get to see them. Thanks everyone! Ill check at my LFS, then orde ronline if I have to.

[toddnbecka]

We had an Asian bumblebee in a 20 long back when I was a child. The fish stayed under cover by day, even at feeding time. If the light was turned on after the tank had been dark for some time it would be briefly glimpsed as it zoomed back to its lair. We couldn't figure out why the neon tetra's would gradually disappear every time we put some in the tank. The mystery was finally solved when the bumblebee turned up dead, choked to death on a bumblebee goby it had tried to swallow. Keeping several should make them more active and visible, since they'll be interacting rather than simply hiding and waiting for night to fall. At least it works that way with Synodontis cats...