Smaller catfish

Hey guys I was wondering wether there are any cool predatory catfish that only reach +-40cm that don’t cost a fortune and a half
I am looking st a Lima Shovelnose


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wazeers in boksburg have lima every now and then, look at there fb page.
still need at least a 5 foot tank and generally kept in a school

 

As @top dog mentioned, Wazeers sometimes has, He had some when I was there on Saturday

They got nice characters but yes, they are schooling fish and enjoy company

 

Didn’t know they were schooling got a 830 litre tank for them, will see how many will fit online


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Ok not much info online of the schooling nature or how many will be able to go in a 120 x 120 x 60 filled to the 55cm mark with about 250-300 l sump?


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You should be able to get some info on them on Planet Catfish
From what I have read, you don't necessarily need a big school of them but I have read many times that
they like company so maybe two will be ok
There are also many people that have one only
Cesar is growing out a couple of them and you can actually watch their playful nature with each other

The one catfish I really, really like and also stays within easonable size is the Lince catsfish... that's stunning but no luck so far in getting one
Pimelodus species also have a few variants that grow slightly bigger than the pictus but we never see them locally

Its sad that the RTC gets brought in by the hundreds but the many species of smaller to medium size cats are so hard to find

 

Predatory catfish are usually larger. Try Pimelodus maybe

 

That's what I said.. and want.... but about the only Pims we have been able to find are Pictus and they too small to go with the rays..
The other varieties are just not found anywhere

There is also the Sun catfish but from what I have learnt you need to be careful its not the Asian one because they can be rather agro ... not sure though..

The Tigrinus is also a stunning catfish... they are around now and then but expensive...

 

Marble pin get too big and don’t really want a syno


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Would love a tig but too expensive


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You get a few other Pimelodus that look a lot like the Pictus but grow a bit bigger and are nice.
Cant think of the exact names now but will look it up
Problem is to find some here..

 

Sun Catfish \ Golden Spotted Catfish - Mine was about 33cm when I sold my tank with him after my Arowana past on... They sell for R100 - R150 each at about 8cm.

Sorry not a great pic was preparing to move to his new home.

 

Also was the only fish in the tank that used to swim right up against my Arowana and ate together with him...

 

Had two Asian Suns previously, both very relaxed, but only saw them at feeding time. Got to a fair size, haven't seen many that get too much larger than 30cm.

Synodontis aren't a bad choice, plus the larger ones don't make an effort to hide which is nice.

Some doradids (like the striped talking catfish) get to about 20cm, and are too spikey and wide to be bothered by most predators. You get larger doradids, too, which I see are becoming more frequently imported these days...

There are some more exotic types that probably don't get brought in often, but also might cost you an arm and a leg. Befriend a good LFS and ask them if anything unusual pops up on their lists, or make requests. This has helped me find the fish I'm looking for, as opposed to waiting around for a good alternative that isn't exactly what you're looking for.

 

Thanks @SalmonAfrica

Nice to her first hand from someone that had Asian Suncatfish
I did a bit of reading up on them a little while ago as I have been wanting something that doesnt get too big but is safe with the rays as they do a good job of finishing off any left overs
Saw some conflicting info around as to their size and temperament versus the Suncatfish so i was a bit scared.
Nice to know that yours were very relaxed

I have tried to stay away from very spikey ones as Im also worried that for some reason they injure the rays

As you say, the more exotic types are not easy to come by at this stage but I agree that if you have a good relationship with an LFS, you have a better chance of coming across something.