Cat Fish With Cichlids

[aqua monster]

Hi people what catfish are good to mix with cichlids and will eat all the green grow..?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If you are talking "Rift Valley" cichlids from Malawi and Tanganyika, start researching Synodontis species

 

[noxious_nasties]

I'm keen to hear other opinions on this also. I keep both malawi and tanganyikan cichlids and know that the cuckoo catfish is suppose to be the
most compatible as it comes from the lake, but never kept em so don't know much about how well they clean up algae. I did attempt to keep a
group of young bristlenose catfish with fry but I'm down to 2 fish from the original 10 so I don't see how people keep them with older ones and
still have them survive (maybe they were too young)

 

[aqua monster]

cuckoo catfish is what i went for...i put 4 in today and they all seem happy...

 

[aqua monster]

hi the cuckoo cat fish seem very shy...

are they like this all the time or will they stsrt to come out more as they grow..?

 

[Realtree]

hi the cuckoo cat fish seem very shy...

are they like this all the time or will they stsrt to come out more as they grow..?

They will get more confident as they grow
Brilliant to watch mine have races along front glass after lights out

 

[Larkspur]

We have 2 upside down catfish (synodontis)

We also have 2 plecos (bulldog plecos) with them. We were advised not to add plecos as they prefer a different type water than the cichlids do. However, we have trouble keeping the pH around 8 anyway. It stays at best 7.8 and the bulldogs tolerate it fine. They seem to love cleaning our seashells too which we added to try and raise the pH naturally. The cichlids don't bother them and there are plenty of places for them to hide (such as inside our conch shell) anyway.

 

[aqua monster]

I have seen them out after lights out and they do look good as there is 4 of them...

What is best to feed them on as any thing i put in the cichlids seem to eat befor it hits the bottom so cant see there being much left for them guys.....

Any ideas on what they like and how to get it to them..?

 

[Realtree]

I have seen them out after lights out and they do look good as there is 4 of them...

What is best to feed them on as any thing i put in the cichlids seem to eat befor it hits the bottom so cant see there being much left for them guys.....

Any ideas on what they like and how to get it to them..?

I feed mine on catfish pellets if you are having problems try feeding them in the dark

 

[aqua monster]

what a good idea..i never even thought of doing that...

will they eat Algae from of the rocks or what is best for that..?

 

[Realtree]

what a good idea..i never even thought of doing that...

will they eat Algae from of the rocks or what is best for that..?

Your cichlids will graze on the algae - catfish will eat anything virtually but require more protein in their diet. Bristlenose plecs are used in cichlid tanks to help with algae eating and they co habit well

 

[M.R Otter]

Algea on the rocks? Is that why you want an algea eater? Your cichlids will eat the algea, and if you want a proof try to feed your cichlids few hours later than the usual feeding hour they will distroy that algea....well at least not completely!! Cockoo catfishes are shy at the beginning but they will get more outgoing as time passes by, and they are also nuctornal by nature so don't expect to see them when the lights are on.... They will appear for few minutes or even seconds when the lights are on.

 

[aqua monster]

The algea is just starting to build up on some rocks in the tank and did not want it to take over...
will all lights cause algea to grow..? ie on the juwel vision it comes with 4 tubes. I only have 2 of them on at any one time as its bright enough...it comes with 2 day light tubes and 2 natural tubes.
Which tubes will cause the algea to grow faster..?
I have notice some of the yellow labs picking at it...

 

[Realtree]

As a rule of thumb
the brighter the light the quicker the algae growth. Your cichlids will clean it off for you - if it is getting to much in the tank you can be assured you are overfeeding - a good way of getting rid of the algae is to stop feeding your fish until it is under control.
Don't worry about this - if you think about it nobody feeds them in the wild and they eat mainly algae growing on the rocks

 

[MikeO]

I have an L137 in with my Mbuna (if you are willing to spend a bit on one).

He eats the algae, but will never control my whole tank on his own.

Holds his own well with the other fish, is happy in the high pH and looks beautiful.