Catfish Newbie

[Soundspeedy]

Hey,
although ive been on the fish scene for a long time, i have decided now to get myself a nice catfish or 2!
But! my tank holds large cichlids (sevs) and im wanting to get something that they wont bully, nor shall bully it, (the sevs are very gentle and have had no problem with them)
The criteria:
They must not grow to more than 6 inchs long,
Must eat algae,
Must look nice,
Preferably from the Americas,
Compatible with other fish,
not too expensive.
Any help much appreciated.
Danny

 

[Davo86]

tbh There are really only two options;

Ancistrus Bristlenose plecs
Rubber-lip/Bulldog plecs

In reality not many catfish eat algae

 

[Soundspeedy]

ok,
so would i be able to get a couple of ottos to keep the algae down?
then a nice catfish?
what would my options be then?
i quite like the catfish the the long whiskers, would any of these be compatible with my current fish and not grow too large?
Thankyou
Danny

 

[toddnbecka]

BN pleco's are still your best bet for algae cleanup, a single adult will clean up a 55 w/out any problem. As for a compatible catfish, Synodontis eupterus is a good choice. If you want one you'll never see go with a raphael. They're strictly nocturnal; you'll forget it's even in the tank.