Which Catfish?

[OohFeeshy]

I'm thinking of putting an order in with Trimar, I want some fish on there but would also like some sort of dwarf cory and some sort of plec. Corywise, its between Pygmaeus, Habrosus and Hastatus, which do you prefer? I can't pick And plecs. I DON'T want an algea eater, the tank hardly has enough lighting for plants, let alone algae and I don't really like feeding algae wafers. The tank is 20g, quite well stocked but with lots of filtration, and I want something decorative but not something that hides constantly. I don't want a massively expensive one either. So, I narrow it down to...


ANCISTRUS SP. GOLD - LONGFIN 7.99
FARLOWELLA 4.99
GOLD PLEC -RED EYE ( gibbiceps) 8.99
HYPOSTOMUS SP.(COLUMBIA ) 5.75
L001 LEOPARD PLEC 3.99
L007 VAMPIRE PLEC 17.50
L10A RED WHIPTAIL 6.99
L18 GOLD NUGGET 17.50
L026 ANGELICUS 12.75 B7
LDA 08 ANCISTRUS CLARO 8.99 MARBLED CAT
L34 ANCISTRUS RANUNCULUS 9.99 e2//E4/e8
L056 PARANCISTRUS AURANTIACUS 12.50 CHUNKY G1
L059 ANCISTRUS SP 14.75 STUNNING-WHITE SPOTS XL H1
L66 KING TIGER 17.75 SPECIAL OFFER a5/D7
L018/L81/L177 GOLD NUGGET PLEC 17.50 B17/B18
L129 HYPANCISTRUS SP. 17.50 A4
L134 LEOPARD FROG 21.75 FEW B19/B21
L169 (LDA 01) GOILD STRIPE PLEC 18.50 E1
L182 ANCISTRUS SP STARLIGHT 8.75 A9
L183 ANCISTRUS DOLICHOPTERUS 8.75 STARLIGHT ANCISTRUS M O.O.S
L187A CHAETOSTOMA SP 12.75 SPOTTED BULLDOG XXL D6/D8
L200 LEMON SPOT GREEN PLEC O.O.S.
L 201 HYPANCISTRUS INSPECTOR 18.75 PROBABLY A13/A20/D9
L204 FLASH PECKOLTIA 14.75 2"+ B24
L255 SPOTTED MEDUSA RANUNCULOUS 22.50 S B21`
L260 QUEEN ARABESQUE 18.75 SPECIAL OFFER C7/A2/E5
L270 CHOCOLATE ZEBRA 15.00 SPECIAL OFFER A12/B6
PTEROSTURIOSOMA MICROPS 18.50 O.O.S
ROYAL PLEC (COLUMBIA ) 20.00 D9
WHIPTAILS 4.49

I have no idea how big most of these get, I think most are 6'' max so not *overly* big, but I'm not sure. What do you think I should get?

 

[Bloo]

Quite a few of those are unsuitable due to eventual size - reference check all of them against Planet Catfish. Also note that O.O.S means "Out of Stock".

I think if you want visibility, then go for the "ANCISTRUS SP. GOLD - LONGFIN" or "L187A CHAETOSTOMA SP SPOTTED BULLDOG " or perhaps even a Farlowella - but they can be delicate and might not do well in shipping. Or even ordinary whiptails.
Most of the others are very nocturnal and you'll hardly see them.

Do *not* get the L255's - they will almost certainly die as they are extremely delicate

HTH

 

[OohFeeshy]

Doh... Didn't notice the o.o.s Ah well, I'll check out the spotted bulldog, although BN's were a last resort, I'm not a massive fan of the bristles. I like the look of L010a (red whiptail), what do you think of those? Although Planet Catfish mentions the colour is possibly artificial

 

[Bloo]

Yeah they should be lovely too though I do not believe the colour is artificial.
One of our members here have bred them, but can't remember who now
Though do not expect them to arrive looking bright red - they are more of a "bright brick brown" and the ones through Trimar are likely to be fairly small.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I looked at the L187A, thats quite nice but I do like the red whiptails Also on the cory note, I have two C leucomelas (I think) and all they do is sit under the filter all day... Should they become more active when I add some more cories (peppered unfourtunately, these two were the last left of this species and I'm not paying £10 + for unhealthy rip offs) or is there a problem?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Also on the cory note, I have two C leucomelas (I think) and all they do is sit under the filter all day... Should they become more active when I add some more cories (peppered unfourtunately, these two were the last left of this species and I'm not paying £10 + for unhealthy rip offs) or is there a problem?

Check on them early in the morning and late at night, they may be very active then. My peppereds went through a phase of only appearing at dawn and dusk, but have become more visible since they started spawning (passed that awkward adolescent stage ).
edit: sorry, I forgot- you're a teenager yourself, aren't you? but you don't come across as awkward at all; well I suppose you're not a cory. Please excuse ageism.

As long as they are active at some time in the day/night they should be all right. Could also be that they would like more of their own kind, though.

 

[Barracuda518]

I have 6 C.leucomelas and they are very active. It might be better if you could possibly find more of them to make a nice school. I have 8 C.aeneus and they like to school with the C.leucomelas. However, my 6 C.leucomelas are always together.

Good Luck