# community friendly, small, solo catfish



## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

Does anyone know of a catfish that is small, community safe, and doesn't need a shoal of similar species? I would be housing it in a 55G, and was hoping it could be 5 inches or less (preferably less), with mixed gouramis, 6 cory cats, platies, and a bamboo shrimp. I want something that can live it's entire life in that tank, and not outgrow it, or predate the other fish.


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

Idk about cats but I have 2 bristlenose plecos in my 55 gal and they keep at the algae and dont attack anything. they are funny.. if a fish is too close to where they want to eat they swing their tail around and shoo them away. only get 4 or 5 inches and are not as lazy as the big plecos and much less messy.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

If you can find one there is a dwarf driftwood cat. But it may eat your shrimp.


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## dirtydutch4x (Jun 16, 2009)

I keep tadpole madtoms. they will reach just under 5 inches and don't bother my community at all. there are so many madtom's out there and best part is they are native!


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

The madtoms seem interesting. Would they eat the pellets that my cories eat, or do I have to buy something just for them? I have also read that they sometimes eat smaller fish. I raise platy fry, and reintroduce some to the main tank when they are about 2/3 an inch long. Would they become catfish snacks?


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## dirtydutch4x (Jun 16, 2009)

I hope you understand that I will not tell that they will not eat the fry, I can only tell that I have 3 in an 80 gallon where I have around 10-15 bluefin killies, a dozen or so H. formosa, around 16 E okefenokee, 5 swamp darters, 1 male blue ram, 8 flag-fish, and 5 E. gloriosus. My formosa reproduce regularly as do the E. okefenokee. I know that the blue spotted sunfish and swamp darters feed on the fry, the cats usually only come out after feeding time to clean up the scraps. I can not say I have ever seen them feed on fish and I have had none go missing. So yes they may but I can say I have not seen mine.


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

The next time I go out netting I'll maybe catch 1 or 2, and if I do I'll give them a try. The worst case scenario is that I lose a few fry, but I have more than enough of them to go around.


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

You might try a Microglanis iheringi, also known as a south american bumblebee catfish. They only get to around 3" fully grown. I currently have 2 in my 26 gallon tank (1 was given to me by a member here) along with some tiger barbs. Here is a link: Bumblebee Catfish Care And Profile - Microglanis Iheringi. They are very nocturnal and I rarely see one of them, the other not at all unless I remove the cave they usually inhabit. The one will come out during feeding sometimes and is very cool to watch as he scurries around the bottom seeking pellets or flakes. As far as eating other small fish/fry, I would think if a fish can fit in it's mouth, it may be eaten.

I would stear clear of the Asian Bumblebee catfish (_Pseudomystus siamensis_as) Asian Bumblebee Catfish - Microcosm Aquarium Explorer as they can be territorial and aggressive, and have been known to eat small fish.


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

You could try otos, aka dwarf suckermouth catfish. They stay very small and are great algae cleaners, they like company but can be kept in fairly small groups (I have 4 in with my betta in a very small tank). They're very non-aggressive and can be pretty fun to watch.


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## nh murph (Mar 21, 2014)

I've got a striped Raphael catfish that doesn't bother anyone. He doesn't come out often, but when he does, he's pretty cool to watch.


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## Botiadancer (Dec 30, 2013)

Small catfish that is a loner.... it doesn't usually work that way it seems. Small things like to shoal and hangout together - like teenagers - without the attitude though. And safe with bamboo shrimp and fry - even harder... catfish mouths are usually designed to eat one of the two. Difficult question!
Lonedove had a good suggestion with the microglanis - Bamboo shrimp will probably be too big for it but you will lose some fry... but with only one, you probably won't notice.
Catwoman's-er-Susankat's suggestion of Dwarf Driftwood Cat looks interesting as well. Never seen one myself. Is it 
July ? 1999 ? Catfish of the Month ? www.planetcatfish.com
or
November ? 2006 ? Catfish of the Month ? www.planetcatfish.com
?
The Stone catfish might be TOO small - I keep mine with cories and Celestial Pearl Danios. Hara jerdoni ? Sisoridae ? Cat-eLog
The Raphael cat Murph suggested is right at or over your size range, but they prefer to hide under a rock or driftwood 23 hours and 59 1/2 minutes a day. July ? 1999 ? Catfish of the Month ? www.planetcatfish.com
And Becca's suggestion is probably my favorite - a pleco! A long finned bushynose fits the bill perfectly - and you'll never see algae again. Albino or brown or even calico with some red in them. I love mine!! They ignore my dwarf cories and my baby kuhli loaches. Longfin Albino Bushy Nose Plecostomus Free Shipping Imperial Tropicals
Hmmmm, maybe a small loach that likes to be alone... there must be one, right?
Hillstream loach if your tank has a lot of movement. (probably not with gouramis) Butterfly Hillstream Loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis) — Loaches Online
Or Kuhli loaches... but several would be needed. Kuhli Loach (Pangio kuhlii) — Loaches Online
Ditto with Dwarf Chain loaches. Need a few - but they are very small. Dwarf Loach (Ambastaia sidthimunki) — Loaches Online

Oooops, I think I got carried away. I needed a break from doing employee schedules anyway.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

these do school but they wont eat shrimp so they MIGHT not eat the babies but dwarf cories.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I wouldn't put dwarf cories in a 55 just too deep for them. Depending on tank temp should play a role in picking out cories. Striped Rapheals can get big, I had 3 that were 10 inches each and would eat small fish so kept them with 5 to 6 inch cichlids.

Been trying to find a pic of the cats I had, but none that I googled looked like them. They almost looked like a channel cat only with like star dust markings on the sides. I will keep looking through thousands of my pics.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

well i would make an island in the middle of the tank and put a cat in it*hehe*cat-fish


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## discusbreeder (Oct 7, 2014)

I regularly keep dwarf corydorus in A 55 gallon tank. It requires plenty of plants that reach midwater and have broad stable leaves for resting and breeding. The fish shoal mid water and are interesting to watch shoal should be 25 to 30 fish


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## darkhymn (Dec 16, 2014)

My local aquarium store recommended the bristlenose as an algae eater as well as an excellent addition to any tank, and I find that the consensus in the community is similar. I personally love mine. He/she's just a baby, but already I have trouble imagining a tank without one. He plays the most amusing games of hide and seek with us!


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## kalyke (Nov 19, 2014)

Banjo catfish are pretty much lumps. They don't do much of anthing but eat. If you want a sedentary, inoffensive, 5 or 6 inch fish that will bother no one, get a banjo cat. He's like the hippie cat, smoking his ganja playing stairway to heaven on his acoustic guitar (or banjo) on his bed in the basement of his moms house, where he will never leave, never get a job, and somehow thrive.

Vote Banjo Cat! The most layed back fish ever!

That's Brunocephalus something something


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