[Petch]

Hi just joined I went to my chinese takeaway last night and saw a Catfish in their aquarium. It was covered in leopard like spots and I would dearly love one for my tank. What is the species please?

Thanks
C, Petch UK

 

[JIM]

*w2 to the site. this could be a multi-punctatus which are now pretty common in the trade, if youll find a pic on the net and post it to our gallery someone will identify it for you.

 

[Shotgun]

Welcome to the site!

As for your question, i am not quite sure, could it possibly have been a leopard catfish?

 

[rglens]

*w2 Glad you are here...I am a newbie myself so will let the experienced ones answer.

 

[mdmorash]

Welcome! My two cats are sort of "Leopardy"...It's kinda blurry cause the little bugger decided to move exactly when I took the picture?

 

[petlover516]

Welcome to the site!

 

[Chickadee]

Can you give us an approximate size in inches of the fish? It could be a small cory cat or a bigger cat and we would need to know the size to determine it. Cories could be Sterbas or a host of other with leopard like markings.

Welcome to the site and thanks for joining us.

Rose

 

[susankat]

If we are talking about the fish in the picture its a pleco. Looks to be a high fin but not to sure by the pic.

 

[jrodriguez]

welcome to the site

and yeah thats a pleco

 

[mdmorash]

Wait a minute...are you telling me that the "Suckermouth Catfish" I bought are not a cat fish at all? Or are Pleco's catfish? Oh, now I'm confused...

 

[susankat]

Plecos are a species of catfish. The problem is a lot will get huge. If its a common you can expect a fish that will get at least 18 inches.

Can you get a better pic? And how many did you get?

 

[susankat]

Does your suckermouth look like this.

Common Plecos (Suckermouth Catfish) - Hypostomus plecostomus, Liposarcus pardalis, etc...

 

[mdmorash]

I got 2 of them. One is about 7 inches long and the other is 4 to 5 inches long. The smaller one is going to go in a 30 Gallon tank I am getting for the African Cichlids I have and the bigger one is staying in the 55 gallon tank. I'll get a better picture when I get home. It's look allot like that picture Susankat, but the big ones markings are a bit darker and more like patches then spots.

 

[susankat]

That wouldn't be unusual for them to be somewhat different in markings. But will say they will be to big for the 30 with cichlids as you will find they are major waste producers. And with one in the tank it will give you less room for any other fish.

I've have seen some in a 55 that couldn't lay front to back as they are longer than the tank is wide. Also the bigger they get, the lazier they get. and also start knocking plants and deco over just to get around the tank.

 

[mdmorash]

Is there a better type that would be good for my needs? One that won;t end up being miserable in the tank?

 

[drhank]

:welcome:

 

[susankat]

There are several smaller species that would work. Bristlenose will max out at 5 1/2 inches, Gold nuggets and such.

One place to look would be planetcatfish.com There you will find pics and descriptions of most catfish from plecos to cories to otos.

 

[Joey]

:welcome:

 

[mdmorash]

Thanks SusanKat!

 

[salth2o]

:welcome: aboard! Pleasure to have you here!