Catfish

What are catfish?

Catfish are a diverse group of typically bottom-dwelling, freshwater fish. They’re found all over the world and come in many different shapes and sizes, from 1.5m-long redtail catfish, to 4cm-long otocinclus catfish. What sets catfish apart from other fish are their sucker-like mouths and long, slender barbels that they use to help them locate food in murky water.

What do catfish eat?

Catfish aren’t picky eaters and will readily accept any fish food that falls to the bottom of your aquarium. Most species are omnivorous and do best when offered foods that contain both animal and plant matter. As bottom-dwelling fish, catfish prefer foods that sink and disperse amongst the plants, decorations, and substrate inside your aquarium. They’ll spend all day swimming around your aquarium, searching for this food.

What types of catfish can you keep in an aquarium?

There are many types of catfish that can be kept inside aquariums, though bear in mind that the size of your aquarium will limit the type you’re able to keep. If you have a small fish tank (<75L), then look no further than otocinclus catfish and cory catfish. These catfishes only grow to sizes of ~6cm and do best when kept in schools. They’re also great cleaner fish and will constantly graze on algae and leftover fish food that may have fallen to the bottom of your aquarium.

If you a medium-sized fish tank, between 75L and 250L, then you can start looking at larger catfish, like glass catfish, suckermouth catfish (also known as plecos), pictus catfish, and synodontis catfish. These catfishes are relatively peaceful and can be kept with other, similarly sized fish. For giant, more aggressive species of catfish, such as redtail catfish and shovelnose catfish, you’ll need an aquarium that can hold at least 700L of water, preferably more!