View Full Version : upside down catfish question
Are upside down catfish actually bottom dwellers or do they swim at the surface?
Upside down catfish will spend most of their time either at the surface or against the sides of the tank after the lights go out but during the day they will find somewhere to hide and since most decorations are near the bottom that is where they will be.
If you have lots of floating plants will they hide under these instead of at the bottom?
Don't know, they are looking for somewhere dark and hidden where they can feel secure. I think that they would prefer a crevice under a rock or piece of driftwood. I am getting the feeling that you already have a large bottom dweller that you are afraid will eat an african upside down cat, if so you could try an asian upside down cat since they get to be around a foot long if I remember right.
Well, you are kind of right. I want to add some kribs to my tank as I said in my other thread (if it doesn't work out with the cories I have another tank I can move them to), and I'm aware that adding another bottom-dweller would crowd the lower levels of the tank. I like upside down cats and I could add them if they were mainly surface dwellers, but if not then I think they'd be too much along with the cories and kribs. Unfortunately :sad: I can't accomodate a foot long fish at present, so the Asian upside down cat is out of the question.
monkey_toes
05-25-2006, 2:53 PM
My nigriventris spend a good bit of the daylight hours in one of two places: resting vertically in a java fern thicket, or upside down right up against the roof of a slate cave. As long as there's plenty of cover, surprisingly large numbers of fish can coexist comfortably.
Sorry, I had forgotten about your krib thread and tank size. Obviously an asian would be a disaster in your tank. I would not be afraid to try an african though. Like monk said, you would be surprised. Adding a nocturnal bottom dweller of appropriate size would not cause much turmoil with cories and kribs. It would find somewhere quiet to hide during the day and not even be noticed.
Ok. Thanks for the help. :) Are they ok on their own or should I get a pair?
monkey_toes
05-26-2006, 4:41 AM
My three seem to enjoy each others' company.