Catfish tankmates

Well, since the cichlid isn't staying, you could add 3 pictus. They do like to be in groups but they're very active. That can be fun...or drive the other fish crazy. Keep an eye on their long barbels, if they start to look short it's a sign of declining water quality (as with most catfish).

It's funny, pictus were 1 of the fish I wanted when I first thought of keeping any tanks at all. But I fell in love with loaches & have never kept pictus after 30+ years in the hobby. There's always someday...
 
Bertie B said:
The brasiliensis is not there for long term, I want to add some dwarf cichlids like a apistos and kribs, I have a all pond solutions efx filter which is rated for tanks of 1000 litres(265) gallons and I do a 30 to 50 percent water change a week. I really want some more catfish but don't know any that would work, my tank could be fully stocked and that's fine but it seems to have quite a bit of space, the silver dollars are three to four inches and the featherfin is about 7 inches. Can you recommend any tank mates.
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I wouldn't keep dwarf cichlids with silver dollars. Something that large and active will likely stress the cichlids. Also, depending on the size of the catfish to the cichlids, you'd not be outside of the likelihood of them being catfish snacks. "Never trust a catfish" is a phrase for good reason.
 
I thought about getting rid of the pictus and getting loaches but the silver dollars are so voracious when eating that I don't think the loaches will get enough food without overfeeding the tank, the pictus and syno get to the food but the syno scares the silver dollars away and the pictus zooms around the tank eating anything it can find, what loaches if any would you recommend also I want a new filter that is better for my tank, I thought about a Fluval fx4 or Eheim pro 3 or 4. Which one will be better? Do you think African cichlids will go well with the tank aswell, maybe labs or other mbuna.
 
Cats are often nocturnal feeders or at least crepuscular (dawn & dusk). & all your fish are juvenile & hungry almost all the time. How often do you feed them & when? I would feed twice/day, once with lights on & once either before or after tanks lights are on but room lights on..

I like 2 filters on all my tanks especially on a 4 or 5ft. No 1 filter can do it all with your fish load.
 
Mbuna will not be happy in the same environment as the silver dollars. Silver dollars like soft acidic water and mbuna like hard alkaline water. Temps will also be different. I wouldn't recommend it. If you really want cichlids, a severum or a convict or a firemouth cichlid would be an appropriate fit. Just do not get a pair of convicts, you'll have too many babies to handle.
 
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