Pictures And Profiles

Catfish

There is nothing like an exotic catfish to add beauty to your aquarium. Below you will find a list of a few South American catfishes that will make a good match for your Oscars.

By Federico Soriano

These bottom-dwellers are scaleless fish so avoid using methylene blue or malachite green these products can penetrate their skin and cause death within few hours. Catfish have developed whiskers and barbs to help them find all kinds of food in the substrate so you will need to provide them with either fine gravel or soft sand. They also enjoy low light levels so they will appreciate some floating plants as well as rocks and driftwood for hiding places. If possible do not use a net to catch them– the spines on their pectoral fins have serrated edges and can easily become entangled in the netting and injure the fish or you (and believe me it is painful).

Some catfish like the Jaguar - Liosomodarus onicinus are nocturnal and hide during the day, and come out to feed at night. In general, catfish will relish sinking catfish pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex and good quality flake food. But you will also need to supplement their diets with fresh parboiled vegetables such as romaine lettuce, zucchini, spinach and peas.

Finally, if you are interested in breeding catfishes please let us know! Some of these species have proven to be extremely difficult to spawn, even for experienced hobbyists. For this reason most catfishes are imported. Remember, catfishes require excellent water conditions so don’t neglect your weekly water changes.