10 Gallon Catfish Only!

Hi. In 2004, I set this tank up with the expectation of receiving some Corydoras habrosus. I had a little trouble getting hold of some - they seemed to be losing popularity in the hobby or something and no one had any. While I was figuring out what to do, and almost a year later, I came across a small suckermouth catfish that I had not seen before. The fish store guy called it a "clown pleco" and I soon realized he meant Panaque maccus, the wood-eating catfish. I brought "Mac" home and set him up in the 10 gallon, which had grown on with plants.

I didn't have a camera in those days, so these photos are from a little later, when I got one.


Mac is right out there in front with one of the Otocinclus next to him.
A bunch of Corydoras habrosus, one of the pygmy corys, romp around in the backround.
That reddish-yellow rectangle off to the right is a piece of red maple wood for the Panaque to eat.
I got it in the woods at Maymont, a park in Richmond.


Here are the busy little beavers. Worry when they stop looking for food - they are at it all day long.
Cory habrosus like to swim mid-water, too, so you will see them in the water column at all levels.


Otocinclus vittatus is a planted tank's best friend.
Here one little guy has squeezed in between the maple and the glass.
I suppose he thought I couldn't see him!
Very cute little guys, always seeking the water current. They like a strong return flow and will place themselves right in it.

Well, that's it for the first round.
Hope you thought these were nice.

 

Absolutely! I think they would get too big for a 10 gallon, though.

 

Mike wrote:

That's rough. I've heard that's what they do, though. I had one for a while (in a 20 gallon tank) but I don't like the look of Asian fish mixed in with SA fish, and before he got too big I gave him away.

I'd like to return to the topic of this small catfish tank, because after all catfish are my life! To some extent, anyway!

Panaque maccus spend a great deal of time in their dens, which they make for themselves. This fish, known as "Mac," claimed a half coconut shell for himself but later abandoned it, and dug a nice bunker under this piece of bogwood. The substrate is Tahitian Moon Black Sand by CaribSea.


Here he is retreating into it.
This is very typical; his back end was the best view I had of him for a long time,
until he was injured in an accident.


Now, this might seem a little strange showing you a piece of wood.
This is a piece of gnawed American red maple, one of Mac's favorite foods.

One of the things I like about keeping catfish is setting up the aquarium in such a way as to see some of their natural behaviors that they'd do in the wild. The decimated wood is a good sign that everything's okay.
It's a very satisfying feeling.

 

Lemon, you're close! My avatar pic was taken at Deep Run Park. That goose was staring right at me for so long I just knew it wanted its picture taken. Would you believe me if I tell you it posed for the camera? I think that must be where we get the term "take a gander at that" from! A staring goose is an awesome sight.

We took our kids to all kinds of parks when they were little - wildlife, historical, military. Something you might like to do with your kids is go up on the Skyline Drive and stop the car every so often at the overlooks. It is so much fun. In fact, we did it again this summer and my youngest is 17! It's still a lot of fun! Get the map as you drive in and bring a picnic lunch. The great thing about it is, if the kids get tired or sick you can just drive away and change plans easily.


Thanks for your compliments on the tank. In the first photo the tank was lit by a suspended fixture which only ran for a few hours in the evening. When the tank was about a year old or so I stopped using the light (actually, it broke) and just went with all the natural light it receives from all sides. I think that's why I don't have any visible algae. That, and the Otos!

 

Those are great places, Lemon. You and your kids will get so much good out of it. When our kids were just barely toddlers we started going out to the mountains, Floyd and Patrick counties, and doing things there each year. Picnics, and short nature walks at first but building up to hiking trails and real exploring as they got older. I always collect rocks and wood for my set-ups on these trips, mostly rocks. I got some really good ones at Foster Falls one year. They were right in the river and so smooth. They were black, which didn't come off with scrubbing, so I assumed it was their natural color. After about a year in the 20 gallon the snails (or the Chaetostoma) had scrubbed them clean!

MTS, the TMBS is a remarkable product, which is easy to handle. It's basically a synthetic glass and this may be why, after using it for years, I decided it wasn't that great for Corydoras. It's a little bit rough on their barbels. Other catfish that I've had do well on it.

Well, I wouldn't say "unfortunately." Obviously, he liked your wood!

 

Never been to Sesame Place, but how about Hershey, PA, dawn? When I was little they used to take you through the actual factory and hand out samples of chocolate. By the time I had kids and took them, it was all different. Still fun, though.
The Amish country is very interesting, too, all those flea markets!

Yes, I agree the Panaque is hardly to be seen and loves his privacy.
He has a good heart and shares his den with the tiny Corys if they wander in. It's very cute to see.

Guido wrote:

I think it would be so cool to drive across the Netherlands in three hours. Guido, my favorite fellow catfish fanatic lives in Eindoven and has a son about your age, about a year younger.

 

How do you like my little cory?
Here is a photo of a fry that was born in this tank.
Up until this point the neon tetras had been eating the eggs and probably the fry, too,
but despite all that this one little guy managed to make it to fry-hood.


All whiskers and tail!
In this photo, he's about 7 mm long and between 6-7 weeks old.

About egg eating, I have to assume it was the neons because C. habrosus are not known to show an interest in their own eggs. It's not always possible to see what they're doing because the plants hide most activity.

Sorry about the glare off those goose eggs rocks. They look very natural and nice in the tank, but show up poorly in the camera flash.