catfish???

[peachsweet29]

I saw at the store a group of 7 catfish that were swiming all together all over the tank. Those were very cool but i don't know thwir exact names and particularities can some help???

thanks
Martine

[bmcelhinn]

were they black and white?n If they weren they are coral catfish Plotosus lineatus . They are venomous, my friend has one, they are pretty cool. Theyn will sometimes school with engineer gobies while they are young. Live Aquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=691)

[Hemmie]

They get pretty big, a foot I think, and they are EXTREMELY Venomous.

[jimroth]

All of the above is true, plus one other thing: They're not scavengers like FW catfish. They won't help keep the tank clean (any more than other small fish)!

[peachsweet29]

thanks all, i read the information and it's definately not a fish for me.

The i like is the fact that they were swimming in school but i read that they only do when juveniles. Plus my 50g is way too small for them.

You know any other salt water fish that swim in school in an aquarium and that is enough aggressive to survive to a niger trigger, dogface puffer and a Puffer , don't know what kind!!!

Look at the pic and tell me


Thanks,
MArtine

[bmcelhinn]

Those are sharpnose puffers, they appear to be blue spot, or honeycomb puffers. You could try some blue/green chromis damsels, they will sometimes split up. There are some small anthias, but your tank sounds a little too small for that. I think you are already overstocked. The puffer in my avatar is 1' long, your dogface will get that big too. You really need a new tank anyways so if you are planning on getting one then you could go with the catfish. I don't know that they are extremely venomous, I've heard they are about the same as lionfish which is like a bee sting. They aren't aggresive at all, and do scavenge food that is on the bottom. They don't grow all that fast. I'm just saying you already need a bigger tank, so you might as well get something you want, or get rid of your dogface puffer and niger trigger soon. ;)

[teevee]

p. lineatus are one of the most venomous fish you can keep in aquarium - to the point of being deadly. wear gloves and keep a close eye on them when working in the tank.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plotosid.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marcatfa.htm

also best to keep them in odd-numbered groups (3, 5, 7).

[Kara]

Green chromis (Chromis viridis) are nice little fish, they get to 3"and are fairly inexpensive. They will school. Very peaceful fish with a nice sea green color. There is also the royal blue colored Blue Chromis (Chromis cyanea) which have a nice lyre tail shape. They get a bit bigger than the greens. I don't have any experience with these fishes myself but, reliable fish gurus I know suggested them. Only thing is that I think they are kind of delicate.

Here's a bit more info:

• Green Chromis - Live Aquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=20&pCatId=115)
• Blue Chromis - Live Aquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=20&pCatId=113)
• General Chromis Info - WetWebMedia (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/chromis.htm)

[bmcelhinn]

Last year I saw a saltwater catfish at an LFS that was about 9" long and was a greyish silver color. It looked like a freshwater Pangasius sutchi (irridescant shark) Not sure what it was, never saw one before that in my life and haven't seen one since.

[teevee]

although p. lineatus is probably the most common marine catfish, there are a few others around, apparently.