If you desire to bring to your aquarium , consider one of these catfish .

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There is a divers array of catfish to choose from if you would care to lend to your aquarium . Catfish get their name thanks to their barbel , or " whisker , " which they practice to find solid food in the substratum . Many are well-chosen to inhabit at the bottom of the army tank while some species of siluriform fish swimming in the marine museum like typical Pisces the Fishes . ( And then there is one coinage that float upside down at the top of the marine museum water . )

Pepper corydora sifting through substrate

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Learn about 11 of the most plebeian aquarium catfish to determine which one is the right fit for your Pisces tank .

Tip

Many metal money have protective barbs on their dorsal and pectoral fins , so be measured when deal or veiling .

Bandit Cory

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Named for their typical facial " bandit " mask , the Bandit Cory is a small , passive catfish specie . Like otherCorydorasspecies , these fish do best when kept in small group . The Bandit Cory is also a nocturnal eater , so do n’t expect to see them much during the day .

Species Overview

COMMON NAMES :   Bandit catfish , bandit cory , masked cory , meta river mudcat , rio meta cory

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras metae

ADULT SIZE :   2 inch

Bandit corydora resting on aquarium substrate

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LIFE EXPECTANCY :   5 age

Bristlenose Catfish

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Also bang as the Bristlenose Pleco , this siluriform fish species stays relatively low and will not outgrow its aquarium like other plecostomuses . These catfishes are discover by the multiple bristles , or face fungus , surrounding the head , instead of just the mouth . The bristles are big in the male . Although they will feed on alga and rubble , it is best to feed them a sinking pelleted intellectual nourishment to ensure a well - round diet . This species also comes in an albino variation , which has darker yellow spots on it light yellow body .

COMMON NAMES :   Bristlenose pleco , bristlenose catfish , bushynose catfish , shaggy-coated nose

Bristlenose Pleco on a rock

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SCIENTIFIC NAME : Ancistrus cirrhosus

ADULT SIZE :   5 inches

LIFE anticipation :   5 - 10years

Two bronze corydoras resting on the substrate

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Bronze Cory

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The Bronze Cory is distinguished by its overall swarthy metallic Robert Brown to grey to green coloration . Given this color formula , theseCorydorasare cracking at hiding — something that greatly benefits a nocturnal Pisces the Fishes . As with other cory species , keep them in a group and provender slide down food that drops to the substratum . This is the species that is commercially useable as an all - white Pisces with red eyes , sold as the Albino Corydoras . While white is the most commonly usable Corydoras wolffish , they can also be found in the green and albino colour varieties .

COMMON NAMES :   Bronze cory , green cory , albino cory

Julii Cory resting on rocky substrate

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SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras aeneus

ADULT SIZE :   2.5 inches

LIFE anticipation :   5 to 10 years

Panda corydora resting on rock in front of plants

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Julii Cory

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The Julii Cory is almost identical in appearance to the Three Stripe Cory ( # 7 ) . The cardinal eminence is the consistency of the line on the Pisces the Fishes ’s question . The Three Stripe Cory will have a fully relate pattern , whereas the Julii Cory will have an interrupted radiation pattern made up of dose . They can be very difficult to differentiate between when the fish are little .

COMMON NAMES :   Julii mudcat , julii cory , leopard cory

Pepper Cory using barbels to sense food in substrate

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SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras julii , SynonymCorydoras leopardus

Panda Cory

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A commonCorydorasin the marine museum trade is the Panda Cory . Named for its typical bloodless body with smutty markings , it very nearly resemble the Bandit Cory . body of water calibre and maintenance is vital to beneficial cory health , and be sure to give them lots of places to hide during the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . They are also nocturnal , so you may not see them much until it gets dark .

COMMON NAMES :   Panda catfish , panda cory , panda corydoras

Two swimming pictus catfish

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SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras panda

grown SIZE :   2 inches ( 5 cm )

LIFE EXPECTANCY:10 old age

Skunk corydora resting on white rocky substrate

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Pepper Cory

The Pepper Cory is distinguished by its mottled black or dark brownish body appearing . Although the underside , pelvic , and thoracic fin are snowy to translucent , the dorsal surface of the fish takes on a shadowed show — stark for obscure out from predators during the day . This species is commonly confused with both the Three Stripe and Julii Cory .

COMMON NAMES :   bluish leopard corydoras , peppered catfish , peppered cory

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras paleatus

Suckermouth catfish resting on rocky substrate

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ADULT SIZE :   2 to 3 in

Pictus Catfish

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The Pictus Catfish is one of the most common aquarium wolffish species . Although they start very modest when sold at the fish store , these wolf fish can grow up to a few invertebrate foot longsighted in the wild . The Pictus Catfish is a nocturnal fish , so do n’t expect much activity during the daylight . Feeding should occur later in the daylight as the fish wake up for their eventide activities .

COMMON NAME :   Pictus catfish , Pictus cat

Three Stripe Corydora swimming in aquarium

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SCIENTIFIC NAME : Pimelodus pictus

pornographic SIZE :   5 to 6 inches

LIFE anticipation :   4 to 8 years

Upside-down catfish swimming right-side-up with tetras in planted tank

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Skunk Cory

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The Skunk Cory is named for its bold black band running along the dorsal ridge of the fish . It can be confused with the Adolfi Corydoras ( Corydoras aldolfoi ) , which has a similar black dance band but is interrupted by a lifelike orange tree patch on the head teacher . Like otherCorydorasspecies , the Skunk Cory does just in humble chemical group and in a cooler with lots of places to hide , give their nocturnal nature .

COMMON NAMES :   shutout cory , arched cory

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras arcuatus

Suckermouth (Plecostomus) Catfish

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More commonly acknowledge as the Plecostomus , these wolffish are known to use their mouth as mainstay point , string up on plant life or the side of the aquarium glass . Their specialized mouths can rasp surfaces , cleaning them of alga and other debris . Some Plecos can get very heavy , so be sure to correctly key out your coinage before adding them to your tank . The common pleco ( Hypostomus plecostomus ) can typically produce to 18 inches or more , but prophylactic - lipped plecos ( Chaetostoma milesi ) and bristlenose plecos ( Ancistrus cirrhosus ) will stay put at 4 - 5 inch long .

COMMON NAMES :   Suckermouth Catfish , Plecostomos , Pleco

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Hypostomus plecostomus

big SIZE :   3 inches to 2 feet

LIFE anticipation :   10 to 15 years

Three Stripe Cory

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The Three Stripe Cory is decorate by a maze of dark black to brown lines all over its translucent , iridescent soundbox . Also known as the Leopard Cory , this species follows the care rules for manyCorydoras , let in nocturnal eating , strict urine tone requisite , and taste to being kept in a small school of 3 - 5 Corys .

COMMON NAMES :   False julii cory , leopard catfish , leopard cory , three - line catfish , three - run along cory , three - stripe cory , trilineatus cory

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Corydoras trilineatus

LIFE EXPECTANCY :   10 years

Upside-Down Catfish

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Do n’t be dismay ; these catfish are supposed to be upside down ! describe for their highly unique body positioning and swimming behavior , the Upside - Down Catfish is cleverly built for surface eating — the exact opposite of most other mudcat metal money . They are capable of swim veracious - side - up and will demonstrate normal bottom - feed behavior when food is present on the substratum . No one knows quite how this behavior originated , since their swim bladder and inner ear social organisation resemble other catfish .

COMMON NAMES :   Upside - down wolffish , blotched upside - down mudcat

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Synodontis nigriventris

ADULT SIZE :   4 inches

Three things to keep in idea when summate new fish to your tank :

As with any fish species , do your research before adding any fish to a new or established marine museum .