3.3 Bottom Dwellers
3.3.1 Catfish
Catfish are staples in most of our tanks. One of my favorite too. Here are some comments on those that I have tried or thought of trying
3.3.1.1 Tigs
One of the most popular cats at the moment, and a prime candidate for these sort of tanks. My bro's personal favorite too. Currently we do not own one
We have tried 3 times, but none were successful... Tigs eat like crazy, and they don't know when to stop. Twice our tigs were gone to digestion problems, once was due to the inability to see that it was sick as it parked behind the driftwood. Would still love to have a big speciment in there, like Bro Marshy's... But not looking at the moment... a bit sian to keep seeing our tigs up lorry when they start morphing
3.3.1.2 Synodontis.
Also known as upside down cats... these fish usually hate each others guts, so if you intend to have them, more hiding places and several specific territories should be set out for them. I have 2 moustache cats from Daniel in there. Daniel had them tgt in his display tank with no issues, so had the peace of mind of them at least tolerating each other.
3.3.1.3 p.Irwini, p.Granulosus
These fish make fantastic clean up crews and are not fussy with food. On days where there is too much mp, they will eat up the mp. On days where mp do not reach the bottom, they take pellets. The ultimate vacuum cleaners for a tank where scooping out leftover food is impossible. Also, they spend most their time amongst driftwood, so like your vacuum cleaners, they are out of sight when u dont need them
3.3.1.4 Giraffe
Giraffe cats are an acquired taste, you either love them or hate them. So peculiar in their looks, most people who havent seen them before are often amazed by its hideous good looks
Buying on is cheap and like the Irwini and Granulosus, they are good clean up crews. However, they are not driftwood cats and would often patrol everywhere.
3.3.1.5 Vultures and Lince Cats
Majestic cats that patrol the area. Very nice fish to have in there.
3.3.2 Rays
Should you want to keep rays, dont make it too high a tank. I clean my viewing panels by diving in. This is not possible with rays in there. Unless you have it indoors, where algae is no issue, rays pose a problem. Also, being slower eaters, they hardly get enough food. That said, a recommended setup for a monster ray tank would be that of AquaEmp. According to them, place a small step ladder in the water. Next, use a long algae brush to clean the glass while on the ladder. This keeps you out of the water and out of harms way
Hope that my long winded posts have provided and insight to owning such a tank
Any other questions, please fire away