"Catfish" as a Pet

I have an algae eater fish that looks like a catfish. She is huge as you can probably see. She sharp pins or spikes in her fins as her defense. I know this because she had accidentally flipped herself out of the aquarium before one day. Luckily she was soon put back in the tank with no harm done. She was fine.

Well, she is huge. When I bought it the representative at PetSmart warned me that it will grow. I shrugged it off thinking that it will grow a little. It grew so fast! Actually, she will be 2 inches to 2 feet. It loves to eat algae! It eats Algae Thins that I buy at PetSmart or whatever store I can buy them at. She is a “fatty”. That is her name Fatty. Also, algae eaters' life span is around 10 years.

When I got her I had her with my goldfish. I had three goldfish at the time. They lived together peacefully and it worked. But as she grew more and more my goldfish died. They probably died from age. My algae eater fish lived and she kept growing. When I first got it my tank size was a 20gal. Then it kept growing and growing. It sucks on the side of the glass of the aquarium and it looks like a catfish.

I thought it would help with the algae problem in my tank when I had goldfish. However, I still have algae in the tank. It sucks the green algae slime on the sides of the tank. After my goldfish died and it was just my algae eater and the algae just grew. It was okay because my fish needed algae. Whenever I left out of town, I would get algae that it could eat for like a week’s worth.

The algae eater fish is called algivore and they are also called bottom-dwelling. I know from mine that it eats the algae off the sides of the glass, the bottom of the aquarium, and off the décor that I have in the aquarium. They are known to be a little on the aggressive side so you have to be careful on what you pair it within the tank. They are semi-aggressive fish so they have to be paired right. They are loners so they prefer to hide. I have an aquarium décor that is big enough that was actually made for a reptile but it is good for her to hide under. There is a light on the lid during the day and at night there is darkness for her to roam around and eat.

Of course, she can eat any time of the day. Actually, I do not have my tank’s light on right now, but I usually do have it on during the day. I have had to change tanks because of her growing a few times over and over again. She is in a 40 gal tank right now. She had a 20 gal at the beginning when I first got her. She went from a 20 gal. to a 25 gal to where she is now into a 40gal tank. As soon as I moved her, she was so happy. I can tell by her swimming around like she was stretching herself and at the same time looking around while loving it.

I didn’t have her with other fish for a long time when she was in the 25 gal. tank. She just was by herself and eating algae. I kept having to clean the tank from the algae growing but it kept growing and growing. She kept growing as well. Now she is in a 40 gal. tank and she is doing quite well. I have paired her with a couple of types of fish. I have researched what fish she should be with and it looks like semi-aggressive fish will be better with an algae eater.

The fish that I have paired with my algae eater fish is Tetra fish which is a good fit and goldfish which is not according to the internet. So far all my fish have lived peacefully. If you pair the fish according to the tank size they should do well too. I have a 40 gal. tank so I can keep according to the internet 20-25 small fish. It says guppies are a great fish to do so I might try them one day but that isn’t what I paired my algae eater with. I personally do not feel comfortable putting 20-25 small fish in my aquarium because I have a big algae eater that is about a foot long. So, I just got 3 each. I got 3 Tetras and I have 3 Goldfish. I hope for the best, but they are small fish. They are doing well so far. I know the goldfish are a risk but so far, they have done well.

Also, I want to talk about keeping the tank's water at the right ph balance. You have to find out what is the right ph balance for the fish in your tank. Usually, the ph balance that a tank needs is around a 7, but with the kind of fish, you get that could change. For instance, algae eaters require a heater in the tank. They need 72 -82 degrees C. The ph should be between 6-7.5. I have found that I could keep the ph balanced with a water conditioner that I buy at the store. I also keep the tank clean, but they have ph balancers and others that help balance the water of your tank at your local pet store. I've enjoyed my fish and I know they are very comforting to many.