WELCOME TO MY CATFISH, LOACHES AND OTHER BOTTOM FEEDERS SECTION!

Catfish (Order Siluriformes) are a large and diverse group of fishes. They range from being peaceful scavengers to powerful predators, vegetarians to total carnivores. What do they have in common? Most have a highly visible set (or sets) of "whiskers," or barbels, hanging off of their mouth. Barbels act as a sort of extended tongue, allowing catfish to find food in the murky waters that they call home. Beyond that, catfish can be pretty different. Cats are scaleless, but some have "armored" plates that function as scales.

Loaches (family Cobitidae) are also a diverse group, though not nearly as diverse as the cafish.  There are a number of loaches common to the aquarium trade, and some that are not so common. The two stand by favorites are the Clown Loach (Botia maracantha) and the Kuhli Loach (Acanthopthalmus kuhli). Other loaches sometimes seen are the Horse-faced Loach (Acanthopsis choirorhynchus), the Blue Botia (Botia modesta) and the  Skunk Loach (Botia morleti). Loaches are scaleless and so are sensitive to dissolved compounds in the water, particularly metals. For this reason, if a disease occurs in a tank containing loaches, you cannot use medications containing copper. For more information, see health & wellness section.

There's the general overview on fishes dicussed in this section. Here's the links:

CATFISH Banjo Catfish Brochis & Corydoras Channel Cat Loricariids (Pl*cos) Shark Catfish Shovelnose South American Redtail Raphael Catfish

LOACHES Clown Kuhli Skunk or Horas Yo Yo

OTHER Red-tailed Black Shark & Other Aquarium "Sharks" Freshwater Rays

RESOURCES Age Of Aquariums Australian Catfish & Loach Forum Catfish Corner Loaches Online Planet Catfish ScotCat Yahoo! Catfish & Loach Club Yahoo! Corydoras and More Club Yahoo! Looney About Loaches Club

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NOTE: All line drawings in this section belong to me. I drew them myself- just email me and ask if you want to use them! Thanks!