I had two catfish when I was young in a tank that was way too small for them (but I was too young to know that)... They were territorial and the big one tortures the small one relentlessly. One day the small one went missing... I assumed the big one ate it. Many years later we moved to the US. While moving furniture and boxing up stuff to ship I found the catfish... Or it's mummified remains behind the cabinet the fish tank had stood on.
There are hundreds of species of catfish. Some only grow an inch, some grow several feet long. This tiny creature is a catfish. please log in to view this image This is also a catfish. please log in to view this image I'm not sure what species I had as a kid. I could probably identify it if I saw it today... But I didn't know back then.
I'm keeping 4 species of catfish myself at the moment... (Pictures arn't mine... They're from the web) 2 of these guys (potentially soon to be about 30... The dad is guarding eggs at the moment) please log in to view this image I've got one of these tiny fellas... But I need to get more they like company. please log in to view this image I've got a small school of aeneus Cories (mine look nicer than these) please log in to view this image And a small school of Sterbai Cories please log in to view this image
That's a male. The female doesn't have the bristles. The theory behind the bristles are that they look like babies to the female. Females will always prefer breeding with a male that is already guarding young.