synodontis

[Mugwump]

Origin Lake Tanganyika
Size Rarely over 3.5 inches
Sexual Differences Females chubbier and darker
Temperature 75 to 80 F.  Warm up a bit to spawn.
Attitude Very active day and night
Security Likes caves
Foods Heavy eater
pH Prefers higher pH
Biggest Threat Dirty water
Breeding Comments Lots of babies for such a small catfish

Groups.  Most people keep petricolas as singles because of their high price.  Petricolas prefer to hang in groups.  The more the merrier, but their high price keeps their numbers low for most people.

Water.  Since petricolas came from Lake Tanganyika, you know they prefer a high pH.  Word of caution:  Organics (ammonia and nitrite) present a huge problem at high pH levels.  Make frequent and large water changes if you expect to keep these guys.  Ditto with your African cichlids.  Since both these types of fish eat (and digest) great quantities of food, they can be their own worst enemies.  Change their water often.

Tank Decor.  Unlike many catfishes, Synodontis petricolas prefer to spend their days cruising.  They enjoy rockwork and caves as much as the next catfish (and African cichlids).  Petricola means rock dweller.  They accept flower pots with or without notches in them also.

Tank Mates.  Keep your petricolas with African cichlids ? especially the Tanganyikans.  They like the same water conditions.  Or, keep them with regular community fishes.

Food.  In Lake Tanganyika, petricolas apparently devour snails.  In captivity they eat nearly any food offered.  They eat food from the floor of their tank (and from the surface).

Breeding Reports.  We?ve never bred petricolas ourselves.  Others have bred them as ?cuckoos? like the S. multipunctatus a very similar Synodontis from Lake Tanganyika .  The fry seem too small to eat the eggs of other fishes.  And much larger spawns have been reported by breeding them in ?flower pots.?

Breeding Setup.  You need a bare tank and two containers ? a clear one on the bottom full of dark marbles and the other on top as a lid.  Of course, you need an opening in the top one for the breeders to access this catfish boudoir.  You need two of these so you can change them daily ? partially checking for eggs, partially for getting rid of their waste products.

Fry Survival.  Eggs hatch in 24 hours.  Due to their small size, they will need infusoria and microworms their first week or two.  You can then add newly hatched brine shrimp which they will need for two or three months.  Then start converting them to larger foods -- live, frozen, flake, etc.  They grow very slowly.

Last Comments. Clean water is essential to keeping most Synodontis catfishes ? especially if you keep them at the 8+ pH levels found in Lake Tanganyika.  And petricolas like to travel in schools.  They stay most active in larger groups.

[Mugwump]

I found this on them. I didn't know there where so many species of Synodontis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Featherfin_squeaker

LOL...good link..I found the other one at 'Planetcatfish'...

[ilroost]

i feed mine just about anything i got, they don't seem to picky. flakes, algea wafers, shrimp pellets, whatever !!!