# Is my synodontis petricola eating my multie eggs/fry?



## redzone88 (Mar 11, 2010)

I started out with a trio of multies, trio of julie marlieri and a tiny petricola. The multies had a bunch of batchcs of fry and the petricola just stayed on the julie side in their rockwork. Now there are about 20 multie fry(1/2" ->1", I guess some of those aren't considered fry any more for multies) in the bed of around 35 shells and the petricola (now 2") is always hanging out in the shell bed and will swim in some of the bigger shells. The multies aren't very effective at keeping him at bay anymore and he's always sporting a "pot belly". I haven't seen new fry in the tank for about six weeks now. Do you think the petricola is eating their eggs or eating the fry before i can see them? I feel like there are still shells to go around but that might just be my opinion. Advice?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Absolutely. Synodontis are often added to a tank for fry control.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

My bet is your Syno is a Synodontis lucipinnis not a petricola (They usually get sold as petricola but thats a different far less common catfish) but yep they love eating multie eggs and fry. They tend to do it at night by smell, when the cichlids can not see and defend the young.
A real dug in group of multies in a big tank can sometimes hold em off to raise young. But no way if you want to raise shellys have even this Syno in there.

Even better if you have a group of these Synos with a big group of multies.
They can scatter their eggs over the shells.
The silly multies protect the young Synos from thier canabilistic pairents, while the baby catfish dine on mutie eggs and fry.

Nature ain't it wonderful?

All the best James


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## redzone88 (Mar 11, 2010)

Well that's no good then.

DJRansome, could I put the synodontis in my malawi tank, is it tough enough? It's a pretty standard malawi community tank, mbuna n haps.

24Tropheus, when i search google images for the two different types of syno, almost the exact pictures come up for each. Is there any distinctive way to tell the difference between these two?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Yep.
Synodontis lucipinnis look like this and rarely get bigger than 4" even in tanks.









Real petricola look like this and easily get to 6".










Sorry for coppying photos guys who posted these on the web but think its only fare to share.
My own rubbish cheap camra shots show it far less clearly.

My own lucipinnis breed OK no luck yet with petricola. I think these may be harder to breed on a scale to sell well.

Thing is the separation in names only came about in 
Wright, JJ and LM Page (2006) Taxonomic revision of Lake Taganyikan Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae). Florida Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 46(4):99-154.
And folk are slow to take on changes esp ones they are not used to.
All were imported for years before 2006 and labeled petricola. Many still are and folk and breeders who got em as petricola see no reason to change (cynical side of me says they make good money out of the confusion and like to keep it but I dunno for sure)

All the best James


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## redzone88 (Mar 11, 2010)

Yea, pretty sure you're right. Based on the larger spaced out spots toward the back i'm pretty sure he is a lucipinnis. Could I put him in a malawi tank? He's definitely over 2"...


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

They are usualy fine in Malawi tanks (though will eat newly released mouthbrooder young up to about 1/4 own length). 
Odd for a Tang Syno, Synodontis lucipinnis can be kept and bred down to pH 6.5.


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