# Pick out your Synodontis and briefly tell why.



## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

*Pick out your Synodontis then briefly tell why.*​
synodontis multipunctatus1528.30%synodontis lucipinnis59.43%synodontis petricola1426.42%synodontis eupterus713.21%synodontis nigriventris23.77%synodontis angelicus47.55%synodontis ocellifer00.00%synodontis decorus59.43%Synodontis granulosus11.89%


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## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

Tell us a little about your Synodontis Cat and why you like them. I think I got them all. I know the top three are about the most popular. I wanted to hear from everyone that has a Synodontis and what they think about them, Good and Bad. There is lots of info spread over so many threads. I know some get much bigger then others. As a quick reference for others, tell us what you know. 

I was thinking about doing the synodontis multipunctatus and breeding them. It would be like... making GOLD. They are so hard to come by and sell for so much. The boss lady come into the office the other day with her "I have had enough of the fish already look" and was mumbling something about me selling off the rest of the house to support my addiction to the fish. 
I quickly closed my Craigslist account with everything from around the house that I had for sale to help support my addiction. I told her that this was not an addiction (fingers crossed) and is "just a small hobby".  I have started selling wet dry filters on eBay to put towards the purchase of my synodontis multipunctatus.


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## ghostrebo (Jun 4, 2008)

I have 5 synodontis petricola in my tank. The dominant one has its own little cave the other 4 swim around the fake plants in the tank. I like watching them when I feed my cichlids because they really don't care about the cichlids, they just charge at the food that falls.

My fish are only about 1.5 inches I really like that they wont grow over a foot like most catfish in the hobby.

cons: poops a lot

I bought my fish from a local breeder he had to have had at least 300 synodontis petricola fry in his tanks so I picked up 5 for $20


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The multi's are so active, their movements remind me of sharks, the babies are cute and I like their leopard spots, plus they are indispensable for fry control. They are my favorite. Lucipinnis are a close second though, cause I like small fish.

I don't think they are big money makers though because they don't breed like mbuna. They try but success in my tank is 2 fry last January and 1 fry this January. Also I think they are pretty readily available and not very expensive. The LFS will charge a hefty price but they are always on hand and usually in a choice of sizes. You can get them from breeders and hobbyists at a reasonable price.

They need to be very mature to breed, mine did not breed until their 3rd owner (me) and 7 years after being wild caught. You would have better success if you were really serious into breeding them and tailored your whole set-up just to them. A host fish that breeds often, not too smart and with a large mouth.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

My 17 year old Bricardi passed away this week, either from old age, aggression from my BGK, or a combination of both. Neat looking fish but he hid all the time.

I gave away a large Angelicus last year to another member because he was chasing the now deceased Brichardi. He was a mean mother and very large, but at least he was always out.

Mike


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I don't have one currently, but my favorite I kept was one of those rare blue spotted angelicus ... nasty beasts though, but I think the most beautiful in the black-white spotted or black-blue spotted forms.


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## whodatfish (Feb 3, 2010)

i just got a free lace cat....anybody else have them?


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## jms2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Eupterus. I've had my syno cat since august and could not be any more pleased. I bought him from a chain pet store ($14.95 for a juvie) not aware of how big he was supposed to get. He was about 2.5inches when i brought him home and placed him in my 20gallon community tank, today he is almost 6inches in my 55gallon cichlid tank. Although he is not the most active fish, when he is out and about he is the most majestic fish *** ever seen. His dorsal fin is almost two inches tall and his spots make him look like a cheetah (awesome). Every once in a while he'll buzz around the entire tank as fast as possible. For most of the day he sleeps upside down under his large drift wood or clay pot. Very peaceful too, I've never seen him attack any other fish, even when my juvie cichlids would hide under his log next to him.

I'm not an expert on the syno family, but I have done a lot of research on the eupterus.

-They supposedly like higher pH's (African Cichlid ranges) however my cat seems to do better in the 7 range than when i tried putting him in with the higher pH tank
-They can reach sizes of about 8inches however more commonly around 6-7
-What truly differentiates them from other synos is their tremendous dorsal fins, sometimes reaching half their body size
-As juveniles their much lighter brown color and have very distinct spots/patterns
-They have been known to live for over 20 years in captivity
-Nearly impossible to breed
-Will eat just about anything (while I was still figuring out what I had actually bought, I fed my syno what I fed the rest of the community tetramin flakes, he gobbled it up every time)
-They absolutely need a dark place to hide in during the day (when I first brought him home, my community tank had no caves, just fake plants and rocks, so my syno hid under the filter outlet at the top of my tank. He did much better once i put a cave in)
-I found that light colored substrate is not good for this cat because their eyes are very sensitive to light and the white substrate reflects the light. My cat spent a miserable week in my 40 gallon with crushed coral substrate, he swam around disoriented until I moved him to my black gravel 55.
-They can basically hold their own with most cichlids, african or new age, as long as they have their own hiding place
-Can and will pick off eggs if you are interested in fry control

Overall Great fish


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## ASTYLIN (Feb 24, 2010)

Why cant TN get any......Been looking for weeks.....No luck  ........Not even our chain stores, which I try and stay away from dont have any..................


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## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

So how many would be a good number for a 125


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## tranced (Jan 11, 2006)

i like petricolas, they look the best!


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## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

Multipunctatus for me. My gang of three slowly patrols the tank perimeter every morning, and then disapear till sunset.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

gatorsaver said:


> So how many would be a good number for a 125


Five or more, for almost any tank size. If you are talking about multipunctatus or lucipinnis. Some of the other synos are more solitary and may prefer having a tank to themselves.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Multipunctatus with lucippnis a close second. My four mutlipunctatus were my absolute favorite fish in my lovely male peacock/hap tank. When they died when I lost the whole tank, it was their lifeless bodies that particularly sent me over the edge. They were always active, fun to watch, beautiful and seemed "happy."

I now have six lucipinnis and while they are equally beautiful, they are not out as much. Still love them, tho . . .


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

I have lucipinnis right now and I LOVE THEM! They are incredibly fun to watch. very active day or night, and have no fear. If I stick my finger in the tank, the swim right up and feel around with their whiskers for food. They get in the way during vacuum time though - they don't know to stay out of the way of the gravel vac. They have actually taken to swimming up into the large diameter tube to play in the current! 1 of my 6 in my 55g tank is really a nut. He goes on and on swimming laps around the tank - down the front, across the bottom through the rocks, up the back, and then upside down right through the discharge of the AQ110 to propel him across the top and around again and again and again. He does it for hours at a time, and then is always doing it again the next day. He's been doing this for months now. I should take a video of it because they may be coming out of the 55 this weekend and gonig into the 30 with my mbuna babies, and I'm not sure this little guy will keep up with the laps after being moved to a new (strange) environment and a shorter height tank (same footprint though).

In a way, it kinda kills me to do it and I hope they'll still enjoy the smaller tank as much as the 55, but I gotta make room for some syno multies that will hopefully be coming friday morning! I won't be able to properly judge the syno multies until I get them in the 125 though. I may be stuck getting wild caught 3" multies, so I hope they'll adjust well to tank life and be as active as their tank raised lucipinnis cousins.


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## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

I just got 8 Multies. They are hanging out in the QT tank for now. They are fun to watch. :fish:


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## CoolCichlid (Feb 12, 2010)

I don't have any of them but I think I would keep a synodontis angelicus or synodontis nigriventris, they are beautiful! :thumb:


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I don't have any yet, but when I get my first paycheck from my new, higher paying, job next week I will be ordering 5 wild caught multipunctatus. I'm very excited.

I chose multipuctatus for their level of activity and their interesting breeding habits. Hopefully I will actually get to see them breed one day.


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## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

So my Multies have been running the tankfor a few days. They look great. I would like to get some more but not sure how many. :-?


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

I love multies & grandiops (similar to multis but with small differences, hard to tell apart)! They get to a decent size, They're attractive and not to shy. They have a very interesting life cycle. I have two pairs which are even more active now since the females are plumping up but I dont have any africans ready to spawn. The males follow the ladies around & once in a while nudge their pelvic area. I need to buy more fish! I've bred 13 species of non live bearing fish so far. Multies are a dream of mine. I also like angelicus & granulosa. But they get to large. My first Synodontis was nigriventris while growing up.


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## walleye (Aug 20, 2007)

I love my African cats. I got real lucky. I was able to get my lucipinnis for $5. each when they were about 2" long. I was able to get 4 multies for $8. each. The person had them for a while and they didn't do anything. I had them for 2 months and got eggs. I was able to get 1 cat that first time. It's a slow learning process. I think I have an OB peacock holding some right now. I have 3 schools total now. I keep the breeding group in one tank. I have 5, 1 year old and 7, 6 months old in seperate tanks. This way I'll always have a school in case something happens. It's amaising watching how fast fry grow in the first month. They seam to double in size every 2 to 3 days.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

You didn't get them all in the poll.

I've had a few other species in the past, and seen several others available on occasion. Currently I have S. Eupterus, and S. Pleurops, as well as the common "upside down catfish" species.

My S. Pleurops is aggressive. I keep it with a Red Devil/Midas, Blackbelt, Salvini, JD, and a firemouth in my 125g. The Synodontus battles with the RD and Blackbelt quite often. I've had it since the early 1990's, and it has survived several moves. It's the most aggressive Synodontus that I've ever had. It's about 8 inches standard length.

The S. Eupterus is even older, but it's not aggressive anymore. Too old.


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

jms2010 said it all..These are awesome cats...I have 3..They have great personalities :dancing: =D> :fish:


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## Fischfan13 (Jun 12, 2003)

Ummmm, how come Synodontis _flavitaeniata_ is not on the list? They are one of three Syno's that I keep, and are definitely my favorite. I think for color and markings no other Syno comes close.


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## gatorsaver (Jan 3, 2010)

The poll would only let me list so many then blocked any more.  
Please tell us about your flavitaeniatas


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## Pagan (Apr 22, 2010)

tranced said:


> i like petricolas, they look the best!


I agree! :thumb:


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I ordered 5 wild caught multies last week. They're arriving tomorrow. I'm spending all day tomorrow rearanging my tank to create more shallow caves. Very excited!

I would absolutely love to get ahold of some yellow Synodontis pardalis. But I haven't found anyone who breeds them. Not even sure if they breed in captivity.

I'm also currently searching for some Microsynodontis batesii. Hard to find these little guys.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

I pick eupterus, reasons why? out of all the synos I've had it has the most personality, hes a dork lol


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

I'll revive this thread as I am in the process of deciding between Multipunctatus and Petricola.

55 gallon tank. tankmates will probably include 2 harems (1:4) of acei and red zebra

Would I be OK with 6 multi's with these mbuna in a 55 or would a smaller number like 4 be better?

Or should I go with Petricola becuase the smaller size? I'd still like to do about 6.


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## jordanroda (May 4, 2006)

here's my Bcs ranking...

1. Angelicus
2. Petricola
3. Decorus

:lol:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Note that petricola are nearly impossible to obtain in the United States. At least I've been trying to get some for months now without success from both vendors and hobbyists.

In 2007 the fish known as petricola was divided into two groups, the original petricola and the new lucipinnis.

Most vendors and fishkeepers, having known them as petricola are still selling them under this name and often even use a picture of a true petricola in their advertising.

If you get an ID of the actual fish being sold you will likely find the fish is lucipinnis. A nice fish itself, but not petricola.


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

cdavitt said:


> I'll revive this thread as I am in the process of deciding between Multipunctatus and Petricola.
> 
> 55 gallon tank. tankmates will probably include 2 harems (1:4) of acei and red zebra
> 
> ...


I have two pairs of multies in my 55 with a colony of yellow Labs. It works ok but I could use two more females since the two males are always fighting over the larger female when my Labs are about to spawn.


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

I already have a colony of labs in another tank. Any other thoughts on appopriate tank mates for multi's in a 55 gallon? Something orange/yellow and something blue/black/white/yellow would work for me. I am deferring to other multi owners as to what works best as I have only had my group of 6 multi's about 24 hours now. =)


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