# What/how to feed Synodontis Multipunctatus



## adk (Dec 11, 2008)

My LFS just got some multis and I'd like to pick one up, but I know nothing about them. I've heard that they do very well with mbuna, but what is the best thing to feed them and how should I ensure that the multi gets the food instead of the mbuna?


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

The only thing I would worry about with any synodontis is makine sure food gets to them.

Some fish don't let the food get down to the ground.

I would get sinking food and make sure to drop some in when the light has been off for a while and the mbuna are slow motion.


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## Cich of it all (Mar 29, 2007)

I don't have any multipuntatus, but I have petricola and lucipinnis which are very similar to the multis, only smaller. They *are* ideal tankmates for Africans because they all come from Lake Tanganyika, which has very similar water characteristics to that of Lake Malawi (home of the Mbuna). They coexist very well with Mbuna too; neither group has ever had a problem with the other in any of my tanks. One thing about these catfish though is that they are happiest and most fun to watch when they are in groups of 5 or more. Unfortunately, most LFS sell them for an astronomical price and this becomes quite expensive. But hey, one is way better than none - just don't expect to see him very often.

Whe it comes to feeding them, mine just eat the same stuff the rest of the fish get, which is New Life Spectrum cichlid formula. I don't usualy see them come out and eat at the same time as the cichlids, but they manage to get enough food because their bellies are always huge. Between finding uneaten food and just being the bottom feeders that they are (snacking on cichlid waste and such) they get plenty. If you are really concerned about the amount of food they get, feed them when the lights have been out for at least an hour. That way the cichlids will be sleeping and the cats will come out to play and eat.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

I agree they should be in groups. I have four multipunctatus and they are very active. I love them!

I feed my NLS h20 sinking wafers and actually sort of "hand feed" the cats. I break up a wafer into small pieces and hold the pieces at the end of a long aquarium tong. I point the tong in the substrate right near one of their usual hidey-holes and they call swarm around it and grab the wafer pieces. I do this every morning. I don't feel enough NLS pellets get to the substrate for them. Of course, the cichlids also know the tong means more food, so I need to work hard to make sure the cats get first crack.


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

I've kept and bred multipunctatus for a couple of years now with my Malawis. At first I too was concerned abut them getting any food but over time I stopped worrying about that as I realized they do manage to find food even when you think the Malawis got it all. If your Malawis are getting enough to eat, it's likely the Synodontis are as well. On just one occasion I felt one was getting abnormally thin - I put that one in an isolation tank for a week, fed it, and it fattened right back up. No issues since. I agree that they do much better in groups of at least 4.


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## girlon88keys (May 25, 2008)

:fish: We recently purchased a multi and so far he/she is doing fine. Other people in the forum gave us good advice and ours appears to be getting enough food as well. We feed all our cichlids pellets that we crush so the smaller ones will get food as well. We also have two synodontis decorus and they appear to get along with the multi. Good luck with yours and they are cool aren't they!!! :fish:


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## Terrence23 (Oct 2, 2008)

If you have the right ratio of male/female cichlids in your tank, they will be generating a LOT of fry and your syno multis will eat those assuming you don't remove the holding females. They are very adept at rooting out cichlid fry from the crevices they hide in.

I've had my group of six multis for almost a year and I was worried too that they weren't getting enough food because the cichlids would gobble most of the NLS up before any hit the substrate. Then I noticed they were staying pretty plump despite that and I also had almost no survivor cichlid fry in the tank even though I have females holding constantly and lots of rockwork. It wasn't hard to put two and two together!


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

Terrence23 said:


> It wasn't hard to put two and two together!


And that you certainly did :thumb:


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