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New member! Needing help with a Catfish

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GeorgeRipton

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Jun 9, 2020
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Hey guys!

I'm very much a newbie, not only to this forum, but also to fish keeping. I've had my aquarium for almost a month now and it's been great. I've been trying to do a whole bunch of reading and learning since setting up and now have what I feel is a good selection of fish. I actually popped in the store today to buy some new fish. I picked up a catfish, but stupidly didn't ask which kind it was and have been trying to identify it online since, which is proving difficult. I wondered if anyone could help? I've attached a few pictures.

Thanks!
 

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Thanks a lot! I've just googled and I think you're both spot on. I just read about it also being called the upside-down catfish because it has to swim upside-down to gather food from the water surface, I've already seen mine do this so that must be it!!
 
GeorgeRipton said:
Thanks a lot! I've just googled and I think you're both spot on. I just read about it also being called the upside-down catfish because it has to swim upside-down to gather food from the water surface, I've already seen mine do this so that must be it!!
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Sorry... I forgot to say :hi: to the Forum!!!
 
Thanks!! I've just been doing some further reading about this catfish and now fear that it will pick off my Neon Tetras throughout the night. Should have really done some more research before, so only myself to blame. I also have some cherry shrimp on order and I'm almost certain that they'll now just be expensive fish food for the catfish. Which is a shame as I like the idea of having shrimp in my aquarium.
 
GeorgeRipton said:
Thanks!! I've just been doing some further reading about this catfish and now fear that it will pick off my Neon Tetras throughout the night. Should have really done some more research before, so only myself to blame. I also have some cherry shrimp on order and I'm almost certain that they'll now just be expensive fish food for the catfish. Which is a shame as I like the idea of having shrimp in my aquarium.
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You could try giving the catfish back to the fish store... Just a suggestion.
 
Welcome to TFF.

You have another issue even more important. Synodontis catfish are shoaling fish which means they must be kept in a group. Here I would suggest five minimum. However, I don't know the tank size (dimensions) so this may not work, depending. In which case it really would be bst to return it sooner rather than later. Without a few of its own it will get very stressed, and that means health issues and possibly worse.

When looking for fish, always research the fish before you acquire it; this can save both you and the fish a lot of grief. It was a lesson I learned the hard way many years ago. And do not rely on anything the store people tell you, unless you know their level of knowledge. Get the name written down and search it online at Seriously Fish or ask here on TFF. Everyone is more than happy to help out.
 
Welcome to our forums. Lots of helpful members here. Please vote in our Tank of the Month contest. Just click TOTM banner at top of forum to view the entries...then vote at the top of the thread.
 
Thanks again for the replies, really helpful! Frustrating because I asked the questions in-store and they told me it'd be fine by itself and would also be fine with the fish I already have. I did ask specifically if it had to be in a group of the same and they said it didn't, which is bad on their behalf. Like you say though, lesson learned! Hopefully, they agree to take it back, next issue is trying to catch it somehow tomorrow!

My tank is a 60litre BiOrb cube. Aside from the catfish, I have six mollies, six guppy and six tetra. I've attached a picture of the tank.
 

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Fishmanic said:
Welcome to our forums. Lots of helpful members here. Please vote in our Tank of the Month contest. Just click TOTM banner at top of forum to view the entries...then vote at the top of the thread.
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Thanks for the welcome, I've just placed my vote!
 
Just looking at the different kinds of Synodontis catfish and I wonder if mine may be a Cuckoo Catfish? looks very similar?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I like the look of your tank but you have some more fish issues. Do you know if you have hard water or soft and what the GH and PH numbers are? Tetras are soft water fish while mollies and guppies are hard water fish, Guppies can handle a wider range of water hardness depending on your GH. I raise both hard and soft water fish in their own separate tanks.
 
Hey and thanks! I think my water is pretty hard, the PH was around 7.5 I believe when last tested. Do you think the Tetras will struggle in these conditions then?
 
GeorgeRipton said:
Just looking at the different kinds of Synodontis catfish and I wonder if mine may be a Cuckoo Catfish? looks very similar?
Click to expand...

I am not well up on species in the genus Synodontis and I'd hate to mislead you. Here's a link to Planet Catfish's page on these species, see if you can pin it down.

PlanetCatfish.com - Information

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.
www.planetcatfish.com www.planetcatfish.com

Also, maybe you can call the store and ask them to give you the scientific name; it should be on their order paper for the shipment they received. Scientific names are more certain than common names.

To the best of my belief, Synodontis species are all shoaling, meaning they must have a group. There is no space here for a group, and these ar not exactly small fish. Synodontis nigreventris (the upside down catfish) attains 4 inches, and the others are similar.
 
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