Mbuna and Synos

[Metermaid]

Doing a bit of research on Planet Catfish and I think Synodontis Multipunctatus looks like a suitable tank mate for Mbuna. Does anyone have this combination - also when I am ready to stock the tank should I add Mbuna of Syno first or together or will it make no difference ?

Cheers

Rita

 

[Oddball]

To be perfectly honest with you, most catfish if chosen correctly are suitable for the mbuna tank. When i set up my first african tank i added synos first but with later experience i learned its not as essential. The only exception to this rule is if you intend to house the cats with an exrtremely large and aggressive cichlid such as a frontosa who would see the new cat as an intruder!

Yes i have mbuna multiple mix, and i also have a whole host of other catfish mixed in, try any of these species:

Doradids (raphael cats)
Synos, suggestions are multiplepunctatus, ornataqpinnis, nigriventis, ocellifer and flavatus
Plecos, provided they are not overly territorial such as peckolita taparas, or flimsy such as whiptails
even some of the smaller mystus and pimelodae species are nice, try pim pictus!

 

[Metermaid]

Really interested to read your reply Oddball - especially the last bit as Pim Pictus were my first choice - but concensus of opinion seems to be they are not suitable for the Mbuna tank - if you have kept them successfully that is interesting to know - maybe I should reconsider !

 

[G_Sharky]

If your going to get some synos cats then you'll need to get a big tank cause they get pretty big and they look and would do better in a group....

 

[vantgE]

Rememvber to keep groupsd of four with synos unless of the nigrita or eupterus type, syno nigriventris should not be kept with cichlids,
And add the synos first as they grow much slower than the cichlids and it would be best for them to have a size advantage it is really expensive to buy full size

 

[hounds4u]

hi

yeah i have malawis and 3 Synodontis Multipunctatus and all get on fine

Dave

 

[Oddball]

In regards to the comment made on S.nigreventis......

It is possible, in the tank i have right next to me there is a colony of 6 usd cats and 10 allunacaras, i have no problem with these fish, and cant understand why you would advise against it? I don know that usds are shy and retiring but if the cichlids are too busy with each other then problems are averted.....

COncerning pim pictus...........

Pim pictus is not ideal if bought from a "wild" stockist, i.e. one theat stocks fish from the wild or in their pH, however captive specimens can be acclimatised to qa new pH over time. The other problems encoluntered with p.pictus is that it gets to a size where it can eat smaller cichlids, also its long flowing barbels can attract too much attention. I would only recommend this course of action if the cat in question can retreat and you use a find coral sand in the aquarium.

As an interesting footnote I have also in the afore mentioned tank a group of yellow/red finned Botias acting as the night time scavenger crew

 

[vantgE]

Nigriventis is a small riverine species much more delicate then the better suited tangyikan catish or the eupterus, the nigriventris prefers more leafy aquariums and a lower ph, It may well be possible to do so with aulancouras but couldn't expect it to withstand mbuna

 

[Angry_Platy]

I have bristlenoses with my mbuna cichlids and they are great....the bnoses are good at chasing the other fish away from their food

 

[keane]

Hi,

freddyK, our local cichlid expert , told me that you would really want to stay away from any algae eating catfish.

Cichlids love to eat algae and he allows his algae to grow quite abundantly so the cichlids can graze on it, which in turn gives them something else to do rather than fight and breed!!

I was gonna go with some synos or a plec until I read his advice and have now decided to go with three clown loaches. I love them and have always wanted to keep them.

The general concencus is that these make a great addition to a Mbuna tank. They will clean up any of the left over food residue and help keep the tank tidy but won't touch the algae, which is left for the Mbuna to graze on.

worth thinking about.

steve B)

 

[Metermaid]

Ummmm...lots to mull over !

 

[Ferris]

I have 2 Syno's (Synodontis Eupterus) and a Sailfin Plec with my Mbuna and all get on fine.

Clown loaches can be a risk in Mbuna tanks, not because of agression, CL's can take care of themselves, but because of the different water requirements. Mbuna prefer a Ph of at least 7 and preferably 7.5-8, CL's do better in tanks with Ph's of less than 7. TheBaldranger should be OK because his Ph is around 7 so both should adapt. That said Cl's have been successfully kept with Mbuna, I just thought I'd point out the element of risk (sorry hate being negative)

 

[freddyk]

Ferris, these fish are all bred in aquariums anyway - the optimal ph you see everywhere on the web is based on the estimated parameters of their habitat. Clown loaches will do just fine in ph 7-8 water. Most fish will do fine in a wide variety of conditions.

If your going to get some synos cats then you'll need to get a big tank cause they get pretty big and they look and would do better in a group....

If space is a concern, consider Syno. Petricola - they are a smaller variety, which makes them suitable.

 

[Ferris]

I'll bow to freddyk's knowledge, I'm just going off the responses i got when i posted this question myself some months ago, I had as many negative replies as positive, go figure!

In light of this, do you think I could squeeze 2-3 CL's into my tank? (see sig) Would they get on with the Syno's, I know the Plec won't be a problem as have kept CL's with a Plec years ago.

PS Sorry for hijacking topic Metermaid

 

[Metermaid]

Hijack away Ferris - all discussion useful !!

Rita