Mistake?

[ketyana]

Anyone who remembers me from a while back I hope would be able to vouch thatI always thought my tank and the 'inmates' through very thoughly with regards to who and what could go with what etc

but........

This time when starting a brand new tank for the third time due to sucpious deaths (I brought pentazona barbs eachtime I finished cycling as the second set of fish to a barb only tank and they seemed to be on a timer.....almost 2 months to the day after buying them they all die and take all the tank with them, no signs of illness no water problem, nothing I can find!) I found some feather finned catfish, did a quick research, and saw no problems, well god knows where I found the info but obviously it was wrong.

I now have 1 Featherfin, I had two but one disappeared, that is growing FAST in a tank with 3 tiny bristlenose plecs 8 golden barb and 10 cherry barbs, the cherry's are disappearing at an alarming rate and I fear my teeny plecs are next.

Is this normal for the featherfin synodonis? well I guess so cause now knowing it to be a snail eater i wouldnt think it has a problem tucking into fish does it?

 

[ketyana]

no one can help?

 

[Bloo]

Well I haven't kept them so probably not the best to give an opinion. Though I must say I think it unlikely (but not impossible) to be due to your "Synodontis eupterus". Though they are said to be omnivorous, they are also said to be peaceful and hardly bother other fish.
How big is it at the moment ?
What fish precisely do you have in the tank ?

 

[CFC]

All Synodontis catfishes will make a snack of any smaller fish in the tank if they can catch them. The only commonly available catfishes that are safe to add to community tanks are Corydoras and suckermouthed catfishes such as plecs, bristlenoses and whiptails. All other catfish species should be treated with caution and only placed with fish that are atleast half their own size.

 

[ketyana]

Thanks for the replies, he is only maybe 2-3 inchs, I have not long had him and he is about 1/2 the length again that he was when I brought him. The tank he is in is the barb tank, so that mix of small barbs in my signature.

I think he will have to be returned, especially as he is now alone and I hear they like to live in pairs.

How many bristlenose plecs are ideal? I introduced 3, Im not sure how many he has left, it is a largish tank with few plants but alot of wood and I tend to only be able to track down one at any given time.

 

[huntlyfish]

Thanks for the replies, he is only maybe 2-3 inchs, I have not long had him and he is about 1/2 the length again that he was when I brought him. The tank he is in is the barb tank, so that mix of small barbs in my signature.

I think he will have to be returned, especially as he is now alone and I hear they like to live in pairs.

How many bristlenose plecs are ideal? I introduced 3, Im not sure how many he has left, it is a largish tank with few plants but alot of wood and I tend to only be able to track down one at any given time.

Hi Ketyana,

I have 2 feather fin catfish in my 130 litre tank along with 3 corys, 1 common plec, 1 sailfin plec, 2 orange rainbows, 1 angel, 2 Bolivian rams & 2 Pakistani loaches.
I purchased the featherfins approx 5 - 6 months ago at approx 2" in size. They remained hidden at the back of the tank, underneath the filter mostly and I never observed them eating or swimming around. Suddenly they have started to grow at an alarming rate since I started feeding a different type of catfish pellet and they have started swimming around the tank more often. They have now reached approx 3" and 4" respectively and are getting much more heavily bodied. I also had 4 cardinal tetras in the tank and over the last 10 days or so they have all disappeared and I suspect that the feather fins are to blame. I have been amazed at their rate of growth and they seem to be getting much braver. Also, right from day one, they are in close contact with the sailfin plec who doesnt seem to mind at all.
Does anyone know if the feather fins breed easily in the aquarium?

 

[fishfishfish]

huntly fish-angels eat neons in the wild so cardinals might just be dinner.

i have a feather fin also.he doesnt eat my fish.actually ive got 1 demasoni with him now thats about .75-1 inch and hes fine with him.mine is about 8 inches long

 

[MeanHoney]

I have two featherfins with platys and swordies and they actually seem afraid of the other fish. Mine have grown very fast too, from 1-2" to 3-4" in about 6 months and they have gotten much more active too.

From what I've read other places, featherfins have not successfully bred in aquariums.