Mixing Catfish

[cane76]

could you put a pictus and a spotfin synodontis in the same tank?

 

[Inchworm]

Oops! Sorry cane76, when no one answered right away, there might have been a lot of others that were active and caused your thread to go down to where it went unseen. My posting on it will bring it up again and perhaps someone will help you out this time.

 

[Fishy412]

yes and no. by spotfin synodontis i assume you are talking about ocellatus. it would be good to get a scientific name then i could help you more. there are many synodontis species and many look about the same.

for the pictus catfish- they like groups. i have 4 in my tank and theyre very active. anything less than a group of 3 they will fight.


many people will say that you need special water specs to keep africans and that is true but it is possible to acclimate both species to a middle ground. i have a small calvus /(maybe comp) in the tank with my pictus cats and hes doing great. my ph is about 8.4 which is very high but these fish (except the pictus) have been in this high water since they were bred in store. the pictus seem to have no problem with it all

 

[cane76]

thx for reply,scientific name is synodontis robbianus

 

[Fishy412]

thx for reply,scientific name is synodontis robbianus

hmm. thats a new one for me. i'll look it up and give you some info soon

 

[Fishy412]

i just looked synodontis robbianus up on a few sites and it looks well suited for a more community oriented tank provided the other fish cannot fit in its mouth. i assume this is going in your 100 when its cycled? i would recommend 4 or 5 pictus's. they are stunning in a large group. quite possibly the most active catfish i have ever seen.

also if this tank is going to have all large fish in it i would recommend a group of 5 pimelodus ornatus instead of pimelodus pictus. they get larger and while not as colorful are still very very interesting.

also you may already know this but there is a possibility that your robbianus is a nigrita. they are very hard to tell apart. if you have a few pictures that are pretty still im sure we could all hook you up with a positive identification

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Would like to mention pictus cats are very susceptible to disease, especially in newly cycled tanks. I really would wait a few extra months for the tank to be a little more mature b4 adding them.
The synos can deal with early teething trouble with tanks suprisingly well. The Robbianus are a peaceable syno. Unlikely to harm other fish but pictus may annoy them due to their high activity levels. Synos are far more active in groups and will establish a heirarchy system early on. Occassionally you'll find yourself with a bully but it tends to be very obvious who the culprit is.
The other thing to watch for is, if you have a group of the synos try to ensure there isn't anywhere pictus cats are likely to get stuck should they panic. Synos can really be rather mad when mucking about and pay little heed to other fish in the process, or plants. Expect them to uproot them frequently!
I don't have any pictus cats now but I do keep my Angelicus (A syno reknowned for being a bully, especially towards other synos, often kept singly) in with two striped Doras and an LDA31. I've not had any trouble between them at all.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Fishy412]

good point miss dib dabs.

the reason for this is that the pictus is a scaleless fish. i had a minicycle in my tank once and they got very lethargic and were not looking hot. i would say add the syno first and the pictus's later.

Also, do not touch the pictus's on all their fins. ask the LFS worker to net them with a plastic container instead of a net. it will save a lot of hassle and stress on the fish's part

i would really like to stress the ornates also. they dont look all that great in pictures but when they get big they are absolutely stunning. good luck!

 

[cane76]

i just looked synodontis robbianus up on a few sites and it looks well suited for a more community oriented tank provided the other fish cannot fit in its mouth. i assume this is going in your 100 when its cycled? i would recommend 4 or 5 pictus's. they are stunning in a large group. quite possibly the most active catfish i have ever seen.

also if this tank is going to have all large fish in it i would recommend a group of 5 pimelodus ornatus instead of pimelodus pictus. they get larger and while not as colorful are still very very interesting.

also you may already know this but there is a possibility that your robbianus is a nigrita. they are very hard to tell apart. if you have a few pictures that are pretty still im sure we could all hook you up with a positive identification

yep

 

[cane76]

all my fish are going in the 100 g tank eventually.i wanna get 1 more shark and 1 more clown loach so there is 3 of each.this will stop the bullying(i have been told)and then a group of pictus or the ornates also look great anyway thanks for the replies all
Cane