Synodontis Multipunctatus

[LauraFrog]

I was in an LFS up the hill a bit today, and they had two syno multis in there. I just about fell over backwards because it is an extremely rare fish in Australia. Apparently this is the first time it has appeared on the wholesale list for 18 months... I have never seen a live one before. They want $100 for them, which is a LOT for me to consider spending on one fish, but it is a fair price considering their size (close on 4 inches), condition (excellent, they are feeding well) and the rarity of the fish in Australia.

I've got a 22 gallon brackish community set up outside. It's hard water (300 odd ppm) with pH usually around 7.8 and SG of about 1.005/1.006. The water chemistry is intended for sailfin mollies - they are the true sailfins, F1 or F2 by the looks, adults 5 inches and if you try to keep them in freshwater, they get every opportunistic disease you care to mention. Been there, done that... got sick of the constant outbreaks of columnaris, finrot, fungus and ich, so I ramped the salt up - no more problems.

The tank also contains platys, rainbows (which will be moved when I get some new tanks set up, I have the tanks, it's definitely happening) and a half grown male kribensis. I have been planning to add bumblebee gobies once I clear up major BBA issues, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, so if I can't keep synos with bumblebees that doesn't matter. I could also shift the platys into a freshwater tank. The only fish that aren't going anywhere are the mollies, and it would be a lot more convenient if I could leave the kribensis in there.

I feed NewLife Spectrum as about 75% of the diet, I also use fresh veg and frozen bloodworm, live food when I can get it. I can get something else if necessary. The tank is kept about 24 C. It's lightly planted with salt tolerant species and heavily tannin stained. Substrate is gravel. Filtration is an undergravel combined with an oversized internal power.

So would I be able to keep a syno in this setup? The owner of the LFS said that my water is very close to rift lake chemistry (I'm actually using rift lake conditioner in there because my water is about 20ppm hardness out of the tap) and that I would be fine to put one in there. I just wanted to ask a few more opinions - I'm pretty sure he wouldn't BS me, but I've learned my lessons the hard way about taking LFS advice with a pinch of salt. $100 is a fair price for the fish, but I'm a teenager on a limited budget and it's an awful lot for me to shell out for one fish. Probably lucky I don't carry that much with me, or I would have been in danger of some serious impulse buying. So what do you guys think - would that be a suitable setup for one? I definitely can't afford both, but there's really no point me buying both as I'm not set up to breed them anyway - the kribensis is the only cichlid I own.

 

[matchstickman47]

syno multis arnt a brackish fish and they do well in a cichlid comunity
ozy prices are very high i get 4 of em for 30 quid
they are my favoutrites they may be fine but it isnt worth spending 100 dollars on a fish that may not like it

i wouldnt is my advise 22 gallons is fine for a pair but syno multis love groups and you may find if you get just twoo one will become dominant and bully the other
thats what happend to my pair so i bought 2 more and they love eachother

if cichlids arnt the way i keep mine with angels gouramis neons black phantom tetras and bristle nosed catfish

angel fish are brilliant

so are syno multis i know what you mean when you said you fell for them ..... they have good personalities if kept in fours or fives very active aswel ( for a syno anyway)

you can also keep them well with syno petricola

 

[ntK]

I was in an LFS up the hill a bit today, and they had two syno multis in there. I just about fell over backwards because it is an extremely rare fish in Australia. Apparently this is the first time it has appeared on the wholesale list for 18 months... I have never seen a live one before. They want $100 for them, which is a LOT for me to consider spending on one fish, but it is a fair price considering their size (close on 4 inches), condition (excellent, they are feeding well) and the rarity of the fish in Australia.

I've got a 22 gallon brackish community set up outside. It's hard water (300 odd ppm) with pH usually around 7.8 and SG of about 1.005/1.006. The water chemistry is intended for sailfin mollies - they are the true sailfins, F1 or F2 by the looks, adults 5 inches and if you try to keep them in freshwater, they get every opportunistic disease you care to mention. Been there, done that... got sick of the constant outbreaks of columnaris, finrot, fungus and ich, so I ramped the salt up - no more problems.

The tank also contains platys, rainbows (which will be moved when I get some new tanks set up, I have the tanks, it's definitely happening) and a half grown male kribensis. I have been planning to add bumblebee gobies once I clear up major BBA issues, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, so if I can't keep synos with bumblebees that doesn't matter. I could also shift the platys into a freshwater tank. The only fish that aren't going anywhere are the mollies, and it would be a lot more convenient if I could leave the kribensis in there.

I feed NewLife Spectrum as about 75% of the diet, I also use fresh veg and frozen bloodworm, live food when I can get it. I can get something else if necessary. The tank is kept about 24 C. It's lightly planted with salt tolerant species and heavily tannin stained. Substrate is gravel. Filtration is an undergravel combined with an oversized internal power.

So would I be able to keep a syno in this setup? The owner of the LFS said that my water is very close to rift lake chemistry (I'm actually using rift lake conditioner in there because my water is about 20ppm hardness out of the tap) and that I would be fine to put one in there. I just wanted to ask a few more opinions - I'm pretty sure he wouldn't BS me, but I've learned my lessons the hard way about taking LFS advice with a pinch of salt. $100 is a fair price for the fish, but I'm a teenager on a limited budget and it's an awful lot for me to shell out for one fish. Probably lucky I don't carry that much with me, or I would have been in danger of some serious impulse buying. So what do you guys think - would that be a suitable setup for one? I definitely can't afford both, but there's really no point me buying both as I'm not set up to breed them anyway - the kribensis is the only cichlid I own.

The problem is these fish are very social and thrive when kept in groups of 3 or more. These fish also come from lake tanganyika and are best suited for cichlid aquariums, not only due to the water chemistry, but also their interesting breeding behavior. Normally I wouldn't stress those 2 things so much when buying a fish, but if I was going to dish out $100 for a single fish, I would want that fish to behave to its fullest potential, and in my opinion it wont in your situation. Not only this, but I feel your tank being only 22 gallons is way too small to include this fish as well as all the others you have.

Summary: You could keep him, if you get rid of some of your fish and make room for him, but it will not be worth the 100. You won't have other syno's for him to react with and it is not intended for a brackish community, whether the PH and hardness of your water match or not.