Synodontis Petricola

[pen306]

today is a sad one due to our little MICK (the bristlenose catfish) he died. only had him 6 days.. thought he was doing well,..

he was a funny little chap zipping around & will be sadly missed. not sure what happened ??? we had put algae tablets in incase there was a shortage of it within the tank itself.
anyone have any ideas?


and why is my Synodontis Petricola so elusive i understood they do not like light, so brought 2 moon light bulbs which from about 9pm have on instead of the daylight ones & their on till go to bed, have now tried no lights...
as it is a joke trying to spot her, she is a hermit for sure..
i have taken to placing the bloodworms into the cave on the hope she wont die of hunger, does anyone else have such much of a problem with their's ???


so if anyone can help me answer these 2 for now i'd be grateful.

 

[Corleone]

How are your water stats? Some fish just come in unhealthy and can't cope with the stress of transport on top of it, but water stats can often explain sudden deaths like your bristlenose.

Petricolas are somewhat social, if you get a couple more you might see them more. I have two, and they can be seen feeding around their favored caves sometimes, but they aren't always comfortable around other fish, and stick close to their secure spots. Like all fish, they don't need all that much food to survive. I tempt mine with food about their length out of cover and force them to come out to eat. After a few days, their hunger usually overcomes them, and with time they become more confident eating out in the open.

Make sure there's plenty of hiding spots, too. The more there are, the more comfortable many fish are leaving theirs, since they can be close to a bolt hole wherever they go. Also, while they're somewhat social, mine absolutely refuse to share a cave with one another, so they stake out a good bit of real estate.

 

[pen306]

hi, thanks for your reply, Corleone stats are fine check them as should do.
so maybe he wasnt up to scratch bless him,

as for my Petricola i had thought of getting some more, but has second thoughts as this one was playing me up enough lol. but ok i may go back in the next few weeks and get another.
she shares her cave with the loaches and mainly although all my other fish spend time in there with her.

i have several places they can all hide i tried to make it as realistic as possible for everyone of them, including all the plants they have fun distroying lol
anyway many thanks for your help so far greatly appreciated

 

[Corleone]

If water was good, it's entirely possible about the bristlenose. I generally don't panic if a fish dies in the first month (unless I spent a lot on it), since I quarantine and it's a decent bet anything they develop they brought with them.

Also, my petricolas took longer to settle in, even after a long quarantine, than any of the fish I've added to that tank, including my keyhole cichlids, which have a reputation for being overly shy. They've only in the last two or three days started feeding out in the open among other fish, and I've had them now about a month.

 

[pen306]

If water was good, it's entirely possible about the bristlenose. I generally don't panic if a fish dies in the first month (unless I spent a lot on it), since I quarantine and it's a decent bet anything they develop they brought with them.

Also, my petricolas took longer to settle in, even after a long quarantine, than any of the fish I've added to that tank, including my keyhole cichlids, which have a reputation for being overly shy. They've only in the last two or three days started feeding out in the open among other fish, and I've had them now about a month.

i have noticed perrdy ( petricola) is finding her feet a bit more now making her way around the rear of the tank via the plants to get to the heater/pump area where she is playing bless her. she seems very friendly with my other fish and its nice to see her out n about, i am feeding them less now.... due to water becoming cloudy through wasted food i think... so alot of water changes and treatments n checks later all seems to become settled again..
i will one day ( few months) think about getting another petricola and maybe another bristlenose but not yet-awhile, want to get this lot totally settlted first n have no-more problems. many thanks so far ;-)

 

[Corleone]

Glad to hear she's settling in.

They're not often recommended as a community fish, but I've had wonderful results with mine. If you have room in the tank, consider keyhole cichlids, too. The two species give add an interesting "big fish" look to a small fish community.

 

[pen306]

hi Corleone,
hmm now i didnt think i could have cichlids with the other fish i have (listed below) but did know they are placed with petricola's alot... my hubby is looking at getting a bigger tank for me since i brought some clowns ( one way of making sure i upgrade lol) ... saying that he has spent hours researching fish and learning everything he can about it all....bless him, and now wants one of his own( a big tank) ... and cichids are his 1st choice so might get some that way and then introduce perrdy into that tank instead.

i am so pleased i found this site and you guys n gals its well kool

 

[Corleone]

Some cichlids are perfectly fine in communities. It's not a long list, but it's not really a short list, either. Anglefish, apistogramas, and rams are the best known for this, kribensis, discus, festivium, severums, and some others can work depending on tankmates.

Keyholes are one of the most peaceful cichlids I've kept - they can be downright shy when they're first introduced, but as they grow, they learn that their presence can intimidate small fish and become more confident. They're peaceful to a fault, though - mine always chicken out just short of actually fighting, and the most aggressive they get, even spawning, is gently nudging intruders out of their territory. They're not impressively colored, but they can change their spots and stripes to reflect their mood, and sometimes can put on impressive shows changing several times in succession.

The main reason I mention keyholes is that they have a very similar body and fin shape to some of the popular big cichlids, but on a much smaller scale. I like the look of them along with my petricolas, which look quite similar to some of their much bigger cousins.

 

[pen306]

hiya Corleone

ive been looking up about Keyholes bless them, ive also found some lovely fish called Rams they are so pretty and once im all sorted i think i'll look into having a couple of those Rams also ....
i actually got a good picture of my perrdy today .... as ( usually my pictures are out of focus blurd and too dark lol)

hopefully this link will work lol

if so here she is: