Unhappy Synodontis Petricola

[mariabailey]

Hi, I was hoping for some help.
I have had a pair of Synadontis Petricola for around 3 years and we recently spotted a baby. Ever since the female has been chasing off the male at every opportunity. They have been pretty happy together before then- co existing in the same cave/ area. I was advised by LFS that they could live as a pair and honestly at the time I was new to fish keeping and trusted that my LFS knew what they were talking about and didn’t do my own research.
With the baby and new behaviour I have done some research and seen that they prefer to be in groups of 5/6. My question is, is it too late to add more? Will it upset them more having new fish introduced and if not should I try and find some bigger/older ones that need a new home or can I add smaller/ younger ones to form the group? The baby is in there now and they don’t seem bothered by him- but he is only around 3/4 weeks old right now. Pic is of the baby.

 

[Colin_T]

The minimum number for Synodontis petricola and multipunctatus is 6 and 10 or more is better, however that can be expensive. You should be able to add 3 or 4 more without any real issues. They might squabble a bit when the new ones are introduced but that should stop within a day or so. You don't need to add big catfish, just add small or medium ones or whatever you can get. Just feed the adults and other fish before adding the new catfish and monitor them for any aggression.

 

[mariabailey]

Thank you. I will add a few more in.