Upside Down Catfish

[furry catfish]

Hi all I bought 2 upside down catfish last sunday for my 42 gallon tank.But since then they havn't come out of their hiding places,not even to eat,at first i just chalked it down to the fact that they were new fish but isn't a week enough time to settle in? could someone suggest to me what I should do?, if I have to do anything at all

thanks

 

[fishy55599]

from what i have read is they are social fish and ideally need 6+ groups and then you may see them.

 

[markp2067]

I'd heard they were nocturnal as far as fish go. Mine seldom comes out and when he does its brief enough for him to eat and then go back under his mangrove root.

 

[Squidward]

Yup, you will seldom see them.

I had a similar experience. I have a group of 5. The first day or so while they were exploring their home, they were out all the time, but since then I have hardly seen them! A bit dissapointing. I never see them swimming up side down as their name suggests.

Sometimes when I feed my other fish blood worms, they do come out briefly, so you could try that.

 

[raptorrex]

Hi all I bought 2 upside down catfish last sunday for my 42 gallon tank.But since then they havn't come out of their hiding places,not even to eat,at first i just chalked it down to the fact that they were new fish but isn't a week enough time to settle in? could someone suggest to me what I should do?, if I have to do anything at all

thanks

I think you will need another. if they are happy, you wont see em much!

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Sometimes other fish bother them, causing them to hide. What other fish are in the tank? My upside-down catfish never really came out because my angelfish kept bothering it. What a bully!
If you have any fish that are bothering them, you might want to get a school of dither fish. Dither fish are fish that are always moving. Good dither fish include rainbowfish,white cloud mountain minnows, and danios.

 

[Talking Catfish]

furry catfish,I have had two upsidedown cats for about 8 years have not got much bigger than 3 inches and hide all the time except when I do a 2/3 water change and take out all the plants and hides,then I get a chance to stock check as I also have 2 doras,three striped pan cats that hide aswell ,makes you wonder why we buy them perhaps it because in the pet shop theres nothing in their tanks to hide under!
TC

 

[fishnovice]

Maybe I'm just lucky but my true upsidedown catfish is very active night and day, sometimes swims upsidedown and rarely hides though there are plenty of hiding places in its tank.I also have another 2 hybrid syno, one of which constantly swims upside down. Again both are often seen swimming all over the tank even at the surface night and day.

However I have a spotted raphael cat that has superglued itself inside an ornament and NEVER leaves his spot even when I move the ornament during water changes.Never seen him eat in the 6 months I've had him.Check him weekly to see if he's ok -gills moving and not rotting so i guess he's still alive. Total waste of space and bioload, pity really as it's a lovely fish.