Upside down catfish

[New Boy]

I plan to get 3 or 4 upside down catfish, are thay ok with other syno species? like petricola?

Also, just wondered what people's experiences of upside down cats is - many sites and books say they are nocturnal but they say the same about my petricola who are out all of the time......any tips/advice appreciated....

Cheers
Andy

 

[Phantom Thief]

Hehe, funny, i just bought 4 myself. For one, i can tell you they are fun to watch. Hard to find fish that swim upside down, except dying fish

But they ARE nocturnal, very much so. At least they are very shy. I have had them for about a week, and they still run when they see me. Hopefully they get more active when they realise that i am the 'Big Mountain That Rains Food' .


P.T.

 

[teamfargo]

I just picked one of these up too! I can never find him and recently took out all the decorations as I knew something had happened to him. Finally found him, he was hanging on to a plant leaf and was hidden from view. My lfs said to only get one as they grow very big (and I think there was another reason)...anyone know about how many you should keep?

 

[Phantom Thief]

Synodontis Nigriventris gets to 4 inches.
Synodontis Contractus gets to 2 1/2 inches.

The two catfish i mentioned above are the 2 species of Upside Down catfish. Neither grow massive. They also need to be in schools, the more there are, the bolder they get. But i say at least 3.

P.T.

 

[jumpman]

Also be aware that Synodontis Euruptus are often sold as upside down catfish, as they spend some time swimming that way too. They grow to about double the size. Look similar when young but then the pattern changes to spots as they get larger. I have a school of 4 that are out all the time....

jump

 

[teamfargo]

Okay, the lfs has proven that they are not experts. They get their upside down catfish from a place that lists them only as 'upsidedown catfish'. They cannot tell me anything about a scientific name. They can only tell me 'upsidedown catfish grow to be 8"'.

Is there anyone that can help me figure out what I have - lol I cannot find pictures of the second two species mentioned. I found a photo of the first one (Synodontis Nigriventris) and mine is similar, but I'm not sure.

 

[teamfargo]

By the way, he is extremly small and I didn't notice that 'sore spot' until I took the photo. I am guessing it is from before I got him. Right now, he is in a tank that has two cory cats and a pregnant guppy in a breeder net. I don't think any of these were bothering him.