Upsidedown Catfish Tank Mates?

[Chockful O Phail]

I can't get over how much they are there. They're 5$ fish here.

Anubias leaves are great. You'll still be able to see him that way. If you move him with the log that is where he will stay almost permanently.

The four I have hang out under a large piece of driftwood and I only see them rarely. The four incher I have is one of three fish that survived an ich battle and heater malfunction so he gets to stay even if I don't get to see them all the time.

Sorry no idea on sexing, there are a couple videos on YouTube showing how to sex the larger synos and maybe those can apply, but seems like it would be extra difficult with fish as small as these.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

Bummer on sexing them.. Thanks for everything else though.. I'm feeding him 1mm nls therapy+a, hikari micro algae wafers and frozen bloodworms currently. Can I feed him anything else? My goldfish eat ALOT of fruit and veg, can he eat fruits and veg? sorry if my questions are getting annoying. I just want to give the little guy the best life possible.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Eupterus are not a schooling syno usually. The fingerlings may be loosely schooling but adults are solitary.

But before we proceed with all these questions, I think it'd be prudent to make sure the ID is correct. The pic you posted is indeed of a Synodontis nigriventris aka USD syno but if you cannot tell a eupterus from nigriventris, please, provide a photo or two of the guy in question.

Just proposing due diligence ... before jumping to care, diet, max sizes, and sexing.

 

[Chockful O Phail]

Other than a few flakes leftover, Ther-a is about all mine get after the community eats the rest, they seem to be healthy when I do get to see them so I don't see a problem.

This is a eupterus for reference

 

[Kittiee Katt]

This is a eupterus for reference
View attachment 1137275

He doesn't look like that one. He's more blotchy and yellowish, that one also looks like it has slightly different fins, its dorsal fin looks longer and more pointed than mine - that could just be because of the cichlids though.. Is that one there a "feather fin"? Coz he looks like one I was looking at in the lfs..

 

[Chockful O Phail]

Yes they're called featherfin or squeaker catfish. If the one you have is like the pic you posted its an upside down, I was just posting that one for comparison.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Chockful O Phail, the picture you posted is not of eupterus but of the most common syno hybrid in the trade, called jaguar syno, lepard, syno, valentiana syno, and other silly made-up names. This one http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=602 Don't be fooled by the first photo - their appearance varies and heavily changes with age. I've had grown a good half a dozen of these from 1" to adulthood, ~8"-10" TL.

Kittiee Katt, as for the ID, please look at the pictures of real eupterus http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=121 and please pay attention to how the coloration pattern of fingerlings and juvies strongly differs from sub adults and adults. The small eupterus may indeed be confused with nigriventris to a passing or an untrained eye.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

The juvies on that site have a more 'spotted' patterning than mine. My one has a more 'blotched' patterning, and its 'blotches' are a lot less uniformed (as such) than the juvie eupterus. The guy I have has more 'leopardy' patterning, and is still much more yellow than them guys (I don't know if that's just the camera that the pic was taken with or not thought). The juvue eupterus has a very spotted pattern, mine has random blotches all over, with little to no uniformity whatsoever.

I can't get a pic of him unfortunately because I've only got my phone camera, and he just blends into the log to well..


Also, thanks heaps guys.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The base coloration is usually an unrelaible indicator in trying to ID synos but IIRC I have never seen a eupterus, regardless of age and size, having gold or yellowish hues in the base colors. It sounds more like nigriventris. Same goes for bloches.

Perhaps we use the term juvi differently but the way I'd put it is that eupterus babies are striped and the stripes are squiggly, while the adults have lots of small dark spots and the juvies are in between. Usually when a eupterus loses its stripey pattern they are said to have grown out of their juvie coloration.

Sadly, the syno trade is most heavily littered with hybrids. This is another cause behind my suggestion for pictures. There would be no harm in getting your syno into a phototank or some such and taking good pics but I don't want to push you. You do what you do

 

[Kittiee Katt]

I'm guna move him in with the betta on Sunday (its Tuesday here atm). He's not even as long as the minnows yet so I'm hoping he doesn't bother them for now, regardless of what he ends up being. I'll continue trying for a pic, but I don't wana stress the little guy out to much. If I can't get a decent pic before Sunday I'll take a pic of him during the move, he should be a lot easier to get a pic of if he's in a clear bucket acclimatising.

Thank you heaps for all the help and for putting up with my millions of questions.