Mixing Synodontis together...or Syno with Raphael...

[scottv]

I recently was looking for a cleanup fish for my cichlid tank and I just got back from Petsmart with a cool little Synodontis Ocellifer . I'm really new to catfish, the only catfish I've ever owned were a 13" pleco, 3" Rubber Pleco, and a 9" bullhead lol....years ago...


Anyways, I was wondering if you can mix a Synodontis Ocellifer with a Synodontis Angelicus, or a Eupterus?

If not another Synodontis, My other choice would be a Spotted Raphael.

The tank is 90 gallons, there's many places for them to hide in. But I know how catfish always seem to be competing with one another I just have to ask before I decide to buy another.

Thanks!

 

[Stab]

I am currently "mixing" 8" eupterus with 2 4" ocilifers with great success. They have been sharing a 55G tank for just about 2 years and never had any dissagreements

 

[scottv]

I am currently "mixing" 8" eupterus with 2 4" ocilifers with great success. They have been sharing a 55G tank for just about 2 years and never had any dissagreements

Sweet, thanks for the good news! I was afraid they may be very aggressive and intolerant of their own species.

How fast do they grow? Mine right now is only about 4" and I'm hopin it will grow big enough for my oscar to stop looking at it. (He tried to eat it when I first dropped it in, no damage to the Syn, I don't know if the Oscar got pricked because he's still kinda curious at times)

There's tons of uneaten food pieces strewn about from the damn cichlids during feeding so If the catfish eats any food on the bottom, it's never gonna starve. I even throw in sinking pellets for the bichirs and most of them are never found lol.

 

[Stab]

In my experience Eupterus are fast growers until they hit around 6" or so. Then they slow down a bit. At this size they also start growing vertically, tuning into a rather deep bodied fish with a sail-like dorsal taht only adds to their hight. Once this happens, I am sure your O will not look at it as food -- the fish will be clearly too big to fit in the mouth.

Bothe eupterus and ocilifer (or as I call them "Lucifer") make good scavengers and will actively seek out bits of uneaten food from the substrate. You should still however complement their diet with some sinking pellets or tiny bits of raw prawn.

Also, be sure to provide some cover. Synos will be come more active and outgoing if there is a series of caves nearby for them to hide in

 

[scottv]

In my experience Eupterus are fast growers until they hit around 6" or so. Then they slow down a bit. At this size they also start growing vertically, tuning into a rather deep bodied fish with a sail-like dorsal taht only adds to their hight. Once this happens, I am sure your O will not look at it as food -- the fish will be clearly too big to fit in the mouth.

Bothe eupterus and ocilifer (or as I call them "Lucifer") make good scavengers and will actively seek out bits of uneaten food from the substrate. You should still however complement their diet with some sinking pellets or tiny bits of raw prawn.

Also, be sure to provide some cover. Synos will be come more active and outgoing if there is a series of caves nearby for them to hide in

Awesome! Thanks for the info! I'm probably gonna get it today after work.