Just over 4 years ago I came home from a fish shop with my first two tropical fish: an African knife and a Synodontis eupterus, seen here
The synodontis lived in alleged harmony with my knives and later the senegal bichirs, more on this later, and has grown substantially since then. After my senegal bichirs passed away I got a small P delhezi, grew it out for 4 months in a 15 gallon then added it to the 75. It lasted 3 days before the catfish mauled it, the bichir passed away two days later. The injuries were substantial. I chalked this up to the delhezi being more sedentry and bottom-based vs the busy senegals, probing a competitive response from the catfish.
I took another chance on a senegal bichir that someone needed to rehome, and all was well. But soon some spots showed up on the bichirs back and sides. My previous bichirs also had this and I could never determine the cause. That alleged harmony I spoke of? The synodontis was the culprit and 2 months after getting my bichir the catfish has stripped an insane amount of slime coat, most of this damage occurred in the last week:
To prevent any further harm I have decided to rehome my syno, the catfish has proven itself to be aggressive and I would like to preserve the health of any future bottom fish I get, including bichirs. A fellow aquarist is collecting him this evening, check how big he has grown. About 7" nose to tail
It is sad to part with him, but he's going to an equally large tank with other mild cichlids and a good owner. The bichir can heal and Katvis (Afrikaans for catfish) can live on to be a grumpy bugger without any targets. Always be careful with territorial fish, never trust a catfish..
The synodontis lived in alleged harmony with my knives and later the senegal bichirs, more on this later, and has grown substantially since then. After my senegal bichirs passed away I got a small P delhezi, grew it out for 4 months in a 15 gallon then added it to the 75. It lasted 3 days before the catfish mauled it, the bichir passed away two days later. The injuries were substantial. I chalked this up to the delhezi being more sedentry and bottom-based vs the busy senegals, probing a competitive response from the catfish.
I took another chance on a senegal bichir that someone needed to rehome, and all was well. But soon some spots showed up on the bichirs back and sides. My previous bichirs also had this and I could never determine the cause. That alleged harmony I spoke of? The synodontis was the culprit and 2 months after getting my bichir the catfish has stripped an insane amount of slime coat, most of this damage occurred in the last week:
To prevent any further harm I have decided to rehome my syno, the catfish has proven itself to be aggressive and I would like to preserve the health of any future bottom fish I get, including bichirs. A fellow aquarist is collecting him this evening, check how big he has grown. About 7" nose to tail
It is sad to part with him, but he's going to an equally large tank with other mild cichlids and a good owner. The bichir can heal and Katvis (Afrikaans for catfish) can live on to be a grumpy bugger without any targets. Always be careful with territorial fish, never trust a catfish..
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