Should I keep my synodontis petricolas?

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philipraposo1982

philipraposo1982

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Feb 21, 2016
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I have a group of 10 with my male GT. I got them young and have had them for about 5 months.

I am debating getting rid of them because I don't seem them much and I sometimes feel that they are not adding much other than poop and such to the tank.

Is it possible that with age they will come out and be more visible and active? Or is this just a pipe dream?

Biggest ones are 2.5" but most around 2" mark. Is it just too soon to tell?

Thoughts?
 
They will most definitely evolve in their behavior as they grow. They are still juvies. Once they sexually mature, things will change and if you do it right, they could be spawning for decades to come. That's a pretty nice and rather rare size group.

With such a group and right setup, they shouldn't hide too much, unless GT has taken a dislike for them, which I doubt but it's possible.

For the traits of the "right setup" and husbandry, I'd browse and post on Planet Catfish. Many people keep keep petricola there and many syno experts will give you most solid and correct direction.

That is if you still want to continue keeping them and learning about them.
 
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I will keep them for now, maybe another 6 months and see how things develop. The GT doesn't bother them at all, just does his own thing. There is plenty of driftwood caves which they can hide in.
 
I too had that problem with my group. When they were in the growout tank, I would see them out and about doing their own thing. Once they grew to 2-2.5", I moved them into the 100gal and poof, they disappeared never to be seen again. Last time I saw them was when I tore the tank down to catch them for my brother. Now my brother sees them constantly so I believe its on how the setup is.
 
fishnatics said:
I too had that problem with my group. When they were in the growout tank, I would see them out and about doing their own thing. Once they grew to 2-2.5", I moved them into the 100gal and poof, they disappeared never to be seen again. Last time I saw them was when I tore the tank down to catch them for my brother. Now my brother sees them constantly so I believe its on how the setup is.
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Bingo. Thanks for this confirmation. I was wondering what happened with your petri / luci.

philipraposo1982 said:
I will keep them for now, maybe another 6 months and see how things develop. The GT doesn't bother them at all, just does his own thing. There is plenty of driftwood caves which they can hide in.
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The chicken and the egg. Are they hiding because GT intimidates them or GT doesn't have a chance to intimidate them because they are hiding but would if they didn't?

Lots of cover, dim lighting or no tank lighting at all just soft ambient light, plants, no bullying, right water chemistry (important), right diet, right substrate, etc. all play into this. I am not belittling MFK petricola keepers at all, I am suggesting you might have better chances asking on PCF and reading their articles and threads. Lots of people keep and breed their petri there.
 
Well it's funny because when I drop food in they start to come out and most definitely stay a bit away from my gt. But not all of them. Some will get right beside or under him. Some evenings when the light is still on, I will see one or two of the synodontis swimming up from by the glass. The gt ignores them and they clearly aren't scared. I can walk by the tank and they keep on.

So I don't know why sometimes a few will pop out but there is no special thing that I can see that is causing it. Sometimes it's just one syno doing it and other times it's just two of them stay close together swimming about.

The bigger ones are the most shy...

I am kind of confused.
 
My featherfin rarely comes out, until night time.

I think synos come out a lot more when they are older, I have seen that with a lot of bigger ones around
 
My syno is about 5" and still shy, they are fish that grow into the setup
 
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