synodontis and mbunas

[paulW]

Hey guy, I wan't to add synos for my 55 gallon mbuna tank but I don't want Synodontis multipunctatus or Synodontis petricola because they are way to pricey!!! I was wondering if I could add Synodontis nigrita A.K.A the lace catfish. WOuld this be ok? I plan to have 15-18 mbunas.

I also wanted to know If I should add one before or after the mbunas?

I had 5 Lace Syndo. They were pretty cool, but they spent most of the time hiding. I eventually had to get rid of them. They had all grown to 10-13" long, and they were eating the smaller Mbuna.. Kind of heartbreaking to make a 4 hour round trip drive for some 2.5" peacocks and then the next day there's only one left...

Also, I have no proof, but one of them probably broke a submersable heater. They are nocturnal, and I was working nightshift. When I'd get home at about 5 AM, I'd turn on the room lights, and the Syndo would freak out and dart wildly, desperately trying to hide.. I am guessing one of them headbutted a heater during one of those mad dashes..

A lot more fry have survived since the Cats got the boot...

So, my point is that if you buy one of these, eventually they may get too big ... It will take 2-3 years, but they get huge.

 

[rrcoolj]

I had 5 Lace Syndo. They were pretty cool, but they spent most of the time hiding. I eventually had to get rid of them. They had all grown to 10-13" long, and they were eating the smaller Mbuna.. Kind of heartbreaking to make a 4 hour round trip drive for some 2.5" peacocks and then the next day there's only one left...

Also, I have no proof, but one of them probably broke a submersable heater. They are nocturnal, and I was working nightshift. When I'd get home at about 5 AM, I'd turn on the room lights, and the Syndo would freak out and dart wildly, desperately trying to hide.. I am guessing one of them headbutted a heater during one of those mad dashes..

A lot more fry have survived since the Cats got the boot...

So, my point is that if you buy one of these, eventually they may get too big ... It will take 2-3 years, but they get huge.

So that being said does anyone know any other smaller catfish that would be compatible with mbunas that aren't as pricey?

 

[TheFanatic]

So that being said does anyone know any other smaller catfish that would be compatible with mbunas that aren't as pricey?

Scroll down this list and check the ones that don't get to big and see if anyone carries them or will order them. Schoutedeni, Brichardi, Flavaetianitus, Alberti, all stay relatively small and are readily available...

Your best bet is to find someone who is breeding Petricolor and get a few of them...They are pretty sweet in my tank...

 

[rrcoolj]

I had 5 Lace Syndo. They were pretty cool, but they spent most of the time hiding. I eventually had to get rid of them. They had all grown to 10-13" long, and they were eating the smaller Mbuna.. Kind of heartbreaking to make a 4 hour round trip drive for some 2.5" peacocks and then the next day there's only one left...

Also, I have no proof, but one of them probably broke a submersable heater. They are nocturnal, and I was working nightshift. When I'd get home at about 5 AM, I'd turn on the room lights, and the Syndo would freak out and dart wildly, desperately trying to hide.. I am guessing one of them headbutted a heater during one of those mad dashes..

A lot more fry have survived since the Cats got the boot...

So, my point is that if you buy one of these, eventually they may get too big ... It will take 2-3 years, but they get huge.

Okay so i've looked around and it seems that synodontis nigrita is my only choice. But I wanna ask a few questions about ur story. first off are you sure it was Synodontis nigrita and not Synodontis eupterus. They often look very similar and are often mistaken for eachother. plus eupterus gets bigger. Seccond, why didn't you just buy the peacocks and synos at the same size. Third mbunas and peacocks are completely differnt. Fourth are you sure it was 10-13 inches cuz that's a bit big even for Synodontis eupterus which usually top out at eight inches. Last, how big was you tank?

not dowting you just wanna be sure

 

[jhutch]

I have syno eupterus in a lot of my peacock and mbuna tanks and they do great. I have some big ones that I am going to try breeding but they do thrive in the tanks and I haven't experienced any fin nipping. It's all up to you though.

 

[rrcoolj]

I have syno eupterus in a lot of my peacock and mbuna tanks and they do great. I have some big ones that I am going to try breeding but they do thrive in the tanks and I haven't experienced any fin nipping. It's all up to you though.

Thanks, I think I might actually get synodontis eupterus cuz they are more common

 

[paulW]

Okay so i've looked around and it seems that synodontis nigrita is my only choice. But I wanna ask a few questions about ur story. first off are you sure it was Synodontis nigrita and not Synodontis eupterus. They often look very similar and are often mistaken for eachother. plus eupterus gets bigger. Seccond, why didn't you just buy the peacocks and synos at the same size. Third mbunas and peacocks are completely differnt. Fourth are you sure it was 10-13 inches cuz that's a bit big even for Synodontis eupterus which usually top out at eight inches. Last, how big was you tank?

not dowting you just wanna be sure

I had them in a 180 gallon tank. One of the Syndo was inherited from the guy I bought the tank from. Maybe he wasn't a Lace. The other four I bought at a fish club auction. Usually fish there are accurately labeled and the pictures of Lace Syndon looked really close. These things were huge. When I netted them out to give to the petstore, the 5 of them almost completely covered the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. I am 100% the largest was over a foot long (comparison to net size). I am pretty certain the others were at least 10 inches long, as I had to use a 12 inch square pond net to get them out... So, it's not a fish story But perhaps none of them were Lace.. Maybe the ones at the fish club auction weren't labeled correctly..

I bought the peacocks at that size because that's all the breeder was willing to sell me. They were Rubens Red. I figured they would be big enough to live in with the adult cichlids but I didn't think that the catfish would eat them.. Never found any bodies of them, so I'm pretty sure the cats ate them. Also, as soon as I got rid of the cats, I had a major population boom with fry... If the cats were just eating fry and fish under 1.5", I wouldn't have minded...

My tank is a mixed peacock, hap, and mbuna tank. I know that's not recommended, but it's been working fine for years.

Hope that answers all your questions..

 

[rrcoolj]

I had them in a 180 gallon tank. One of the Syndo was inherited from the guy I bought the tank from. Maybe he wasn't a Lace. The other four I bought at a fish club auction. Usually fish there are accurately labeled and the pictures of Lace Syndon looked really close. These things were huge. When I netted them out to give to the petstore, the 5 of them almost completely covered the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. I am 100% the largest was over a foot long (comparison to net size). I am pretty certain the others were at least 10 inches long, as I had to use a 12 inch square pond net to get them out... So, it's not a fish story But perhaps none of them were Lace.. Maybe the ones at the fish club auction weren't labeled correctly..

I bought the peacocks at that size because that's all the breeder was willing to sell me. They were Rubens Red. I figured they would be big enough to live in with the adult cichlids but I didn't think that the catfish would eat them.. Never found any bodies of them, so I'm pretty sure the cats ate them. Also, as soon as I got rid of the cats, I had a major population boom with fry... If the cats were just eating fry and fish under 1.5", I wouldn't have minded...

My tank is a mixed peacock, hap, and mbuna tank. I know that's not recommended, but it's been working fine for years.

Hope that answers all your questions..

Hahaha, you story sounds pretty accurate to me. So I might not even get a catfish now atleast. Maybe later I can get some petricola. But for now I'll just stick to keeping th mbunas by themselves

 

[paulW]

Hahaha, you story sounds pretty accurate to me. So I might not even get a catfish now atleast. Maybe later I can get some petricola. But for now I'll just stick to keeping th mbunas by themselves

Perhaps the best reason not to get Lace Syndo is that you seldom see them. I've heard that some of the other syndo don't hide all day, but for now, no catfish for me..

 

[TheFanatic]

Perhaps the best reason not to get Lace Syndo is that you seldom see them. I've heard that some of the other syndo don't hide all day, but for now, no catfish for me..

My Petricolors swim constantly all over the front of the tank, up the glass. I like them better than my Multipunks...