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Well, the topic explains everything- how should I do it?

They never come out except SOMETIMES for feeding; I've had 'em for over a year and they will NEVER come to the top and rarely even swim upside-down(in the short amount of time I see them). All they're good for is pooping...

I need to get rid of these annoying buggers... they're in a community 90 gallon (tall) tank with driftwood and plants.

Are they usually in driftwood or an ornament that you could perhaps lift out and have the net ready to catch it as it falls out. That's how a friend of mine caught her bristlenose, you have to be quick tho.

Good luck with it.

Cheers - Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I'm puzzled by this.

You have some Synodontis catfishes (species not cited), which spend ALL their observed time hiding in one spot? This sounds like highly unnatural behaviour to me.

Got a photo of your aquarium and its furnishings?

What lighting levels are present?

Do you have any floating plants present for shading?

When you say you have driftwood, is it solid, or like one of my pieces, hollow with lots of nice caves to explore?

What aquarium companions are present?

Answers to these might shed some light on why your Synodontis are so shy. Most Synodontis I've seen are pretty active fishes, the larger ones such as Synodontis eupterus being positively exuberant in the right setting.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Okay, here's what's in my tank.

1 BGK
6 congo tetras
1 redtailed black shark
1 BN
6 upside down cats
2 angelfish

I can't tell if they're all in one hiding spot... I think they're spread out but they all hide. Could be under/behind driftwood or any of the rocks in my tank. Anyhow, I rarely see them. I don't have any float plants at the moment, but even when I had a big ole water sprite at the top, they didn't come out. I've got 170 watts of light on it. The driftwood is solid

If they are not swimming upside down regularly, i'm guessing they are not the real upside-down syno Synodontis nigriventris, or they are really scared by a fish in your tank, perhaps the RTBS?
Anyway for catching catfish, I turn off the tank light and put jars with a pellet in them in the tank and wait till the correct fish swims in, then I net them. Its not the most precise way, but I prefer it to removing all the decor in a tank and trying the net the tricky guys.


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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

Hi, a couple of mine do that too... but they come out... at night or during feeding, other than that I don't see them as they hide in their caves.

As far as catching them... as with anyother fish IMO you just have to get used to it and develope a good technique for catching fish with the net in general. Good luck!

Edit: Also, to accent what Syno said above... the RTBS may very well indeed affect even more so why you do not see your syno's...

Even in a 90 gallon, a Red Tailed Black Shark can become fairly demanding with respect to the 'real estate' in the tank. And if your Synodontis are fairly small compared to the RTBS, then they're probably being bullied. not necessarily in an overt, visual way, but the RTBS is probably throwing his weight around. As they get older, RTBS's tend to become more cantankerous, tend to start demanding larger and larger slices of territory, and even in a 90, can cause some problems if there are a good number of other bottom dwelling fishes in there.

if your Synodontis are indeed nigriventris, then these reach 4 inches. The RTBS reaches 7 inches and packs twice the body mass. Not much of a contest if the RTBS decides to cut up rough.

On the other hand, if your Synodontis are actually something like juvenile acanthomias, they're just biding their time. Synodontis acanthomias reaches 12 inches, and at 6 inches is a bruiser that will pick fights with Cichlids bigger than itself.

Featherfins can be boisterous if the mood takes them once they become big, but usually it's harmless posturing. Jut to let the other fishes know that the Featherfin can look after itself if push comes to shove. However, if a RTBS picks on a large Featherfin, the Featherfin will bite back.

If you have an alternative aquarium to house the RTBS in, try doing so for a couple of weeks and see if your catfishes become bolder. If they do, there's your answer.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Even in a 90 gallon, a Red Tailed Black Shark can become fairly demanding with respect to the 'real estate' in the tank. And if your Synodontis are fairly small compared to the RTBS, then they're probably being bullied. not necessarily in an overt, visual way, but the RTBS is probably throwing his weight around. As they get older, RTBS's tend to become more cantankerous, tend to start demanding larger and larger slices of territory, and even in a 90, can cause some problems if there are a good number of other bottom dwelling fishes in there.

if your Synodontis are indeed nigriventris, then these reach 4 inches. The RTBS reaches 7 inches and packs twice the body mass. Not much of a contest if the RTBS decides to cut up rough.

On the other hand, if your Synodontis are actually something like juvenile acanthomias, they're just biding their time. Synodontis acanthomias reaches 12 inches, and at 6 inches is a bruiser that will pick fights with Cichlids bigger than itself.

Featherfins can be boisterous if the mood takes them once they become big, but usually it's harmless posturing. Jut to let the other fishes know that the Featherfin can look after itself if push comes to shove. However, if a RTBS picks on a large Featherfin, the Featherfin will bite back.

If you have an alternative aquarium to house the RTBS in, try doing so for a couple of weeks and see if your catfishes become bolder. If they do, there's your answer.

Calli, it is so funny you bring that up. My experience with the RTBS was in a 90g... He was fine until it came feeding time and terrorized any fish that was trying to eat... it was not concerned with actually eating food itself but any other fish that WAS. In fact, I NEVER saw my Syno's until I gave that little devil away... after they had a time to readjust to him being gone they come out A LOT more.

Recently I have had to catch some (hard to) fish in my Betta tank. It took several weeks but persistance paid out. I would place a small net into the tank at feeding time and leave it there after some time the net was unnoticed in fact one fish actually swam into the net for me. I could not leave the net there all the time as the Betta could jump out.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos


Keith

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Alright, thanks for the help everyone. I agree, I think the RTBS has a lot to do why they don't come out much... It's a shame, he/she is so pretty though - could never get rid of it.

I still am about 90% sure that they are the real upside-down catfish; they're just scared as crap. I think I'll try the bait idea and snatch them in a container while they're eating.

Thanks again,
fishnewbie

Synodontis are territorial fish--all of them, regardless of temperament. This is not at all necessarily unnatural behavior.