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A couple of months ago i bought 2 upside downcatfishes from a small tank in which they were very active. Now, in a bigger tank they are very inactive and hide among rocks and DW. When i asked the LFS person about it i was told they prefer smaller tanks. This is the first i have ever heard of a fish prefering a smaller tank. Is this advice correct??? Also, is algae pelets a fine diet for them?

I hve 2 the are hiding most of the time. They didn't do this in the small tank because there was probably no where to hide. They are a nocturnal species so if you turn the light on after it has been out for awhile the n you can see them roaming about, scavenging for food.

-Vincent

Synodontis species, whether they be small ones such as nigriventris or hulking juggernauts such as acanthomias, have certain preferences in common. These are:

[1] Relatively subdued lighting, or if the lighting is bright, shaded areas they can head for;

[2] Cave type structures that they can hide in - bogwood root tangles being the ideal setup as these correspond most closely to the kind of feature found in their native watercourses;

[3] Mixture of planted areas, open areas, areas with caves; again approximating to the kind of topography found in their native watercourses;

[4] Some degree of sensitivity with respect to aquarium acclimatisation. This means, among other things, resorting to 'lights out' feedings for the first couple of weeks until they learn that you, the aquarist, are the provider to tasty morsels. If you have furnished the aquarium in accordance with preferences [1] to [3] above, then they will become bolder during the daytime, especially when they realise that you're tossing in nice tasty things for them to chow down upon. Several feedings of live Bloodworms will wake them up no end, and they may start becoming active and even start begging for you to toss some in!

Bigger Synos tend to be more outgoing (and aggressive, predatory ones like acanthomias make superb show fishes for large aquaria because they'll stand the heat alongside aggressive Cichlids, indeed they might even put the Cichlids into second place in the pecking order!), but even the small ones will develop a certain curiosity for their surroundings once they realise that their new home is [1] safe, [2] regularly supplied with lots of food, and [3] furnished to their liking.

As for any idea that they prefer smaller tanks, well I think you aer best advised to take that notion with a suitably large measure of salt ... enough to fill the hold of this ship perchance?


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

My UDC is very shy and always hides except for when I put bloodworms in as a treat. He will come out snipe them even the ones that do not make it all they way to the bottom. I think they may look so active at your LFS because there is some commotion in and around the tank between little kids tapping on the tank clerks pulling fish out and knocking over their hiding spots and add to that the fact that the tanks are way to bright for them and you have you self a very uncomfortable fish that’s going to look active.

"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

Hi there,
USD cats are pretty shy and dont come out much,
I also have 2.
I would disagree with the LFS advice. I think in the bigger tank they hide more because they have more
places to hide.

Algae pellets isnt a suitable diet for these guys,
they also need meaty foods - shrimp pellets, bloodworms,
flake, etc.


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Mine will come out for frozen blood worms, but they hide a whoe lot of the time. If you really like them, a similar but larger species, syndontis eupterus(spelling?), is more active in the tank.