Multis or Petricolas

[fishbguy]

Hello all

Within the next few weeks, I'll be purchasing a 29 gallon aquarium for a tangankian biotope. I will be getting 6-8 Neolamprologous multifasiatus, and 2 Julidochromes ornatus/transcriptus. Decore will be sand for a substrate, tons of shells, and a river rock/lace rock structure with Anubia batarii vr. nana on it.

My question is, could I get a small school(3 or so) Synodontis multipunctatus or Synodontis petricola? Is the tank large enough? Again, 29 gallons, 30 inches long, 12 inches deep, and I believe 16 or 18 inches tall.

[Jackster]

S. petricolas would be best since S. multipunctatus get larger and require large amounts
of food which produce lots of waste. I keep both Syno species and also spawn Julidochromis
marlieri (Burundi) and have had many different species of "shellies" in the past. Be careful
with Julidochromis species (even the smaller types) as an adult pair can easily take over a 30"
tank when they decide to spawn and may damage or kill any/all other tank mates. Synos are
very tough, and since they are nocturnal, they should have a better chance of survival in
your proposed set up. I think that a group of N. multifaciatus and 3-4 S. petricola would work
nicely together but Julidochromis can be more aggressive then one might think. I have been
raising African cichlids for over 17 years and although Julidochromis are one of my favorite
Tanganyikans, they tend to inflict a great deal of damage on other fish and kill their own kind
often. The pair I have usually start killing off their fry at about 1" if they are not removed from
the main tank. To make things worse, when the 1" fry are removed to another tank they normally
start to kill off each other. Managing their aggression can be both challenging and frustrating.

[Birger]

Jackster put this all very well...I just want to confirm that you not take the comments on the Julidochromis species lightly and reconsider this choice, they could wreak havoc on the multi's.
A group of Neolamprologous multifasiatus and some petricola(lucipinnis) would make a nice combination.
I always wanted to try this combination with Tanganyika killifish (Lamprichthys tanganicanus)

Birger

[Richard B]

I agree with the above.

Lucipinnis would be my recommendation, followed by petricola, then sp (2) the white polli. Try to ensure a mix of sexes & you could well be spawning lucipinnis!

[fishbguy]

So, what y'all are saying, is to ditch the julies, because they are so very aggressive?

Then 3-4 of either lucipinnis or petricolas? What is the best way to sex them? The lfs I would be getting them from, only has petricolas and multis atm.

www.wetthumbaquatics.com

I only live about a half hour from their store, so I decided to get them there instead of paying shipping.

[Jackster]

Delores has been in the fish business for a very, very long time. I'm sure she'll be glad to
help you out and give you any information you might need. As far as sexing S. petricolas
(or S. multis), the females are fat around the middle and the males are slim.

Here is a young female

Synodontis multipunctatus

.

[fishbguy]

Okay...cool

I'm thinking about grabbing 6 or so petricolas....3 for the 29, and 3 for my 40 gallon saulosi tank.

[Richard B]

The more the merrier - make sure they are petricola if you are paying 'petricola prices' & not lucipinnis which should be considerably cheaper - a photo would help people on the site ensure you are getting exactly what you want