Catfish and African cichlids

[dane918]

hi everyone,
i was just wondering what type of catfish go best with african cichlids, that are prertty easy to find in a pet store or aquarium
ive recently set up some tanks, and was looking to get some catfish for the tanks
thanks

[Birger]

i was just wondering what type of catfish go best with african c*****ds, that are prertty easy to find in a pet store or aquarium

I am assuming you are talking of east African rift lake cichlids(Malawi or tanganyikans)

Synodontis petricola

Synodontis lucipinnis

Synodontis multipunctata

Synodontis grandiops

These are your best bet...these are from Lake Tanganyika, there are others as well but these you will most easily find and they can manage themselves with many of these cichlids. They also require similar water conditions.

Let us know what cichlids you had in mind....there are a lot from Africa.

Birger

[dane918]

umm i have cichlids from malawi...mostly mbuna like mainganoes, electric yellows, cobalt blues and a few other types...
i have a 5 foot tank which is kinda the show/breeding tank, and i also have a 2 and a 4 foot tank which houses my babies...
i currently have around 25, 2-3inch cichlids that i have raised

[Birger]

You could start with one of the four I mentioned...as I said there are more including

Synodontis njassae

which is from Lake Malawi but is much harder to get hold of. There are also

Phyllonemus

and

Lophiobagrus

sometimes available but not always compatible with cichlids and there is a number of other

Synodontis

I know of a few places using the name Sydney, it might help to say which country you are from as not all fish are always available everywhere.

These are addicting so be careful

Birger

[dane918]

so with those catfish is there much i need too know...
like do i need to put extra food in the tank for them? or do i need a certain number of them in one tank???
anything u could think of that i need to take into consideration would be good!
ohhh sydney Australia!

[Birger]

like do i need to put extra food in the tank for them?

It is best to feed them extra after lights out and the cichlids have settled down but once they get used to things they will be out and about during the day as well for the synodontis.

or do i need a certain number of them in one tank???

They are social so a group of 3 or more is best (5 or more even better) petricola/lucipinnis are really peaceful. Grandiops/multipunctata are rougher with each other, some pokes and tears but manageable.

Make sure there is some place or better a number of places where they can dash to...they love piles of stone.

Be aware that the lucipinnis and possibly the petricola are fairly sensitive to changes in the water conditions and are usually the first to react when there is a problem.

If you do a search through the forums you could be reading all day, lots of info there. Use the feature in the tool bar at the top of the page.

Birger

[dane918]

well the other thing is i did have some in my tanks, and they all seem to die off after a bit...thats y i wasnt sure if i had the right catfish....
i had 3 bristlenose catfish in a tank and recently did a big cleanout and all gone...no sight of them or anything...wat am i doing wrong!!!
thanks

[Birger]

i had 3 bristlenose catfish in a tank and recently did a big cleanout and all gone...no sight of them or anything...wat am i doing wrong!!!

These are totally different than the synodontis mentioned. There are many different kinds of bristlenose and the only one that is most likely to do do okay with these cichlids would be the common

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

What and when were you feeding the catfish you had?

[dane918]

well i just fed the tank sort of a thing...i put in food for the fish and thats it....
i have never been told by my pet store guy to put anything extra in for the catfish so i never have...wat do u reccommend to do to keep these catfish healthy

[firenzenz]

catfish and africans cichlids incorporate so many species.

The mbuna you have are far more territorial and therefore aggressive in defending the hidey holes
in the rocks that the catfish want to also inhabit.
A big old featherfin or Angelicus synodontis( african catfish) might be ok with aggression level but any old world plec from a bristlenose/GBA through to a fancy plec would suffer from aggression let alone food issues.
If your africans were peacocks or gentler haps species then you could probably house a L46 as long as the water conditions were 1/2'd between them.

I 've had L128, L075, L025,L114, Common BN's, GBA's, Royal panaque, Angelicus and cuckoo syno's
in non mbuna tanks no worries.

In fact some catfish and africans are very close
see: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =8&t=27925

[sidguppy]

I don't agree with Phyllonemus in a Mbuna tank

some Synodontis species, even from Tanganyika, sure; but not Phyllonemus

it's a fish that needs a fair bit of live food or frozen food (shrimps, mysis, krill, mosquitolarvae etc) wich makes the Mbuna's grow too big and ugly; and it likes the more peaceful tankmembers

if your Malawians are earth eating species like Lethrinops spp, Aulonocara, otopharynx spp or Placidochromis electra, fish like that are fine with Phyllonemus.
but not with Melanochromis, Metriaclima, Pseudotropheus and the like.
the same goes for Lophiobagrus: they need frozen foodstuff made from inverts; proteine rich things. and especially the tiny L brevispinis likes its tankmates also docile and peaceful.

the larger bullying L cyclurus can handle agressive cichlids just fine, right up to the point of killing them with its' poison. if Mbuna's gang up on a healthy cyclurus, they do this only once.

also, the same goes for Synodontis njassae. despite it being THE Malawi Syno it is NOT a good fish to combine with agressive aufwuchs feeding Mbuna's.
the food is the wrong kind and this is a very docile, shy Synodontis as syno's go.
it's a perfect catfish for tanks with larger Haplochromine Malawians. like Buccochromis, Champsochromis, Nimbochromis, Placidochromis phenochilus, Cyrtocara moori, Fossorochromis rostratus etc. it needs plenty hiding places were the cichlids don't go.

the best choice, foodwise as well as agressionwise with Mbuna's are -next to Ancistrus- Synodontis lucipinnis, Synodontis petricola and Synodontis sp "polli White Zambia" (usually the only S polli in the trade).

the real polli is definitely up to the challenge of Mbuna agresssion, but needs a protein rich diet.
the other Tanganyikans have similar dietary requirements: S tanganicae, S granulosus (a bullying territorial fish), S multipunctatus etc.

all are often being kept with Malawians, but with Mbuna's it's not optimal.

the riverine Syno's are much tougher (and cheaper!); there are a few species that can be combined with Malawians: Synodontis eupterus (wich goes with about anything), S nigrita and the more exclusive Synodontis angelicus wich is a very tough fish.

[Birger]

I don't agree with Phyllonemus in a Mbuna tank

some Synodontis species, even from Tanganyika, sure; but not Phyllonemus

There are also Phyllonemus and Lophiobagrus sometimes available but not always compatible with c*****ds

[Birger]

i have never been told by my pet store guy to put anything extra in for the catfish so i never have...wat do u reccommend to do to keep these catfish healthy

For the ancistrus you had they would have needed veggies...I feed mine green beans, zuchini that sort of thing and they eat some of the other foods that are in for the other fish.

For the syno's, they will eat a number of things, pellets,mysis, bloodworms other frozen foods and will even nibble on some veggies, but a person has to make sure they are eating and that the cichlids do not get it all.

Birger

[dane918]

haha i dont mean to be a pain but god im a bit confused now!
haha so many big names and yeh...
thanks but...i think ill have to slowly read throgh everything!

[Luis.Ventura]

ok, i have been trugling to get it but i don´t
i am realu realy sorry but what do you mean by C*****ds?

[MatsP]

It's Jools' "joke" with the people who keep the family of cichlidae, who often call catfish "Scavengers", which if you keep catfish as a main fish, is a bit rude. You can choose in the user control panel -> board preferences -> Edit display options and select "Word censoring" to "no", and it will show the full words.

--
Mats

[Luis.Ventura]

now i get it
ty MatsP