rescue with a synodontis ill-treated

[stine]

birger you described exactly what's happening now !!

The nigriventris are sticked (fixed ?) on something (filter, wood piece, plants) all the day and then, at night they are swimming everywhere in the tank ... as Alfred do now as well

for my biggest pleasure

[Birger]

I am glad it is working out!!

Birger

[NCE12940]

It's just great to see the change in Alfred You've done a wonderful job of rehabilitating Alfred. He's obviously now a very happy fish

[Anorea]

Do you have a new picture with Alfred? A side-by-side comparison would be great! I loved reading/watching Alfred transformation through you loving care! I neeeed to see his caudal! XD

[Karl K]

Hows things with Alfred?

[stine]

Hi sorry I'm late to answer (but I had to move in a new house so... big work lol)
Well, Alfred is going well !
I was very amazed to discover that the meaning of Alfred origin's name (german) : big peace ! Now I know why I was giving him this surprising name

It's very difficult to take a picture of him because during the day, he's hiding in wood, his activity is at night ! But I'm carry on trying to do a good picture of him !

I had to feed a little less the nigriventris because they were almost looking as my (pregnant) belly

The biggest problem I have actually, is that no plants is living a long life in this tank ! each morning, I can find some plants flotting in the water Do you have any proposition because this tank looks very bad with theses 5 plants dying softly !

[bekateen]

Hi Stine,

Good for Alfred... And if I'm understanding your words correctly, it sounds like you too have gone through some big changes, with more to come soon ! (have you set up your nursery tank yet? What color will you paint it? =D). Congratulations!!!

Cheers, Eric

[Jools]

Try planting Anubias with these fishes, they do not need much light and are natural.

Jools

[N0body Of The Goat]

Good to see an update after the summer, glad Alfred is still doing well!

I am incredibly bad at killing plants, my most recent ones to suffer were my Cabomba coroliniana and I have a tiny bit of Hygrophila difformis alive from last December, but the ones that have stayed alive for me for ~5 years are various Anubias species (coffeefolia; barteri; petite etc.).

[NCE12940]

I agree that Anubias would be a good choice but just be sure to tie the rhizome to something - don't bury it in sand or gravel because it will rot. The roots will eventually attach to whatever you tie it to - driftwood, rock, etc.

It's always a great day when we hear that Alfred continues to thrive!

[stine]

Ok for anubias ! thank you for your answer

Not the week but the following, I'll be in holidays, so I promise : I'll try to get a picture of him ! You all desserve it

[Anorea]

Hooray!! Glad to hear Alfred is still doing well.

[Tanganyikafreak]

You all desserve it

No, Alfred deserves it
Because of his amazing recovery, of which he has you to thank

[Deb]

Synodontis nigriventris will spend the first day or two moving sometimes constantly around the tank, then they will settle down. They will quickly learn when it is feeding time though

This was true for me! Last April, I accepted two S. nigriventris from my friend who was moving. They acted exactly like what Birger wrote above, moving constantly around the tank for a couple of days. There are only two of them, and I think this is why they "argue" over food. If one of them is eating something, the other has to have it. Even if there is plenty for all. I believe if I could increase this team to five or six, the arguing would stop, but it's harmless so I am in no rush. They are incredibly active at feeding time, and otherwise take it easy.

One thing about plants in a syno tank is that the activity of the synos can be detrimental to plants. As they race around the tank, or dash off to a destination, they swipe the leaves as they go by. This can result in floating leaves of tender plants, such as Cryptocoryne, or shredded leaves of sturdier plants, such as Java fern. The Java fern does better, but the constant thrashing of the leaves takes its toll. I've moved all the Java fern to the back of the tank where it's tucked into wood crevices, and moved the crypts much closer to the big wood pieces, for protection. This seems to be working.

The photos of Alfred from March 2 are amazing! What a transformation.
Alfred's story is so interesting. I'm looking forward to the next update photo.

[stine]

As promised, (but I'm still late sorry lol) here are some pictures of Alfred the survivor
As you can see, I didn't lie about the state of the plants




We could see, he likes eating lol



the amazing size of his backfin


and finally, I'm happy to see that even his caudal fin, is recovering (at the moment at least, the high part of it)


I can't still realize he was in such a bad case in december 2014....


Long life ot him !!!


enjoy

[bekateen]

Yay! Amazing! Good job, both of you.

Cheers, Eric

[NCE12940]

Thanks for the great new pictures. What a transformation, and what a happy fish.

[tep]

This really is incredible - fantastic work!

[N0body Of The Goat]

Alfred looks great in the new photos from 10 days ago, that I somehow missed!

[Viktor Jarikov]

The will to live of this little fish brings tears to my eyes... and then I recall how often I get irritated or angry when things do not exactly go my way...

Stine, Alfred, I took the liberty to share your story on MFK http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... rt.652706/

[stine]

thanks for your support

Viktor no problem to share this beautiful story of Alfred (but you could say to jim barry that I'm not a guy hihi)