A few newbie questions about S. petricola

[makaze]

Hi, guys. I bought five Synodontis petricola "dwarf" (all currently between .75 and 1 inches long) two days ago for my 40 gallon Tanganyikan cichlid tank (other residents are three 1.25" N. leleupi and two 1" A. compressiceps), and these are the first african catfish I have ever owned. I've read through lots of posts regarding them, but I still have a couple questions.

1.) I haven't observed them to eat anything yet, though they all seem active and healthy. I've been using Hikari sinking wafers (the ones with the corydoras pictured on the bag) and they seem to just ignore them. I'm used to new fish being finicky and shy, but I was wondering if perhaps these guys simply prefer to feed at night? and I should be dropping the wafers into their rock pile before the lights go out? Any advice on the feeding of these guys would be appreciated.

2.) Some of them (I never see them all out in the open at once, so its hard to tell) seem to have really fat, pink bellies. Is this normal? The pictures of adults I've seen on the net don't really look like this. If necessary, I can post a picture.

Thanks for your time.

[Rickzfish]

" Some of them (I never see them all out in the open at once, so its hard to tell) seem to have really fat, pink bellies. "

Hi there, I do not always see my cat's eat, but I do know that when the fry have round pink bellies it is because they are full. This is especially true, very pink, when they eat lots of brine shrimp.
My fry that are that size eat the same as the rest of my cichlids, sinking protein pellets and a mixture of flake food, with the odd feeding of live brine shrimp since the new borns have to have them and some times I have a large batch of extra shrimp.
I do see the adults eat once in a while but do feed just before bed time as I believe they scourage for leftovers at night.
Regards, Rick

[JohnnyOscar]

My S. petricola seem to love their Hikari wafers (both types). I typically feed them at night so the cichlids don't grab the pellets before they sink.

If I want to see a good display during the day I add a cube of frozen daphnia. As the cube thaws, the daphnia sink to the bottom and coat the gravel. This quickly brings out a flurry of catfish into the open.