would a bichir eat a syno?

[taz78]

I had 2 eupterus (2-3") and one got bigger(3-4" and fatter) faster than the other and now Im down to one with no idea if a bichir ate it or it died and the plecos got to it or it blends in wih the wood so good and only really comes out at night when the lights are off.

My 8" Buttikoferi poked at it once. dont syno's have spiny fins that poke?

[toddnbecka]

I had an ornate bicher that chowed down several small S. eupterus. If it's mouth is big enough, it will eat Syno's.

[Scorpi-O]

You need to be very careful of any fish that could possibly fit in a Bichir's mouth, ESPECIALLY any fish that like to inhabit the lower section of the water column. Regardless of the Plecos & Cats defensive Dorsal/Pectoral spikes, Bichir seem to be Hard-wired to go after small bottom feeders.

I recently got 3 little Synodontis.
The first has been ID'd as a Synodontis sp.(3). It's got a light gold/brown base color, larger oblong black blotches, caudal fin has 2 pairs of small black spots and it's belly is white with black spots.
The other two I believe may possibly be Synodontis multipunctatus. These other two have a light gold to medium brown base color, smaller round black dots, black bars outlining the caudal fin and pure white bellies.
I got all three from a friend who's downsizing his aquarium hobby, but I know which LFS he got them from. I talked to the manager, and he told me he gets most of his Synos from a Czech breeder. So they could all very well be Synodontis sp.(3)'s.

Anyway, I put the biggest the sp(3) in with Sparky(BGK), Puma (Senegal Bichir), Tux(L190 Royal), Sweeper(Common BN) and Vlad & Lillith (Vampire Shrimp)...
Now I know Tux & Sweeper are much too big for Puma to even think about making a snack outta. Puma loved his pellets, frozen Brine shrimp and frozen Bloodworm. He's basically ignored all the smaller live fish that were in the tank with him, prefering Ghost Shrimp & mealworms.

The Syno I introduced is only about 2" long though.
It's roughly the same size as the swordtails I'm breeding as feeder treats for our pair of Oscars & Ornate Bichir.

I was hoping Puma, the Senegal, would ignore the new cat as well as he had the Swords or the Platy.
Oh boy, was I wrong!!!
Doesn't it happen that Puma, who's never shown any desire to chase or eat any of the other little fish, takes a sudden & very unhealthy interest in the poor little cat the first time he comes across it; snapping at it multiple times and chasing it across the tank till it hid in the rocks around the driftwood. Not wanting the cute little guy to become Bichir chow, I netted him out.

So that kinda decided things for me. Gotta keep the little cats outta that tank till they're big enough for them to drop off Puma's menu choices.