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I have one 2 inch decorus. He hides all the time. He is in a 30 gallon breeder with a albino brichardi cichlid and a bristlenose pleco. All are the same size.

I bought one to see if it would do well and I put him in here because he wasn't getting enough food in my bigger tank. But he is very active at night.

Every place I read says that they like to be in schools. Then how many would be okay? I think I could do 3~4, is that enough?

I've had a trio for quite some time and they did very well together, so I think 4 will do fine as well.
Back then it was just a money matter: I simply couldn't afford more than 3.

BushynoseCory, I hope you DO realize that the decorus grows quite large?

it is indeed a beautiful Syno to keep, social and size for size one of the most docile species available, but it also can reach a foot in length

you might want to upgrade your tank in the future.

btw I'd be a bit wary for tiny decorus....unfortunately a lot of those aren't true decorus at all but those damnable hybrids

can you post a picture?

Marc van Arc wrote:I've had a trio for quite some time and they did very well together, so I think 4 will do fine as well.
Back then it was just a money matter: I simply couldn't afford more than 3.

How big did your trio get?

Mine is still living in his 4 foot tank, and I think he's getting up around 10inches and it about time for something larger...I'm just wondering HOW large he'll get in captivity...

I'm pretty sure mine couldn't turn anound in a tank any much smaller than what he has...They really are great Syno's though...however really shy in my experience.

Seedy wrote:How big did your trio get?

They were about 10" as well and sort of outgrew the tank they were in at that time (200x50x40 cms). That's the reason that I had to say goodbye to them.
I can't confirm this species being shy, but that may be the difference between keeping one or keeping three.
A very nice species, but as said above there are hybrids around, which are also known as Synodontis valentine (if I recall correctly). Beware!

Valentine syno is indeed the name of a hybrid & seems to be cropping up a lot more regularly than i had initially appreciated - there are pics & plenty of discussion in other threads in these forums. All seem to be about the 1" size.

The largest genuine decorus i have come across was 14" TL. the extension on the dorsal was way passed the tail & quite something to behold

Well, yeah, I bought him(As I did the brichardi) because I had some good future plans for him, but before buying a lot, try just one. I don't think they're in the same mold as eupterus, you see. Much more timid.

Pics when he was fresh out of the bag! He eundured lots of hard situations well(I'm so proud)





On the other hand, the biggest eupterus I saw was 11'. If decorus get bigger than that, wow....

Another one....



Yeah, and are synos naturally "slim" by nature? My little brother likes the eupterus, saying they're cute and chubby, while the other ones look like skinny weaklings with no fins.....I told him a adult decorus is one of the most beautiful fish, but he doesn't believe me....

And here's the good news: your specimen is a genuine S. decorus

Marc - are you sure it is genuine?

From the photos i cant see any filaments on the maxillary barbels & the pattern in the tail doesn't seem typical.

Any thoughts?

Errrrr.....HE now has slight fin filaments! ANd I think the spotting on the head is characteristic of the genus?

Richard B wrote:Marc - are you sure it is genuine? From the photos i cant see any filaments on the maxillary barbels & the pattern in the tail doesn't seem typical.

From the pictures I can hardly see any barbels, let alone filaments .
Seriously, the tail pattern looks well.
The four black spots that will become stripes are present; the fifth comes from the spot on the caudal peduncle.
The Valentine syno has two V-shaped stripes in its caudal, like Multis have.
Which makes me believe this is a genuine
Remember it's still a very small specimen.

Indeed it is small Marc

Since the initial post about the "valentine" syno (when i had not encountered them) i have now seen dozens split across several different retailers.(all at a very small size). There has been some varience in tail markings - some didn't have the "v caudal" pattern at all, were labelled as valentine, & certainly not decorus.

I am not the biggest fan of hybrids but if they're going to exist, i'd like to clearly see them labelled as such.

I just don't want to see fellow hobbyists buying what they believe to be genuine species only to find out it's some look-a-like hybrid. (we all know the situation with the tanganyikan hybrids). So i just feel a touch of caution whenever i see small individuals. The more we can educate & publicise through these forums to inform our fellow hobbists of the current situations, the better.

Richard B wrote:I just don't want to see fellow hobbyists buying what they believe to be genuine species only to find out it's some look-a-like hybrid. (we all know the situation with the tanganyikan hybrids). So i just feel a touch of caution whenever i see small individuals. The more we can educate & publicise through these forums to inform our fellow hobbists of the current situations, the better.

Okay, so there are already Valentine varieties. Then I understand your caution. It's of course never my intention to misinform the people on the forums, yet I had - and still have - a firm belief this one is genuine. It would surprise me very much if it turns out to be a hybrid.
Caution is a good thing, but we should see to it that we don't get overcautious, if you see what I mean.

Hey wait....Mine doesn't have those stripes on the tail, and has different markings! And how come these cats are now $6 each, when they were $15? Could it be that mine's a hybrid?

It looks pretty genuine to me (i've got 4 of the lil guys currently) the only thing that does send up a red flag for me is the shape of its dorsal fin, however im not too sure from the pic. hopefully it is genuine.

One of our local lfs has some valentines in. Personally, I'd feel more comfortable looking at more pictures before trying to make a positive ID.

i have three that are 12+ years old, and they are all about 14 inches. they are social, but i have also had tiger barbs "disappear" from the tank; i think at that size anything is possible. there is a dealer near me who has one he says he got 20 years ago, and it has to be 18 inches long, one of the coolest synos in my book

If you have photographic evidence to support larger size than 10.6" SL, such as a (clearly visible) ruler next to a fish, then we would update the Cat-eLog to indicate this larger size.

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Mats

you're right, they are almost 12.5 inches, but that includes an imposing tail, and if i am correct, SL is from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, which would be around 9 inches as it's difficult to get them to sit still; i still have high hopes that they will make it into the catfish hall of fame!