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I purchased two synodontis nigriventris and two dwarf gouramis yesterday and put them in my Eclipse System 12 along with three platies. The gouramis were shy at first but were fine by this morning. The upside-down catfish have not stopped racing around the tank since I got them and I'm concerned about their behavior.

There is no ammonia or nitrites and very low nitrates in the tank. My PH is 8.0 but does not fluctuate. I tried acclimating them slowly over the course of about an hour by adding small amounts of tankwater to the bag, as I have done with my other fish. I don't have live plants but do have several silk plants and a fake driftwood decoration with lots of caves.

I'm concerned that my tank temperature may be a problem for them. Its difficult to keep it below 84 degrees during the day, as I live in Arizona and our house gets fairly warm in the afternoon (my husband refuses to turn the air down below 85 degrees while we're at work). The temperature is usually between 82-84 degrees.

I do plan to install a fan in my Eclipse hood this weekend but I doubt it will keep the tank any cooler than 82 degrees during the day. Will these fish do okay at this temperature? Or would I be better off to return them before they stress themselves to death?

The temperature is a little on the high end, but the bigger problem is your pH of 8.0 (too high). Synodontis nigriventris prefer acidic water (pH around 6-6.5).
Some more info here.

Thanks for that info (all is appreciated!).

The LFS I bought them from acclimates all of their fish to local PH. They were in a tank of identical PH when I purchased them, and their behavior in that tank was much different (active, but not so hyper).

Is it possible that they're more sensitive to the higher PH at a higher temperature?

Do you have any places the catfish can hide (plants/shelter)? They may be reacting to the lack of cover.

I thought I had enough, but maybe I should try adding another "cave"?

I have several silk plants and a large fake driftwood decoration with lots of caves in it. But the gouramis have been hiding in the back quite a bit so maybe the catfish don't feel like they can hide there.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

Synodontis nigriventris don't seem to like caves as much. They prefer something nearer the top or midwater they can rest up against, like plants (or against tank fixtures like filters).

I do have plenty of places like that for them to hide. I added a couple of small pieces of driftwood with some crevices and have noticed them hiding in there once or twice.

I think they were just stressed from the move. In any case, they have settled down considerably and the one who was very pale now has beautiful brown coloring. They seem very content now.

My husband installed some small PC fans in my Eclipse hood which helped cool the tank down to a reasonable temperature. I don't know if this was a factor or not, as they seemed to be settling down a bit even before this but, who knows?

Thanks for the help! I'm enjoying these little guys very much.

Thin, arching pieces of wood that take up the whole heigh of the tank are ideal for USD cats, I used to have a small tank which was just a tangle of driftwood (you couldn't put a net in it) and they loved it in there.

Jools